When in New Orleans... (Sweet Kathleen's)
JCOSTON
Just wanted to let list users know about a relatively new Dixieland Jazz club
located in New Orlean's French Quarter.
The place is called SWEET KATHLEEN'S and it is located at 311 Decatur Street.
The band is very good (Steve Yocum was sitting in the night I was there), the
bar
prices are cheap for New Orleans (No cover charge either) and the staff was
very friendly.
The band cranks it up at 8pm every night (except Weds.) and their is usually
a happy hour pianist starting at 5pm. Their website is at:
If you've been to New Orleans lately then you know it is increasingly difficult
to find (good) dixieland jazz in the Quarter. If you are in town, take a look!
Jim Coston
New Orleans Premier Banjo Cabaret Act
http://www.jcoston.bizland.com
PS: I don't work there, I just believe in supporting OKOM (Our Kind of Music)
Nazodesu
<jco...@aol.com> wrote:
> The place is called SWEET KATHLEEN'S and it is located at 311
> Decatur Street. The band is very good (Steve Yocum was sitting in the
> night I was there), the bar prices are cheap for New Orleans (No
> cover charge either) and the staff was very friendly.
> http://www.sweetkathleens.com
Thanks for the tip. I've only to been to NO once and was delighted but
knew that I'd come better prepared to cover the bases next time. Duly
noted.
> If you've been to New Orleans lately then you know it is increasingly
> difficult to find (good) dixieland jazz in the Quarter. If you are in
> town, take a look!
What is view of the difference between the name "dixieland jazz" and
what some folks call "traditional jazz"?
--
The storm starts when the drops start dropping. When the drops stop dropping
the storm starts stopping.
David Richoux
Nazodesu wrote:
>What is view of the difference between the name "dixieland jazz" and
>what some folks call "traditional jazz"?
That is a long running subject over on an e-list called the
dixielandjazz mailing list (you can subscribe at
http://www.islandnet.com/djml ) . I have hosted a radio program since
1983 on KFJC playing both kinds of the music (and much more.) I also
have played tuba since 1978 in five "trad jazz" bands and countless
"Dixie Gigs." I have played with many of the musicians who were
directly involved with the "San Francisco Revival." I also enjoy
playing and listening to many other sorts of jazz & popular music
(except K***y G and Smooth Jazz!)
I think I can briefly summarize some of my personal theory of the
distinctions as:
• Traditional Jazz is a "loving and faithful" re-creation of the Jass
music first played in New Orleans, Chicago and other select cities, as
originally done by certain (favored) groups. The process started in the
late 1930s as a reaction to the domination of Big Band styles (and
somewhat Be-Bop) - what were then called "Moldy Figs" went back to the
original 78 rpm recordings, dug up the surviving musicians from the
early decades of the Jazz Era, played and enjoyed that "less evolved"
style. Lu Watters and Turk Murphy, among others, wrote arrangements for
a lot of the tunes first recorded by Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll
Morton, King Oliver, etc. and bands all over the US and the UK were
soon playing and recording in this revival style.
• Dixieland musicians are usually hired to play for shop openings,
fairs, political rallies, etc. The audience is satisfied by just about
any quality and song selection, as long as "The Saints" is played,
preferably once per set. The musicians might never have played
together before, and tunes are usually chosen from a short list of
standards. This is not to say that Dixieland musicians don't play
Traditional Jazz as well, but it more depends on what is wanted and who
is paying the bill. And Vice Versa.
• Another theory of Traditional Jazz holds that the musicians from New
Orleans who did not leave town in the 20s and 30s to find fame and
fortune in Chicago and New York were the "pure gene pool" of
traditional jazz. While I am sure those musicians were forced to
sometimes play "Dixieland" to make a living, some survived well into
the end of the 20th century playing at places like Preservation Hall.
Is it "Dixieland" if you play for tourists on Bourbon Street? Even if
the artist was playing with Louie in 1925? That is one of the bigger
questions...
• The uniform of a Dixieland musician is usually a straw boater hat
(styrofoam plastic replicas will do in a pinch,) red and white strip
shirts (sleeve garters are a plus,) full Cleveland (white belt, pants
and shoes.) This is known as Straws and Stripes. Something you will
see on the streets of Dizzyland, but probably not New Orleans...
• Some traditional jazz bands wear some sort of uniform - maybe
matching T-Shirts or rugby jerseys, white shirts with ties, some sort
of hat, but that seems to be at the preference of the band leader.
There was a category of bands called "Funny Hat Bands" in the 30s to
50s but I still don't have a real clear idea of where they fit into the
musical spectrum
• Traditional Jazz is often sponsored by local non-profit societies -
groups of fans, dancers, and musicians who got together in the 1970s
and later to hold monthly sessions, hiring a band to play a hall
(usually on Sunday afternoons at the local Elks Lodge or equivalent,)
jam sessions from other musicians between the hired band sets and also
a raffle is held. Festivals are also sponsored, big ones like the
Sacramento Jazz Festival can draw hundreds of bands and many thousands
of fans (www.sacjazz.com) while other, small town festivals can get 8
or 12 bands for a smaller crowd on a nice weekend day.
• Dixieland Jazz has evolved into having little to do with the song
"Dixie," the Mason-Dixon Line, or Jazz. It is a basic form of Popular
music, usually a simple statement of a tune, several solos based on
simple improvisations around the tune and a recap. Flashy musicianship
or sneaking elements of Traditional Jazz in can help make this
otherwise boring music job a little more interesting for the musicians
but the audience usually will never know the difference. (I know, I
know -there always at least one old Moldy Fig in any audience at the
shopping mall that will ask a decent request or appreciate something in
the music, but that seems to be fading away now...)
• Traditional Jazz can be anything from simple blues form to quite
complex song structure. Often variations of the march or ragtime form
(intro, A, B, interlude, C or trio for solos, maybe a return to the A
section, and an out) are found. Some bands work from notated scores,
others may have pre-arranged structure, other times it can be simply
calling a tune and seeing what happens as you go. Sometimes the tunes
are well know (by the general population) but often they are obscure,
found in the thousands of dusty old records and sheet music from
hundreds of bands playing in the early years of the music.
I guess by now I may have upset a few Dixieland Fans, but I think if
people really appreciate the early history of Jazz, dance or play some
fun music, listen to the musicianship and flavor of the style, well
that is really Traditional Jazz, not Dixieland...
Anyway, Dave Richoux The Jazz Parade KFJC 89.7 Los Altos Hills CA,
"And That's Jazz," Zenith New Orleans Parade Band, Smith's Slippery
Gulch Jazz Band, Los Trancos Woods Community Marching Band, California
Repercussions, Friday Night Music, previously member of the Churchill
St. Jazz Band and Monterey Classic Jazz Band...
Matthew Lybanon
good web site for people who are interested in this kind of thing is
Tom Morgan, the webmeister, hosts the New Orleans Music Show on WWOZ-FM,
the New Orleans radio station operated by the New Orleans Jazz and
Heritage Foundation (which puts on Jazzfest, among other activities).
Be lyin
>Tom Morgan, the webmeister, hosts the New Orleans Music Show on WWOZ-FM,
>the New Orleans radio station operated by the New Orleans Jazz and
>Heritage Foundation (which puts on Jazzfest, among other activities).
While technically true (the Foundation does own the license and is legally
responsible for it operation and hiring of it's staff) the all-volunteer on-air
personnel maintain autonomy from the Foundation and certainly their programming
expresses imaginations far greater than those of the Foundation's annual
festival. No Dave Mathews to be found on the airwaves of WWOZ. I particularly
recommend the late night jazz shows. So far tonight the d.j. has played William
Parker's Little Huey Orchestra, Julius Hemphill, Charles Mingus, local creative
musicians like the Rob Wagner Trio and Jonathan Freiclich's Naked Orchestra.
All of it very fresh; something that can not be said of the Festival's jazz
programming. WWOZ webcasts 24/7 at <http://www.wwoz.org> so give it a listen.