[Dixielandjazz] New Orleans Jazz Club; Old Folks

[Charles Suhor]

Agree, Phil, there are good effects of aging, as well as bad. I've tried to accept both, and the moods that go along with them. One project in my dubious future is a book of haiku on aging. Some samples below.—Charles

Aging: When you gain    
some wisdom that you could have    
used when you were young.

Slowly, if you are       
lucky, old age will show up.    
Then, meet its newness.

The years will flash by.
Take care that you grow, and not
merely grow older.

The perplexity  
of age: I’m convex where I
used to be concave.

Walk into a room.
forget why. Wait... Just enjoy...
Nothing to be sought.

What’s here is due, friend.
It took me years to merit 
these infirmities.

Years of retirement
have deconstructed the self   
I knew. Let it pass.

One excuse that won’t
cut the mustard anymore:
Blame it on my youth.

In between my ears
I hear music of the spheres.
No, it’s tinnitus.

If you remember 
the first line of Stardust, you
are part of the club.

A perk of aging:
I can say, Cut me some slack, 
Jack, I’m an old man.

Must get in step with
this aging thing before the
stinger ends the march.

Winter and death will 
come soon enough. Be grateful 
for this long autumn.

Brother dies, grandchild 
born. Take joy where you find it.
Don't hold on too tight.

All life and death, held
in this moment: an ache, a 
tree, a melody.

Too few years, many  
projects. If they should outlive 
me, undone, so what?



> On Oct 18, 2018, at 1:32 AM, philwilking <philwilking at cox.net> wrote:
> 
> As you wrote, the New Orleans Jazz Club is still going, after a fashion. The
> only public activity is an open jam session 2-6 PM on the last Sunday of
> each month. This of course may vary with conflicting holidays.
> 
> If anyone is in New Orleans then, bring your axe to Mo's Chalet, 3201 Houma
> Blvd, Metairie, LA. 70006. This is one block south of Veterans Memorial
> Boulevard and a few blocks east of Clearview Parkway, and public
> transportation practically does not exist on Sunday. If you have them, bring
> your dance shoes too, there is a hard wood dance floor.
> 
> Most of the usual players are in the "mature" generation group, but we are
> beginning to get one or two younger people to participate. The tunes usually
> are the same old standards on all the records, but we do occasionally
> venture into lesser known King Oliver or Jelly Roll Morton land. We even
> have been know to essay a dangerously modern Ellington/Strayhorn tune.
> 
> You are also correct about there being many good musicians in town for whom
> there is little decent employment. Many non-natives seem to come here to
> absorb some of the local musical culture, only to discover that earning
> enough money at music to pay rent and to eat regularly is next to
> impossible. So, unless you have another occupation at which to earn a
> living, or you already know someone who can steer you to one of the few good
> music jobs (that is: lock in the job before you leave home), don't come here
> expecting your instrument to support you.
> 
> A "sad effect" of aging? Nonsense, with age has come a bit of wisdom. That
> you are harder to please shows you have some ability to distinguish "dreck"
> when you come across it.
> 
> Phil Wilking - K5MZF
> www.nolabanjo.com
> 
> "Only two things are infinite:
> the Universe and Human Stupidity.
> And I am not sure about the Former."
> Albert Einstein
> 
> -----Original Message----- From: Charles Suhor
> 
> Interesting report but bad news about the demise of the Sacramento Jazz
> Jubilee and Traditional Jazz Society. I've been loosely tracking the New
> Orleans Jazz Club since its origin in 1948, when I lived and played drums in
> the city. The Club was an important group historically and it kept visible
> for decades. It flagged when its publication,  The Second Line, became
> irregular (a symptom, or than a cause?) and leadership didn't have the
> energy to rev it up. The monthly jam sessions, though, are still going on. I
> don't know about the quality of the music or the attendance, but as you say,
> tons of cultural change have made a difference in just about everything.
> Plenty of fine jazz players in all styles there today, not always well
> employed, plus excellent and awful busker/trad groups and far more blue,
> rock, and whatnot than I'd care to hear. Another sad effect of aging—I'm
> harder to please. 
> 
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