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I don't see the Ride and Meistersinger.

My mistake, I stand corrected

Wow, that's a really thorough and comprehensive list.

(In a strange sort of way, it's actually amazing to see all those tunes listed in one place, and realize that there isn't a single one that I haven't played [from memory] at one time or another in my career).

Yes, looks simple if you been playing for 30-40 years. I'll bet the short list will be all you need in a few more years. Most of this stuff is already 100 years old... but then again not as old as some of the things we play when we wear the tux and make the small bucks$ I notice that several years ago folks use to nod there head and maybe mouth a few words... now I play these tunes at a cocktail party and its like - man my grandmother doesn't even remember that one!

Favorite slow tunes - Sleepy Time Down South, Rockin' Chair. New Orleans
Favorite Fast Tunes - Lime House Blues, Indiana, Cherokee
Medium - Lonesome Road - listen to Muggsy Spanier -

Us southern boys don't have to busy ourselves with polka gigs, so we can concentrate on this stuff all year!

Tuba Jazz will do more for your chops than Kopprasch!

Not too long ago at a gig we had an impassioned request for "Shine On, Harvest Moon", which I don't see on there (and which we didn't know then and still don't.)

I'm surprised to see "Sheik of Araby" went in "Second Priority Tunes." Also "Home", which is a great tune, and "Yes Sir, That's My Baby", which isn't.

>>http://americanmusiccaravan.com/dixmust.html<<

This is the website of David Littlefield, a banjo player in the DC area. Dave works at the Library of Congress, and has forgotten more about the trad stuff than most of us will ever know. If you're looking for trad fake books, his are pretty solid, and there's a boatload of songs in them.

Bloke and Tim are correct, there's not nearly as many people who know the titles and words to these songs as there used to be. Sadly, there's fewer working musicians who know the older rep as well. There's some great old songs back there that just don't get played anymore, and it's a shame.

As far as a comprehensive list of songs, I've found that different areas of the country and different cities each have their own "here's-fifty-songs-you-GOTTA-know" list, and they vary widely. There are songs I'd play in Baltimore regularly that guys on the DC circuit didn't know. The first few times I played on the west coast, I realized I didn't know nearly as many songs as I thought I did. Quite a wake-up call. That said, Dave's list at the above link is a great start. Good idea to have it on the phone, ready to go.

Bloke that reminds me, yes just like pop music of today, there's a much better connection with the audience with vocals. Just about everything in pop music since 1950 has been about vocals. You players know the drill... band is playing there butts off with little response from the audience then the singer comes up and get applause right out of the gate. So, if anyone thinks about putting a band together and having some fun with this stuff, go on and get a cute chick with a mousey little 20s voice and you will probably do much better.

A great model for successful trad jazz for today's crowd - google - Post Modern Juke Box (band).
Put it together - outfits included and you will have a chance at having a lot of fun.

I'm doing a Great Gatsby Theme party this Friday with my 8 piece band. 1st half retro 20's will be great fun. 2nd half I grab the electric and do all the funky R&B with some retro highlights like Minnie The Moocher, Hit The Road Jack, Choo Choo Ch Boogie, Puttin' On The Ritz.
It's gonna be a big night$$

Love pop music of all ages!
Tim

bloke wrote: Finally, I seem to be just about the only guy in bands in which I play who seems to know the words to SOME of the songs...so I'm the one who croaks on SOME of the songs.

So, who plays the bass line while you're "croaking"?

Speaking of croaking, when I first started playing trad jazz (30+ years ago), the audiences mostly had one foot in the grave THEN, and even quite a few of them didn't know the names or lyrics of the tunes, and the ones that did know them first heard them as the "recent oldies" of their day.

It's basically old pop music; so old, that there isn't anybody left on the planet that remembers when it was actually popular.

Tim Jackson wrote: go on and get a cute chick with a mousey little 20s voice

Helen Kane!

I've been playing the Heck out of American Patrol (I had no idea Glenn Miller only covered it) and Washington and Lee Swing (fight song) out of this...

http://creolejazzband.com/Downloads/Tub ... ublish.pdf" target="_blank" target="_blank


I have to admit, many other tunes are not that "catchy"

Hey can I play this music on a 4/4 Walter Nirschl CC?



Just kidding. I already am... and it sounds just fine.

I have the good fortune to live in one of the few parts of the country where this music has been played continuously since it was new. We still get crowds; new generations of older folks mostly, but they know the tunes and many of them know the words and are happy to sing along when given the opportunity. Occasionally we get a wedding or anniversary gig where friends and relatives from out of state are thrilled to hear our kind of music again since it is no longer being played where they live.
-Art-

http://galvanizedjazz.com

Great list. I have played most of these. It is tough to keep them all gig-ready w/o a steady stream of this type of gig, though.

I'm playing a lot more trad. jazz here in Austin than I did in NY. Actually, as far as paid gigs go, I've become almost exclusively a trad. jazz player here (in the live music capitol of the world - ha). And, I play every week, for the most part. So, I find I know a lot of the tunes on this list just from playing them so much.

A few of the bands I play in, use books. For those, I scanned the books into my new ipad. I can get to a tune faster than anybody using a book on my ipad. For the strolling gigs, I have a load of tunes on iReal Pro. If someone calls a tune I don't know, I take out the iphone and find it on that app. It's just chord changes, but it works. I have no excuses now.

That is a great basic list - many of them are in my main band's book already. we can fake the rest with no problem. San Francisco area bands also have to know the Lu Watters and Turk Murphy originals when we play for the "old trad farts," but for the typical civilian gig those will do quite well. The most important thing is to know the melody and bass line for all of them by heart - often there is no time to be digging out a fake book on a strolling gig!

I did not grow up knowing most of these songs (born in 1950) but it did not take long to shift from Rock to Trad when I started playing in the 70s. Having access to the Watters and Murphy charts helped a bit, but it was mostly just listening to all the old records that did it for me.