The 1993 Atlanta JAZZ Party!

Over the years, I have heard the same comment, with slight variations, "I don't like jazz, but I love your music." This seems to be a contradiction because I call "my music" jazz. But, there are all kinds of jazz... traditional, New Orleans, Dixieland, Mainstream, BeBop, Progressive, and New Age are some of the names that come to mind. Since all jazz is characterized by improvisation, why do I personally like some jazz and totally reject other forms? For the answer to this, I go back to the roots of jazz. One of the patron saints of jazz, Jelly Roll Morton, said "Jazz music is to be played sweet, soft, plenty rhythm. When you have your plenty rhythm with the plenty swing, it becomes beautiful." To understand his comment, listen to King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers, and Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five and Hot Seven. On these records, the players honor the melody while improvising in both the ensemble and solos, but all the while maintaining the integrity of the chord structure. Notice also the strong polyphonic approach to the ensemble.

Good jazz is collective improvisation, meaning that the players in the group should be compatible and play with a team spirit. In this regard, oftentimes less becomes more. When Ed Polcer first started playing professionally he thought he should play lots and lots of notes to make the music exciting. One night he worked a gig with that marvelous one and only trombone man, Vic Dickenson. After a tune ended, Vic leaned over to Ed and said "Son, you're playing too many notes. Leave some holes for the rest of us, and we'll fill 'em." In the same vein, is the story they tell about the great New Orleans clarinetist, Raymond Burke, He was asked to play a concert with a famous New Orleans trumpet "virtuoso." He declined, saying "that man takes over and leaves no room for anybody else. That's not my idea of good jazz." After some negotiations, Raymond agreed to play the concert when the "virtuoso" assured him that he would behave and play real jazz. Things went well for many numbers until the trumpet player could stand it no longer and started his usual pyro-technics. At this point, the crowd was startled and amused to see Raymond methodically dismantle his clarinet, pack it away in its case and slowly walk off the stage!

So what do I call "my kind of jazz?" Some folks label it "Dixieland" but like Eddie Condon, I dislike the term because it conjures up images of straw hat and striped vest-clad musicians playing loud and fast to stir a crowd who may have never heard good jazz. To help answer the question, Condon made a record and wrote a book, both with the title "We Called it Music." And as Jelly Roll said, "There are only two kinds of music...good and bad." But, it would not explain much if I call my kind of jazz just music. So, how about a term such as "classic jazz" which hopefully implies roots in the masters such as Oliver, Morton, Armstrong, Bechet, Teagarden, Goodman, Muggsy and all the Condon Gang. Listen to our great players of today and you will hear them honor the masters by playing in the same tradition, but with no imitation.