The "Trad" Jazz Revival

In an earlier post, I talked about the tree of jazz history and its different branches. One of the more interesting moments when jazz sprouted off in different directions was the early 50s. Just as bebop was taking off, a movement spread across the country embracing Dixieland, or traditional (now "trad") jazz. Looking back, there's a strange racial aspect to it- this was music created and popularized by black musicians earlier in the century, and in the fifties it was a lily-white crew. It's a tradition that's carried on to this day, where outside of New Orleans its a very white, nostalgic style. This particular branch also seems like it's been pruned; no new Dixieland is ever written.



Nostalgic or not, the trad jazz revival of the late forties/early fifties produced some wonderful music. Edward "Kid" Ory was one of the stars of the genre- just listen to the way his trombone slides around on the outside of the melody. One of the things I love about this kind of music is how the instruments all have a raucous, solo expression of their own, but they overlap sinuously into harmonies. Listen to how the trumpet, clarinet and trombone literally tease and encourage each other. This is the heart of trad jazz.