Dixieland

Dixieland or Dixie is a name for the south-eastern portion of the USA; see: U.S. Southern States, Dixie. This article is about the musical genre.

Modern Dixieland

Today there are three main active streams of Dixieland jazz:

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1. Chicago style is often applied to the sound of Chicagoans such as Eddie Condon, Muggsy Spanier, and Bud Freeman. The rhythm sections of these bands substitute the string bass for the tuba and the guitar for the banjo. Musically, the Chicagoans play in more of a swing-style 4-to-the-bar manner with emphasis on the backbeat (ie. beats two and four). The New Orleanian preference for an ensemble sound is deemphasized in favor of solos. Chicago-style dixieland also differs from its southern origin by being faster paced, resembling the hustle-bustle of city life. Chicago-style bands play a wide variety of tunes, including most of those of the more traditional bands plus many of the Great American Songbook selections from the 1930s by George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin. Non-Chicagoans such as Pee Wee Russell and Bobby Hackett are often thought of as playing in this style. This modernized style came to be called Nicksieland, after Nick's Greenwich Village night club, where it was popular. though the term was not limited to that club. Eventually, this music came to be called Mainstream jazz, a term popularized by British critic Stanley Dance.

Related Topics:
Eddie Condon - Muggsy Spanier - Bud Freeman - String bass - Tuba - Guitar - Banjo - Backbeat - Great American Songbook - George Gershwin - Jerome Kern - Cole Porter - Irving Berlin - Pee Wee Russell - Bobby Hackett - Nick's Greenwich Village - Stanley Dance

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2. The West Coast revival is a movement begun in the late 1930s by the Lu Watters Yerba Buena Jazz Band of San Francisco and extended by trombonist Turk Murphy. It started out as a backlash to the Chicago style, which is closer in development towards swing. The repertoire of these bands is based on the music of Joe "King" Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, and W.C. Handy. Bands playing in the West Coast style use banjo and tuba in the rhythm sections, which play in a 2-to-the-bar rhythmic style. The sound of San Fransican good time music is added. Watters was fixated on reproducing the recorded sound of King Oliver's band with Armstrong on second trumpet. Since the Oliver recordings were acoustic, they had no drums, so Watters omitted the drums as well, even though Oliver had drums when he played live.

Related Topics:
Swing - Joe "King" Oliver - Jelly Roll Morton - Louis Armstrong - Good time

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3. The New Orleans Traditional revival movement began with the rediscovery of Bunk Johnson in 1942 and was extended by the founding of Preservation Hall in the French Quarter during the 1960s. Bands playing in this style use string bass and banjo in the rhythm section playing 4-to-the-bar and feature popular tunes and Gospel Hymns that were played in New Orleans since the early 20th century such as "Ice Cream," "You Tell Me Your Dream," "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" and some tunes from the New Orleans brass band literature.

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There are also active traditionalist scenes around the world, especially in Britain and Australia.

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Famous traditional Dixieland tunes include: "Muskrat Ramble", "Struttin' With Some Barbecue", "Tiger Rag", "Dippermouth Blues" "Milenburg Joys", "Basin Street Blues", "Tin Roof Blues", the hymn "Just a Closer Walk With Thee", and many others. All of these tunes were widely played by jazz bands of both races of the pre-WWII era, especially Louis Armstrong. They came to be grouped as Dixieland standards beginning in the 1950s.

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