Post 335: A GREAT VIDEO OF THE SHOTGUN JAZZ BAND

I am re-publishing this recommendation in case there are still a few people who have not yet watched this great YouTube jazz video - in my view the best and most exciting, sizzling, energetic performance of New Orleans traditional jazz to appear on YouTube in the last thirty months.

It runs for over half an hour, with high-definition pictures and top-quality sound.

So switch off your TV and just settle to this marvellous little concert that will bring tears of joy to the eyes of any traditional jazz lover.

It's The Shotgun Jazz Band playing Climax Rag, Love Songs of the Nile, Oriental Man, I Can't Escape, Yearning and Mobile Stomp.

This is raw New Orleans jazz at its best. Leader Marla Dixon stamps her dynamic personality on everything. She is flanked by great players - James Evans (from Beaumaris, Wales) on reeds and Barnabus Jones on trombone. All three of them are on terrific form and their ensemble work is an example to us all. But this band also has a perfect rhythm section - Tyler Thompson on bass, John Dixon on banjo, and Justin Peake on drums. John has kindly let me know that Tyler's favourite string bass player is Slow Drag Pavageau and that John's own banjo hero was George Guesnon. John added that they were both 'solid 4/4 players'. He told me the 'genesis of The Shotgun was via the Happy Pals in Toronto which has become the incubator for some great musicians. Marla and Tyler both got the start there. The Happy Pals were directly influenced by the Kid Thomas band, so that 4/4 revival beat of Sammy Penn is also a large influence.'

That explains a lot. The Shotgun Band gives an extraordinary demonstration of just how New Orleans-style rhythm backing should be. Justin Peake is a drummer about whom I know virtually nothing. But it seems he was led to this style of music by the Dixons themselves. On the evidence of this Abita Springs performance I would rate him right up there with the best.

Enough of me. Get on to the video by clicking here.

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Post Script

Reader Phil has sent me this email:

Hi Ivan,

I agree with you regarding the Shotgun Jazz Band's Opry
video. I can't remember being so blown away... in recent memory.
Everything was so perfect...an amazing band, an amazing crowd
that pushed the band to its peak and even that old southern
guy at the end (looked to be straight out of Hollywood central
casting), plus awesome video/sound work...just perfect!
"What a show, what a show".

I don't know how TS let James Evans get away! If there's a
better clarinet/sax combination around, I haven't heard it.

Post 257: 'YEARNING' - A GREAT CD FROM THE SHOTGUN JAZZ BAND

Many people seem to have enjoyed the video I made of The Shotgun Jazz Band giving a pulsating performance of Climax Rag. I filmed it when I saw them at The Spotted Cat, New Orleans, in April 2015. If you would like to watch it, CLICK HERE.

But may I also remind you that late in 2014 this great jazz band released a CD that is well worth listening to? It is packed with riches. If you would like to buy it, go to 

https://shotgunjazzband.bandcamp.com/album/yearning and follow the instructions.

All sixteen tracks of the CD (entitled 'Yearning') were recorded in one session without an audience in the building that used to be Luthjen's Dance Hall in New Orleans. For bands with less stamina, it would have been an exhausting undertaking. The acoustics are terrific but obviously the emptiness of the building meant that it lacked the atmosphere that comes from having an audience. The recording is well balanced: you hear all instruments and vocals clearly.

The Band on the day comprised Marla Dixon (trumpet), John Dixon (banjo), Tyler Thomson (string bass), Justin Peake (percussion), Ben Polcer (piano), Charlie Halloran (trombone) and James Evans (reeds).

As well as playing the trumpet in a bold, forthright manner, Marla also delivers lusty, emotional vocals, in which one of her specialities is the thrilling rising glissando.

The rock-steady rhythm section, which is responsible for much of the band's distinctive house style, is on superb form throughout. The combination of Justin Peake (one of my favourite drummers), Tyler Thomson and John Dixon would be hard to beat. What a joy it must be for any 'front-line' players to be pumped along by them.

Here are the tunes on the CD:

I Believe I Can Make It By Myself

Sammy Penn with the Kid Thomas Band used to make a big feature of this 12-bar tune in Bb. The Shotgun Band gives it a raw treatment, with much trumpet growling and flattened thirds as well as a lusty vocal from Marla.

You Always Hurt The One You Love

This sets a great foot-tapping tempo. The rhythm section shines. Note the unusual key change - after a start in Bb, Marla sings the vocal gently in Eb and later more powerfully in Bb.

Get A Working Man (a.k.a. Pinchbacks, Take 'Em Away)

Marla offers a vocal with a message for the ladies: it's better to have a hard-working man than one who is good-looking but idle. My thanks to blog-reader Phil in the USA for telling me it was originally recorded in 1924 by Bessie Smith under the title Pinchbacks, Take 'Em Away. It has a 16-bar verse and a 32-bar chorus (harmonically identical to It's a Long Way to Tipperary). James' fluid solo (backed so well by Charlie and the Rhythm Section) distinctly demonstrates the Shotgun house style.

Tears

This raggy number which I think Lil Hardin composed for King Oliver's Band in 1923 (when they recorded it) is technically challenging but the Shotguns make light work of it. The tune is played fast (as by King Oliver) and, although it's full ensemble all the way, there are some nice 'breaks' for James.

Dream

Marla delivers a pleasant vocal (complete with Verse) right from the start, with solid backing from Ben, John, Tyler and Justin. Then there's a nice relaxed chorus featuring the clarinet and trombone again, with the chosen key (F) suited very well to James' higher register.

Yearning

This standard from 1925 seems to be a favourite with the Shotgun players. They played it in the great Abita Springs video. (Click here to see it.) Marla offers a punchy trumpet and vocal and there is a pleasant 16-bars-each chorus shared by James and Charlie.

Hindustan

Every band plays this tune from 1918. So how do the Shotguns make it fresh? With terrific front-line interplay; some Kid Thomas-style attack; and a vocal from Marla.

He'll Have To Go

This is one of two tunes in waltz time on the CD. Imagine Careless Love played slowly in 3/4. It's harmonically similar. Composed by Joe and Audrey Allison, it was a hit for Jim Reeves in 1959. Much of the performance consists of a gentle vocal from Marla, well supported by Ben. There are a few bars of special beauty when James leads with the melody in the ensemble. 

Over In The Gloryland

This spiritual is another tune that most bands play. Some musicians don't like it because of its very limited harmonic pattern. But the Shotguns make it last for over six minutes and leave you wanting more. There is hearty singing and great collective improvisation.

I Love You So Much It Hurts

This is a country and western number recorded (and probably written) by Floyd Tillman in 1948. The Shotguns give a no-frills straight-ahead performance of the 32-bar simple tune. They choose not to offer a vocal.

Kentucky Blues

I don't know the origin of this tune. (There are at least two other different tunes with this title). It seems to have two themes (16-bar and a standard 12-bar). The arrangement is the most sophisticated on this CD - from a band that normally does not bother with very sophisticated arrangements. The lovely clarinet of James Evans is well featured.

Love In Bloom

James is singing this one a great deal recently at the band's performances. He is no mean vocalist. It's a very nice song composed in 1934 by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger. James also plays some lovely fluid clarinet with Marla (for once using a standard mute) in the background. It's one of two tunes played in Ab. The other is Gloryland, of course.

Mobile Stomp

This famous number (written and recorded by the Sam Morgan Band in 1927) is also on the Abita Springs video. I like the rock-steady work from all members of the band, especially at its more delicate moments. Note the saxophone's second chorus against offbeats; and the amusing 'quadruple' ending.

You Broke Your Promise

This 1949 pop song by Wyle, Taylor and Pole was a favourite with the early Preservation Hall bands. In an unpretentious performance of this 32-bar tune, Marla offers a nice clear vocal - a help to those of us who want to learn the words. As in You Always Hurt The One You Love, above, she drops the key (to C) for her first vocal but sings her second vocal higher - in F - the key in which the rest of the performance is played. This must be a device she enjoys. It certainly is effective in setting the two vocals in contrast.

Tennessee Waltz

This is the second tune in 3/4 time. It's also the most touching tune on the CD. Marla sings the sad words about lost love, with good instrumental support from James and Charlie. A beautiful melody, gently presented.

I'll See You In My Dreams

The famous Isham Jones and Sammy Kahn song from 1924. No vocal is offered; and they do not make the mistake of taking it too slowly. Charlie's trombone gives a melodious lead; and there is some lovely ensemble playing.

Post 234: MEETING THE SHOTGUN JAZZ BAND

The Shotgun Jazz Band

Ever since I was overwhelmed by the YouTube video of them playing at The Abita Springs Opry, The Shotgun Jazz Band has been one of my favourite groups of musicians. You can watch that video BY CLICKING HERE. They play a thrilling, raw, no-frills type of traditional jazz. Under the influence of their dynamic leader - Marla Dixon - they are a direct descendant from the bands of Kid Thomas, De De Pierce, Kid Sheik and Kid Howard. Marla learned her jazz by listening to the records of those great trumpet players.

Marla comes from Toronto, where she was also heavily influenced by 'Kid' Cliff Bastien (she met him shortly before he died) and by Patrick Tevlin (who kept The Happy Pals band going after Bastien's death and was instrumental in including a lot of younger talented players and introducing them to traditional jazz).

At school, Marla started by learning to play the bassoon, but she was soon lured away from it by the appeal of trumpets.

Although she now possesses some lovely trumpets, the one she prefers to play with The Shotgun Band is a vintage Olds Ambassador that she bought in a junk shop for a mere 75 dollars.

During my visit to New Orleans in April 2015, I managed to attend three concerts by The Shotgun Jazz Band and I enjoyed the great privilege of spending some time chatting with them, especially Marla and John Dixon. They were so friendly, generous, kind and willing to talk about their music. 

The day I got to meet John Dixon
- one of the great musicians working in New Orleans.

Marla started her working life as a graphic designer. Her husband John (originally from Florida) lived and worked with Marla in Toronto in 2008 before they decided to re-locate to New Orleans.

John had started his musical life by having piano lessons at the age of ten. But in his teenage years he took up the alto saxophone and joined various reading bands - both symphonic and jazz. The music of Duke Ellington was the kind of thing they played. John went on to learning Charlie Parker transcriptions. But his progress was brought to an abrupt end (the kind all musicians dread) by a serious accident and massive dental damage. 

It was not until many years later that he was able to try playing the sax again - but he modestly says he's nowhere near good enough to play it in a traditional jazz band.

So at the time of going to college, he abandoned the saxophone and switched to guitar (mainly electric) and he was soon playing bass guitar in a rock band. After college he formed a country band. John told me he didn't touch a banjo until he met Marla, who bought him his first one while he was staying with her in Toronto. He played it on a gig at Grossman's Tavern with Marla's dixieland band - The Don Valley Stompers - and has been hooked ever since. John specialises in a distinctive rock-steady pulsating rhythm, striking all four beats evenly. It's my favourite type of New Orleans rhythm-section playing and it possibly owes something to George Guesnon (1907 - 1968) whose recordings were an inspiration to John.

Marla playing with The Don Valley Stompers in Canada,
a few years before she migrated to New Orleans.
And doesn't that string bass player seem very familiar?

Over breakfast in my hotel, a gentleman said that in her trumpet playing Marla lacks the technique of the virtuoso trumpet players he had heard showing off in the nearby streets, where they produced torrents of high-pitched notes. I told him that such a comment completely misunderstands what Marla sets out to do. Having observed her closely, I can assure you Marla's technique is very good indeed. In fact it is perfect for the kind of jazz The Shotgun Jazz Band plays. Not only does she find just the right notes (often using sixths, ninths and flattened thirds to add to the excitement); she is a model in timing, phrasing, attack and sheer driving energy. She is also an expert in getting the most thrilling effects from a mute - especially her aluminium derby mute. I asked whether she inherited that mute from Kid Bastien; but in fact she did not. The Dixons think Bastien's similar mute is now being used by Patrick Tevlin back in Toronto.

As if that isn't enough, Marla knows by heart the words of dozens of songs, without any need to refer to sheets of paper. And she sings with a raw passion and heart-on-sleeve intensity that exactly matches her trumpet playing. And she can play the sousaphone - as she often did in the past.

It is interesting to trace the evolution of the great Shotgun Jazz Band. It seems the seeds were not sown until after John and Marla decided to leave Toronto and try their luck in New Orleans. There, they played as a duet for tips in the streets (mainly at The French Market). They were occasionally joined by a like-minded musician or two. The Dixons happened to arrive in New Orleans at just the right time. There was an amazing resurgence of interest in traditional jazz, with many fine young musicians migrating to that City. John thinks it was significant that dancers arrived too - especially such brilliant dancers as Amy Johnson and Chance Bushman. John told me: 'What followed were more dancers, and with more dancers, more musicians. It was coincidental that Marla and I happened to move here at the same time as this resurgence of interest in traditional jazz. We really had no idea what was going on until we were in it.'

Incidentally, the great reed player Aurora Nealand also told me about the importance for jazz musicians in New Orleans of playing for dancing. She thought this did much to explain the special free and relaxed quality of the New Orleans brand of traditional jazz.

By 2011, Marla and John Dixon decided to make a CD, so they hired a couple more players for this purpose and called the resulting band The Shotgun Jazz Band because they were living in a shotgun house. What a great choice of name that was, by the way. It's immediately striking and memorable. Suddenly they were a proper band, attracting gigs. That first CD (called Algiers Strut), with Ben Polcer on piano, happened to include Love Songs of the Nile, I Can't Escape and Oriental Man - all of which are still among the most popular numbers in their repertoire. The second CD (One Drink Minimum) did not appear until March 2013 and was recorded during several performances at The Spotted Cat. By then, the Dixons had a regular booking there. The CD involved twelve different musicians.

Marla and John's band had no settled personnel at the time. Among the musicians who occasionally played in The Shotgun Jazz Band were Christopher Johnson, Michael Magro, Peter Loggins, Orange Kellin, Todd Yannacone, Robert Snow, Benji Bohannon, Tommy Sancton, Aurora Nealand, Jon Gross, Robin Rapuzzi, Barnabus Jones, Craig Flory and several others.

Two more CDs appeared in 2013. And a fifth came out in September 2014. This was Yearning, well recorded at Luthjen's Dance Hall and demonstrating the high quality of playing they had by then achieved. I think it is the CD of which they are the most proud. (You can read my review of it BY CLICKING HERE).

But by then the Band had a reasonably settled line-up and had honed its distinctive sound into the form so many enthusiasts love today.

John pointed out that at Shotgun gigs Marla runs a fairly 'tight ship' and he is proud that their repertoire has become so varied. Of course they play the standards, but, as John says, they also do a lot of 'pop and R&B tunes as well as a few arranged tunes'.

The young Tyler Thomson - one of the world's most exciting players - followed the Dixons to New Orleans from Toronto and joined them on string bass. Tyler's hero was Alcide Pavageau (1888 - 1969); and it shows. It's no surprise that he forms such a great rhythmic engine-room partnership with John Dixon. Justin Peake from Alabama was recruited on drums. His light-touch 4/4 style of playing perfectly complements the strong rhythmic base of the music that Tyler and John provide. Even though Justin went off to college, the Dixons still asked him to play with them whenever he was in town.

The versatile and ubiquitous trombone-player Charlie Halloran from St. Louis played with them a great deal - and still occasionally does. And Haruka Kikuchi - the super young trombonist - moved to New Orleans from Japan at the end of 2013 and settled perfectly into the band - as if it fulfilled her dreams. Marla first encountered and recruited Haruka when she heard her busking with Yoshitaka Tsuji in 2014 on Jackson Square. (Yoshitaka, who plays Oscar Peterson-style piano in other bands, has since become Haruka's husband.) That superb musician Ben Polcer (originally from New York), long-time friend of the Dixons and an original member of The Loose Marbles, is very busy on the New Orleans scene; but he still helps out from time to time with The Shotgun Jazz Band, either on piano or - if Marla is unavailable - on trumpet.

Welshman James Evans (reeds) also joined the band at about the same time as Haruka. James told me that when he used to play in the U.K. he would often arrive home from gigs by train in the middle of the night; and that most of his fee would be eaten up by the train fare. He decided to try his luck in New Orleans and his family quickly settled, with his twin children now in school there. He seems to have been snapped up by Marla and John! 'Now,' he said, 'to go to work I have only to walk eight blocks.' As one of the best reed players in the jazz world, James is much in demand and also plays in other New Orleans bands. I could tell that he was a very happy man and really enjoying the fun in working with Marla and John. Just look at him at 3 minutes 26 seconds in this video:-  CLICK HERE.

With such a virtuoso as James on clarinet and sax, and Haruka Kikuchi or Charlie Halloran on trombone, and Tyler Thomson well established on string bass, the Dixons arrived at a line-up that plays gutsy traditional jazz of the most exciting kind. They have rapidly risen to be very special and one of the most entertaining traditional jazz bands in the world.

What a souvenir of my April 2015 visit!
It was a great thrill for me to meet
the dynamic Marla Dixon.

While in town, I spent an evening at The Maison, because The Shotgun Jazz Band was playing there. Someone in the audience asked Marla to play Lady Be Good. I hoped Marla would refuse. I had always thought that tune repetitive and not offering a band much to work on. However, Marla obliged and The Shotgun Jazz Band launched into Lady Be Good. To my amazement, the excitement built up chorus by chorus until it became one of the most sensational performances of a tune that I heard during my entire stay in New Orleans. (It taught me a lesson: I shall no longer have preconceived dislikes of tunes!) After the applause ended, an English band-leader of my acquaintance, who was sitting at a nearby table, came over to me and said, 'If I died right now, I would die a very happy man!' I know exactly what he meant.

Post 91: DRUMMING - DON'T GET ME STARTED

I am in a bad mood today. Sorry, but if you read on, you will have to put up with an old crabstick getting something off his chest.

In 2016 I have heard so much traditional jazz being messed up by bad drumming that I can stay quiet no longer.

The rôle of the drums - or any kind of percussion - in traditional jazz is to inspire the rest of the band by providing a pulse that stirs and stimulates the musicians and audience alike.

Drummers need highly-developed skills, sensitivity and an understanding of the structure of the music. It has been said for many decades that good drumming should be 'felt and not heard'. I think that is exactly the effect percussionists should strive for in every performance.

Some of the finest drumming occurs when it provides a sparing, dainty colouring (for example, behind a clarinet solo). Therefore, drummers should treat their kits delicately, rather than as items to be thrashed.

They must also pick up immediately and correctly the tempo at which the Leader 'beats in' the tune; and they should learn to maintain it like clockwork.

Unfortunately these things do not always happen.

A drummer has power. He can use that power to spoil a performance in a number of ways. One of them is failing to maintain the tempo correctly. I have attended performances where the drummer 'dragged' the tempo, while the front line fought to keep the tune moving. This internal battle was horrible to witness and ruined any chance of making good music.

I saw a leader giving a signal for a quiet chorus and the whole band responded well - apart from the drummer, who continued thrashing everything in sight!

Several of the drummers I have watched in these last few months have been insensitive to what the melody instruments were doing. A typical example was the drummer who was constantly using heavy offbeat cymbal crashes, even when the clarinet was trying to play a delicate, pretty solo chorus.

Quite often I have heard drummers failing to stop during a clarinet's two-bar 'break', thereby horribly spoiling the intended effect.

I could give more examples. But I think I have made my point.

I have occasionally listened to a six-piece or seven-piece band and thought they would actually sound better if they got rid of the drummer, leaving the 'rhythm' to the banjo or guitar and the bass or sousaphone.

The trouble is that anyone can buy a drum kit and call himself a musician. He doesn't need to study music or learn to read it. He simply has to bash various bits of kit and all will be fine. That's how some see it.

You hear bad drummers complain that they are short of gigs. It's no surprise.

Drummers should study closely the work of the greatest percussionists. And fortunately there are plenty of these.

Observe that fine young drummer Justin Peake in this video - CLICK ON TO WATCH. You need watch only the first few minutes (they are playing Climax Rag) to get the point. Justin uses a full range of equipment but he does not thrash it. Note the economy of his wrist movements. Blending with John (banjo) and Tyler (string bass), he maintains a rock-steady four-four beat; and he listens carefully to the front line, stopping at the right moments, and using a cymbal gently but effectively to punctuate. He also shows how to support other players really quietly, for example during the banjo solo chorus and during the 'quiet' chorus that Marla signals.

Another tasteful and sensitive drummer based in New Orleans is Benji Bohannon. You can watch him (also with The Shotgun Jazz Band) by clicking on THIS VIDEO. I hope you will enjoy it.

And for another example of how important well-played percussion can be, listen to an extraordinary, historic recording in which the drummer is only eleven years old - BY CLICKING HERE.

And, although this final example is not exactly traditional jazz, try any recording by the Coon Sanders Nighthawks Orchestra of the 1920s (plenty are on YouTube) and listen to their drummer Carleton Coon. His playing is always discreet, never obtrusive; and yet it propels the band along. That's the way to do it - 'felt and not heard'!

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Footnotes:
Reader Carsten Pigott in England has written to recommend Bill Harty (you can hear him in Lew Stone 1933 recordings - on YouTube). Bill could play robustly and  energetically in a fast-paced piece but could adjust his style and technique when playing slower numbers, such as Al Bowlly ballads with Ray Noble's Orchestra of the same era.  Carsten says 'Charlie Watts, the Rolling Stones' drummer since 1963, is on record as saying that Harty was the best percussionist Britain ever produced'.

Reader Barrie Marshall (Lancaster, England) wrote:
Hi Ivan,

An interesting piece about drummers, Just one thing to say about one particular drummer who was in a band I played with: the effect was opposite, an ex-dance band drummer, I sometimes think they fit in with New Orleans jazz bands better than those who think they know. Anyway, this particular drummer used his brushes all the time and played them gently, so gently sometimes I could not hear him at all, and don't get me started on piano players who tinkle away as musicians do a solo instead of giving them chords and rhythm!

Barrie

Reader Bob Andersen of San Diego wrote:

Reminds me of Baby Dodds line, something like,'' the drummer should be like an idling engine"...