[Dixielandjazz] Still honking in Madrid!

[jim at kashprod.com]

Well, other than the monthly message from ml.islandnet.com saying I'm still
a member of the Dixieland Mailing List, I haven't seen much activity since
we lost such good/vocal members such as Marek (from Israel), and of course
Bob (famous father) Ringwald from California.  This once was a very vocal
mailing list, however there was eventually a sort of split when some members
decided to start a FaceBook page with the same name.  Of course, when our
little list began, back in the 90s, a mailing list was a big thing.  

 

Although I lament the loss of all the comments and announcements we used to
receive on this list, I certainly don't miss the controversies we sometimes
had around the change of the century, as we had some, shall I say, brash
people on board.  They eventually did leave, though, and things calmed down
a bit.  I, personally, have never been much of a historian about Jazz, but I
did enjoy reading the discussions others had.  

 

I have met so many nice people from the list in person during my world
travels, and from visits from members here to Madrid to hear my band.  I
gather there are still many on the list still today, but we all seem to be
very quiet.  It would be great if all still present would at least send in a
quick note with your name, your whereabouts, do you play in a band or are
you a listener, etc.

 

I'll start by saying my band has begun playing again after the long Covid
break.  We began again last July.  The almost 2 yr break signaled the first
time we hadn't had gigs running pretty steadily since we began playing
together here in Madrid in 1967.  The start-up however has been slow going,
with one club offering us a gig once a month at the strange hour of 1pm on
Saturday.  Actually, that gig has become quite successful as lunch in Spain
begins at around 2:30pm, just when our Jazz lovers finish applauding & are
released out onto the street which just happens to be in an area rife with
eating places (& with outdoor seating in many places).

 

We've had a couple of other places contract the band, plus we did an hour
long theater concert which was broadcast on Spanish National Television.
And, we've booked several private parties coming up before the summer, so
things are beginning to pick up.  However, the loss of several places where
we often played has hurt our monthly schedule.  Some closed down even before
the pandemic, due to the bleak financial situation here.  By the way, the
audiences here must remain seated (no bellying up to the bar anymore!), and
keep their masks on.  And, the capacity is limited to 80%.  We manage to
always get the full 80% anyway, which is great.

 

Hopefully, many of you on the list will speak up with your own messages.
I'd love to know who is still around.

 

Jim Kashishian

Madrid, Spain

Canal Street Jazz Band

(look for us on Youtube & Facebook

 

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