[Tradjazz] Hello Don from McN

Tue Sep 19 15:22:45 EDT 2006

Hi Don,

It sure is nice to hear from you and from so many other "blasts from the past."    You sure are right about this list being small enough that we seem to know everyone on it.  I'm guessing that will change, soon enough.  Seeing as how we're only a week or two old, and we haven't formally promoted this thing, makes we wonder what we're getting ourselves into.

Years ago I joined the DJML.  Within hours, I un-joined.  Not because I didn't like it.  Quite to the contrary, I LOVED IT!  After about three hours of perusing the postings, I snapped myself out of it and went back to work (trying to book gigs).  I'm sure most of us working musicians have long ago discovered that they don't come to you - you have to go to them.  Otherwise- no work!

~~~
You mention a gig you had in Ft. Myers.  I sure remember Bob Adams from when he played at Your Father's Mustache in Greenwich Village.  He and I sometimes exchange messages.  Steve Pistorious is one of my all-time favorite piano men.  I met him only once, in New Orleans many years ago.  When I first read your mention of "H. Johnson" I though of Howard, but I don't think that he plays bone (although he does play everything else).  Then I decided it was Harold (Shorty) Johnson, but I don't think that he plays bone either.  Ya got me.

That must've been a nice band.

~~~
I started the Smith Street Society Jazz Band in the early 60's.  Around that time, I discovered The Southampton Dixie Racing & Clambake Society Jazz Band (long may their banner wave).  That's when I met Bill Barnes and the crew.  It's also when I met Bill Taggart who was playing tuba with them at the time.  Bill later worked with Smith Street for many years.  Then, we were out of touch for decades.  In the mid-90's we hooked up again and he formed OKOM.

I remember the early days when you played with us often.  As you said, you mostly worked with my late partner, Deacon Jim, but we were together for many a gig.  You were a primo tuba man.  I seem to recall that you had previously played trumpet.  At that time you doubled on bass guitar with us.  In more modern times, I've heard you on records and in person, and I must compliment your wonderful bass playing.  Bravo!

~~~
How come I'm not surprised to hear that Ernie Carson posted some controversial things on the DJML?  Ernie has done some festivals with us, and is on one of our recordings.  He is some hot player, eh?  Yes he does hove his opinions, doesn't he?  But then, don't we all.  It's just that most of us don't express our opinions all the time.
  That's a helluva thing for me to say, considering how I go on and on, with my comments.

  Didja hear about the support group for boring people?  It's call ON and on and on and on.
Ernie and I occasionally exchange messages.  He's moved (from Atlanta) back to Oregon.

~~~
When Bill Taggart decided to use the term OKOM for his wonderful operation, it sounded good to me.  Early on, I suggested that he might want it to be MYKOM, but he didn't go for that (even though I was kidding).  Then there's the idea of F-U KOM, but we'd better not use that one (although it seems that some folks do have that philosophy).
  Yerright that the term OKOM suggests that your kind of music is one and the same with mine.  Wishful thinking I guess.
I like your "Old School" term for our music.  I tend to call it traditional jazz or old-time jazz.  As we all should know by now, trying to define our music is a tough one, to say the least.  Sure, loads of people think that there's jazz and then there Dixieland.  They don't get the fact that ours is the original jazz.  So be it. Why fret over such things (but it still bugs me).

So, you guys don't play Coltrane, eh?  My my.

~~~
Great to hear from you Don, and to hear the news from the Landing.  If any of you out there, don't know about Don's newsletter, I suggest that you get over there, NOW!

still tryin' to get back to work, 
McN

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Don Mopsick 
  To: tradjazz at list.okom.com 
  Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2006 1:48 PM
  Subject: [Tradjazz] Hello from Don Mopsick

Done. 

By the way, you all can register with us to receive Jazz Me News and stream the shows, at www.riverwalk.org. Also you can manage your account, change your password, etc. by clicking on Update Profile once you are logged in. You have to log in to hear the Riverwalk shows. But, its' FREE. 

My plan for our new site is to offer more stuff that you can't get on the radio show, especially bonus audio streaming. If you click on Learn > Learn More > JazzNotes for Educators, for example, you can hear an interview with Teddy Wilson by Milt Hinton. 

Tomorrow is the last day for the Commodore Records show we produced in 1992 I believe it was. I put up new streaming links early Thursday mornings when I get back from playing at the Landing. Next show will be "Sidney Bechet: Jazz Immortal" starring Bob Wilber and Evan Christopher. 

Also, you may have heard that the great Bob Havens is currently playing with us at the Landing in San Antonio. He played last night. The things that man can do on that trombone! It's like having Teagarden, Miff Mole, and Abe Lincoln on the stand. 

Also also: I see Billy Barnes here. Hi Bill! When I lived in New Jersey, Bill was the first person I ever met who was a Mouse. This of course started me thinking and eventually led me down the path to the Sunshine State and Mousedom, where I met my wife to whom I am still married. Actually the place I wound up was called the Levee in Ft. Myers. The band was myself on tuba, Bob Adams on banjo, H Johnson on trombone, and Steve Pistorius on piano. H and Bob and I all met gals at the Levee whom we later married. I'm the only one still married to the one I met there. I got to see H last March in Monterey.

But I digress. Hope you are well, Bill, and still playing. Come to think of it, Bill was the trumpet player on the very first trad band I ever saw, and so was Bruce. At the time I was a student of Sam Pilafian, and he asked to come over to Watchung NJ to sit in with the band at a restaurant there. I think Warren Vache Jr. also sat in that night. It was all downhill for me from that point on. 

Whew! Waxing nostalgic here. It's nice that this list is still small and I know so many of you. Makes it kind of intimate for now. I was in on the ground floor of the DJML, and that really has gone through some changes in 10 years or so. It keeps going because of its size and momentum. I'm glad that Bob Ringwald is moderating it now, there was some nasty stuff going on there for a while. I still remember Ernie Carson terrorizing everyone, calling them dumb motherf***ers and all that. Where is Ernie today?

I am also a veteran of other music bulletin boards from the early days, before moderation. The net was a different, much more hostile place then. I even got a death threat once from some academic Marxist type. But that's another thread. 

By the way, Bruce, although it is popular, I try not to use the term OKOM. The reason being I think it assumes too much about what YOUR kind of music is, and that you assume what MY kind is. I talk to people every night at the Landing about what they think jazz is, and it's all over the map, even among so-called "trad" fans. I prefer to just call it "old-school" or "Jazz from the Jurassic." Last night a customer told me that he is more of a "bop" guy. I told him to think of our band as the "un-bop," or, apocalyptically, the "Anti-Bop." Once, a guy asked me if the band played any Coltrane. I said sorry, no. He was absolutely dumfounded. "You're kidding, right?" was his incredulous reply. People really have some strange ideas about jazz.

mopo

  Don Mopsick, Riverwalk Webmaster

Hi Don:

I'd appreciate it if you added me to your e-mail list.

GeoHunt1 at aol.com

Thanks,

George

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