Yet more No-Ducks to Don

Mattias Hallin Mattias.Hallin at jurenh.lu.se
Tue Feb 1 16:23:09 CET 1994


DON:

    Just another question, related to your last posting: did you intend to say
that you see a marked difference between the concepts "jazz" and "swing"? Of
course, all jazz is not swing -- there are many other styles -- but isn't all
(real) swing also jazz? That would be my opinion, anyway... Of course, not all
dance-music c. 1935-1945 is jazz, but if it's not that, then to my mind it
doesn't qualify very well for the label "swing", either.

Oh, and talking of labeling music, I don't particularly care for the these days
VERY generic and non-descript term  "dixieland"; but rather call all revivalist
pre-1945 styles INCLUDING swing "traditional" jazz, and then sub-label the
branches, the three major ones to my mind being "classic jazz", "swing" and
"mainstream trad", with any number of further sub-division possible. On the
other hand, this is NOT an issue I find particularly intersting for debate,
since labels on music are usually either iconoclastic and narrow, or wide and
non-descript; and because we all have our own definitions anyway. Duke
Ellington had a point indeed, when he said that he divided music into two
categories only: good or bad!

And as I said, I also DO play some swing; I have a long-lasting love-affair
with "the clock that laughs" -- the acoustic swing-style rhythm-guitar!

SORRY everybody, for these off-topic postings, but as I said, I don't want Don
to have to pay extra for my ramblings on favourite subjects besides ducks...

All the usual...

Mattias



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