For the past several years, I have been playing with a six-piece Dixieland band called The Jazz Phools. I thought I’d share some of my thoughts in hopes that someone finds them helpful, or at least slightly entertaining.
Dixieland: We don’t generally call ourselves a Dixieland band because that term has some unhip connotations. “Vintage Hot Jazz” is the phrase the bandleader likes to use, but if you were to do a Google search for “Dixieland Band” you would find a lot of groups who look and sound like us.
Gigs: This group started off playing only occasional gigs, usually taking place in a senior living center of some sort, but “Roaring 20’s”, “Great Gatsby” and “Repeal of Prohibition” themed events seem to be becoming increasingly popular and we have been playing 3-4 private events per month, usually booked through the GigMasters website. Go figure.
My Pet Theory: I think the bandleader started this band because he plays trombone which is typically the first instrument that gets cut. He’s a smart guy. In The Jazz Phools, the bass is usually the first to go since the pianist can play bass pedals.
Versatility: We perform other styles of jazz such as swing and big band and have even performed songs by Beyoncé and Maroon 5 upon request (really). We also have a selection of 1920’s numbers during which the pianist plays my bass and I switch to ukulele (really). I now regret telling the bandleader that I play ukulele, but it was bound to get out eventually.
Two versus Four: Many musicians associate Dixieland with two-beat style bass lines, but I’ve done a lot of listening and this is not always the case. If the band uses a string bass as opposed to a tuba, you will almost always hear the bassist walking in four at some point. The earliest recorded jazz bassists did this and the classic Dixieland records (i.e. Muggsy Spanier, Dukes of Dixieland, Pete Fountain) demonstrate this as well. Playing the head in two and walking in four during the solos and shout chorus is a reliable formula.
Speaking of tuba: I occasionally use the bow on certain numbers to emulate the sound of the tuba and I find it quite effective, if used judiciously. There is a precedent for this in early jazz, good examples being “My Pretty Girl” (1927) by The Jean Goldkette Orchestra featuring bassist Steve Brown and “China Girl”(1930) by The Casa Loma Orchestra featuring bassist Stan Dennis. Both of these guys were great slap players too. The great bassist Bob Haggart also used the bow in this fashion with the Bob Crosby Orchestra, a big band that took inspiration from older New Orleans style jazz. I don’t play tuba and gigs where portability is required and a string bass impractical (i.e. parade floats and boats) have led to a unique solution: playing my Kala U-Bass through a small amp powered by a trolling motor battery. We’ve also performed unplugged with the pianist on banjo, which offers some perspective on how this music was originally performed.
Attire: Sometimes we wear the typical Dixieland band uniform of a red vest and solid color shirt with black dress pants. The band members who have the least amount of hair often wear hats such as the typical straw boater or even a derby, the latter being the trumpet player's preference. I don’t mind this as I like dressing up for gigs in general and vintage hats in particular. The bandleader has tried to get us to move away from uniforms and towards individual vintage style attire with varying degrees of success.
Charts: The bandleader passes out books at each gig. I pretty much know the band's repertoire by memory now and would only need the book for new arrangements, but since the bandleader calls songs by the number, I need the book. Is number 37 “Basin Street Blues” or “Hello, Dolly”? Is “Sheik of Araby” in Bb or F? There’s only one one way to find out. By the way, if you ever have to play out of the illegal and widely circulated “Dixie Players Fun Book”, be aware that the chord changes are often wrong. The guy who created this book later admitted that he did not have access to a piano when he wrote out these charts.
Dinah: Somehow this song became my vocal feature. I’m not a great singer by any means, but I try to base my performance on George Brunies’ hip sounding vocal from the 1939 version by Muggsy Spanier and his Ragtime Band. I recently had the band change the key from Ab down to F to improve my odds.
Drummers: The band is fortunate enough to have one of the best drummers in the area. Having him there makes these gigs more fun and no matter how capable the sub is, I always miss him when he’s not on the gig. He’s a nice guy too, but he won’t wear a straw hat on stage. I sure hope no one presses the issue.
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