Trad Jazz — Hliue & Well In Oregon
by George W. Earley
Think of dreams.
Think o f sparkles,
floating in the air
you can see it here
or there,
there’s magic everywhere.
•Now I have told you my
poem.
And now you must
The Forest
■>»•
'*-*r — ...
There’s mushrooms in the trees,
•
on the logs, and on the moss.
There’s lots of animals in the forest;
like deers and rabbits, elk.
The deers run, they eat the grass.
They have baby deers.
They run from creatures; like hunters.
There’s bears.
They try to eat the deers.
They eat fish.
The rabbits eat carrots in the woods.
There’s chipmunks;
Thye live in the trees.
They drop acorns on the ground.
They get down the tree.
They run faster than the bear.
The hunter comes and then he kills the animals.
The hunter takes the animals with him.
I wish he would go away,
and the tiger ate him.
Halle Sweet, 5 yrs old, Falcon Cove
Forest Farics here and there,
forest fanes everywhere
in the trees
and in the leaves
eating all the nuts
and berries....
Forest Fanes are very merry.
Lexi Kyle-Hammer, 7 yrs old. Seaside
One man's wilderness is another man's theme park "
Fans of traditional Jazz -- Ragtime, Dixieland, and
the real old time gospel blues — had another fine
weekend recently, this time in Sisters, Oregon, at the
7th Annual High Mountains Dixieland Jazz Festival.
Even the weather cooperated, as it so often does
for these joyful and fun-filled weekend events.
By any measurement, the popularity of Trad Jazz
seems to be on an upswing. Attendees are not limited,
as critics of the form often claim, to the gray-haired
geriatric set.
More and more younger people are attending, re
flecting, it seems to me, a move away from the shriek,
shout and swear school of contemporary ’music.'
For Trad Jazz, despite Its beginnings in bar rooms,
bawdy houses and street bands, is, essentially, a gentle
music. Loud and brash to be sure, with a pounding
two-beat rhythm that sets feet to tapping and folks to
dancing, it does so without turning dancers into body
bumpers and mosh pit 'maulers.'
As for the youth presence, the Sisters gathering
not only saw families with children from a few months
old to teenagers, but spotlighted "Hull's Angels," a
youth jazz band from Fresno, CA.
Formed in 1984, the band boasts a dynamite pianist
In David Hull, the barely 11-year-old son of director Ed
Hull [himself a tubist with Fresno's Blue Street Jazz
Band] plus six other fine players, the oldest of whom is
tubist Craig Shlgyo, 16. The band even had Its own CD
for sale plus 'Play it Again, David,' a cassette of piano
solos.
How good are "Hull's Angels?" If you heard them
without seeing them and being told their ages, you'd
swear you were listening to a highly talented group of
adults who'd been together a decade or more.
Perhaps you're wondering how a Trad Jazz festival
works. From what I've observed, they work far better
than these lavishly promoted concerts and festivals of
contemporary pop music.
The festivals run 3 days, starting sometime during
Friday afternoon and winding up around supper time
Sunday. You can buy a badge for a day or for the entire
festival . . . rarely will you pay over $50 for the entire
weekend. Discounts are available for those who
purchase badges a few months in advance.
There are usually 10 bands and 5 venues where
they play. These are usually within walking distance
though free shuttle buses are provided for those who
need or prefer them.
A single performance or 'set,' runs 75 minutes
with 15 minute breaks between sets. This means each
band plays every other set with the breaks providing
time for set up and take down as well as giving
listeners the time to stretch their legs, visit the snack
bar, boutique, Jan's Music Store or even visit the head
or step outside for a smoke.
Bapds not playing have their own lounge area where
they can relax and 'recharge' themselves; 75 minutes
of nearly non-stop playing is tiring!
Also between breaks you'll find band 'moms' selling
tapes and CDs and, sometimes, other band-related
souvenirs like bumper stickers and newsletters.
But for an eclectic collection of music and wearing
apparel, fans head for the boutique and Jan's Music
Store. The boutique can fit you out in the best Roaring
20's style; derby hats, caps, jackets, fringed 'flapper'
dresses garnished with sequins, plus costume jewelry,
much of It In the shape of musical Instruments.
At the music store you; you'll meet Jan Scobey,
widow of the late, great Bob Scobey whose Frisco Band
did so much, some decades ago, to establish the City by
the Bay as the west coast mecca for serious fans of
Dixieland jazz.
Jan not only offers an Incredible array of tapes and
CDs, but books on the history of jazz, videos, sheet
music and even such rarities as vinyl LPs from which
many of today's CDs have been remastered. But what
you see isn't all she has. For $10 you can acquire a
120 page catalog [write Jan Scobey's Hot Jazz, P.0.
Box 6, Upper Lake, CA 95485-0006] that is very
likely the most complete single source for all things
jazzy.
And it's more than a catalog. In it you'll find brief
bios and historical notes on the greats, near-greats as
well as the regrettably forgotten men and women of
those marvelous turn-of-the-century jazz decades.
Included in the current catalog are articles on such
instruments as the trumpet and the soprano sax, a
cranky and tricky-to-play instrument eschewed by
many but which the legendary Sidney Bechet tamed and
made his own.
Yes, folks, Trad Jazz is alive and well in Oregon
and elsewhere in this great nation of ours. Few are the
states so unfortunate as to not have trad jazz festivals
whose attendees come from all over America and other
countries as well. Check the parking lot outside any
jazz festival - there'll be RVs there from a dozen
states or more, plus various Canadian provinces. I've
even seen a vehicle or two from Mexico. Sisters was
even attended by two Bavarians in full national rig, mit
lederhosen und all. Jal
While many of us can only attend 2 or 3 festivals a
year, some folks are on the road half a year or more,
following their favourite band[s] from festival to
festival.
In any given year,the Pacific northwest is host to a
number of trad jazz festivals whose 1500 to 2000 or
so attendees gather to enjoy the music and the camara
derie that is a big part of any trad jazz festival.
You'll hear such old familiar tunes as the St Louis
Trad Jazz — A great way to spend a weekend. Plan
now to be part of the 1998 trad jazz scene. Here's a
list of a few of the nearby upcoming festivals and how
to get all the info you'll need to attend.
• 1st Northwest Fest, Seattle WA Jan 23, 24 &
25; call 1-800-348-5800
• The 1998 Oregon Dixieland Jubilee, Seaside
OR, Feb 27, 28 & March 1st. Call: 1-800-394-3303
• 11th Annual Southcoast Dixieland Clambake, Coos
Bay OR March 13, 14 & 15; call 1-800-676-7563
• Fourth Annual Spokane Dixieland Jazz Festival,
May 29, 30 & 31; P.O. Box 1931, Spokane WA 99210
• 8th Annual America's Festival, Olympia WA,
July 3,4, & 5; call 360-943-9123
• 8th Annual High Mountains Jazz Festival, Sisters
OR, Sept 18, 19 & 20; write P.O. Box 248, Sisters OR
97759
• 16th Annual Diggin' Dixie at the Beach; early
November. Write: Ocean Shores Dixieland Jazz
Society, P.O. Box 293, Ocean Shores WA 98569
There you are -- a goodly number to choose from.
Do come. You'll never regret it.
....................................
UUU .....................................
George Earley is a member of the
Oregon City Traditional Jazz Society.
© 1998 by George W. Earley. All Rights Reserved.
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A conservative doesn’t want anything to happen for the first
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A conservative is a man who wants the rules changed so that
no one can make a pile the way he did.
Gregory Nunn
Blues, When It's Sleepy Time Down South and Trombone
Rag along as well as such less familiar works as
Telephone Me, Zulu's Ball and Snake Rag.
And you can expect gag tunes -- including I’ve Got a
Bimbo Down on the Bamboo Isles and Give Me the Old
Sultan's Harem - whose humor today, in certain stuffy
circles, might be considered politically incorrect. Jazz
fans don't mind, they [no political incorrectness
intended] are broad-minded . . .
DEFER lE fT EDGE DECEMBER-/???
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