PHOTOS OF THE BAND AND CONCERT - CONCERT PHOTOS | REHEARSAL PHOTOS

KULSHAN CHORUS
IN THE LAND OF JAZZ
MUSIC OF THE 1920's and BEYOND
TRADITIONAL JAZZ (Dixieland)
with the UPTOWN LOWDOWN JAZZ BAND of Seattle.
April 10, 2004
Bellingham High School Auditorium

Dear website browsers and fans of the Kulshan Chorus,

In my opinion, the social redefinition of the 1960’s – 70’s pales in comparison to the social awakening of the 1920’s. Following the chaos and disillusionment of World War I, America saw religious conservatism at loggerheads with awakening liberalism. The enactment of Prohibition stood in juxtaposition to the voice of the Suffragettes; a society of modest restraint was replaced with the new look of liberation. Floor-length dresses of immense weight were replaced by sheer flapper bareness. Life, and the music of that era was creative and raw.

The music for our concert is from that era. It is from “the other side of the tracks.” The music of the immodest, the repressed, of those “stepping out.” They had a lot to say. The music is steamy, a jazz that spoke of life as it really was. The dreamy “bubble” of the 1890’s had popped.

Such classics as “Cakewalking Babies,” “Hot Time In the Old Town Tonight,” and “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” will be mixed with great jug band music as: “Don’t Give All the Lard Away,” and “The Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me.” Sultry blues like “Women Be Wise,” and “I Want A Little Sugar In My

Bowl,” will be matched by Jazz versions of “Octopus’s Garden,” and “The Vatican Rag.” A hoot of a good time.

Uptown Lowdown specializes in vintage music of the 1920's: the music of Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver and Sidney Bechet as well as the music of the 1940's revival style of Lu Watters, Bob Scobey and Turk Murphy.
This band has become a northwest jazz institution, thrilling audiences for 30+ years. They are in high demand, playing somewhere in the nation nearly every weekend. I first heard them in 1974, wondering if I might ever have the chance to “work with them.” Now is the time. This band is among the finest.
---- Roger Griffith, KC Musical Director

SET LIST for the Concert

SET 1
Cakewalking Babes - solo Kim
Hot Time in the Old Town - solo Sonja
Oh, Daddy - solo Colleen
Mississippi Rag - BAND
Georgia On My Mind - Solo Marvin
Big Butter and Egg Man - Solo Sonja
Sentimental Gentleman From Georgia - Small Group*
Waiting for the Robert E. Lee - BAND
Lonesomest Gal In Town - solo Kate
Women Be Wise - solo Parker & Kim
Scissors Grinder Joe - BAND
Blues My Naughty Sweetie ... - solo Mary
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SET 2
Beal Street Blues - BAND
Octopus's Garden
I Want a Little Sugar in May Bowl - solo Parker
Struttin' With Some Barbecue - BAND
A Good Man is Hard to Find - solo Anne
Fascinating Rhythm
Button Up Your Overcoat - Goodie, Gooodie - I Want to Be Happy - Small Group*
Riverboat Shuffle - BAND
Chicken Cordon Blues
Don't Give All The Lard Away - solo Chad
Mekuteneste Mayne - solo Mary
Row,Row, Row - solo Sarah

* Small Group consists of some real dedicated and talented gals:
The T'Laya Acapella Sextet: C. Parker, Kim Duff, Jan Jung, Disa Marnsdotter, Diane Leigh, Mitzi Moore

Defining Dixieland Jazz

In Civil War times, many towns had a bandstand in the park. Without radio, records or TV, a brass band would entertain with weekend concerts. Before the 1880’s, composers would write a melody, orchestrated for a small ensemble. Bands would always play the tune precisely as it was written down. Eventually, small groups of musicians began to “improvise on the melody”- to "Jazz" it up. If we define 'Jazz' as the free improvisation on a melody, then "Dixieland Jazz" is often associated with bands originally playing in America's 'Southland', specifically New Orleans. But, in fact, in the 1920’s, “jazz” was being played over a very large area of the U.S.A. including, Memphis, St. Louis, Texas, Chicago, including the lively 'Barrelhouse' music of San Francisco.

The Fusion of Musical Styles That Became “Dixieland”

In the South, bands would play 'ensemble style' - no solos - with different musicians 'Jazzing', the melody. This is what came to be called "Dixieland Jazz". When this style moved north to St. Louis, Detroit, and Chicago, it changed. Due to the influence of Bix Beiderbecke, instrumental soloing became a feature of Dixieland Jazz. Louis Armstrong and others would use Bix's idea and expand on it. And, Dixieland changed into a 'hard driving' form. In America's South, music seemingly 'unfurled' in front of you: a gentle style of playing. In the North, the music reflected a hard driving, hustling urban life of business, saloons, gangsters, bootleg 'hooch', and JAZZ. The 1920s are called "The Jazz Age.” Ladies shortened their tresses, bobbed their hair, hiked up their skirts, rolled down their stockings, and rouged their lips. Men dressed in the new styles of suits, slicked down their hair, and - it seemed - the entire world was listening to, and dancing - publicly - to Jazz.

So, one might say that jazz is the Americanization of New Orleans music developed by Creoles, occurring at a time when ragtime, blues, spirituals, marches, and popular "tin pan alley" music were all converging.
I hope you will join us,
Roger Griffith, Musical Director, Kulshan Chorus

 

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