Word: dixieland
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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This was a poor imitation of the sensational Original Dixieland Jazz Band, then making the word jazz famous. But after two years Lewis left Rector's with a reputation for the musical clowning that has remained his stock in trade for a generation. It was on the curb outside Rector's that he acquired the battered, furry top hat which W. C. Fields later taught him to twirl with uncanny virtuosity. Lewis won it in a crap game from the driver of a hansom...
...mainly because of the inability of many people to separate Chicago Jazz from the Chicagoans. Chicago jazz was the music of a group of young white musicians playing from about 1925 to 1932. It was characterized by artistic economy, the use of short phrases, and a large amount of Dixieland ensemble...
...improvised jamming of the "session." Around them these men have built up a large number of fine musicians, but their music is not Chicago jazz. Perhaps the name for it would be the jam style, an indefinite sort of term at best, combining the essence of New Orleans and Dixieland, and Chicago...
There is nothing left of Chicago style. Bud Freeman employs endless quantities of notes, as do many others, the short phrase has been substituted for long, closely-connected solos countless times, the ensemble was really Dixieland in the first place. There are only a group of men, the Chicagoans, and they are truly great...
...form of two fine albums of re-issue, one Victor and one Brunswick, now a Decca subsidiary. The Brunswick has the edge in quality, and the advantage of having many sides unavailable for more than ten years. "Birmingham Breakdown" is remarkable for being the only Ellington with a Dixieland breakdown ending, and "Wall Street Wail" has always been one of my favorites...