"Low Joe" is famous!

[BopEuph]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hot-Cotton-Jaz ... SwhqFeA1ph

[Yadent]

Also “ Rare, Hard-To-Find”........

[bloke]

22 bucks is a lot for a group of tunes that you can listen to on YouTube.
My high school band director’s son is a fine jazz clarinetist and saxophonist. (His dad, my band director, was a fine jazz trombonist.) The son is a few years older than me, and was the first person to introduce me to traditional (Dixieland) jazz.
He started calling me that, and it seem to stick through a few different bands I played with (even though I didn’t tell anyone about him calling me that), because some of the same musicians played in some of the other bands, and they would call me that in front of other people.
Even my college band director (who caught wind of it) called me that, and even when we were in wind ensemble rehearsals...
...so my high school band director’s son first called me that (I was probably a college sophomore) in the winter of 1976, and it seem to stick at least through 1984 through several jazz bands, and even throughout my college band director’s life, and he lived until about three years ago...
...ex: [ring] hello?
“Hey Low Joe, I’m scrambling for a band to cover commencement, because everyone’s heading home after the last day of school…Are you available...??“ and/or “Hey Low Joe, Can you play at my church’s Christmas pageant again this year?“...
...and yeah, the world-renowned gynecologist who is also a cornet player (now: in his 90’s) and was that band’s leader (ref: recording) caught wind of that nickname as well.

[BopEuph]

Wow, posting this got a cool story out of it! That's pretty cool, and maybe you should bring Low Joe back!

[bloke]

Wow, posting this got a cool story out of it! That's pretty cool, and maybe you should bring Low Joe back!

It may partially be related to the fact that my siblings are both over a decade older than me... and/or because I started grade school when I was five years old…but I always seemed to have mostly associated with people a few years (or quite a few years) older than myself.
I have two or three friends (yeah…former fellow jazzmen) who are approaching or have reached age 70. They occasionally call me on the
phone, and begin the conversations, “Hey Low Joe...”

[Doc]

So... You've been keeping "Low Joe" on the down low, Joe?

[bloke]

I’ve been “bloke” on these pages for at least a dozen years.
Some of us tend to fall into braggadocious attitudes, with our little “positions“ and such…(I’ve caught myself falling into that, and tried to immediately back off), but it occurred to me (when registering) that the moniker would do two things:
> It would serve as a constant reminder to me that I’m just a guy in the back who plays slow notes, and - if deemed by some to be “good”...that nearly always means “for a tuba player“ ...and – if my repair work is deemed to be “good“, perhaps that’s motivated by an oversized ego, because I don’t want people seeing things that I did, and wrinkling their faces and judging them to be substandard. I avoid the terms “technician”/“tech”, and certainly avoid the words “journeyman“, and “master”. Moreover, I am a “guy“.
> At least at first, it occurred to me that “bloke“ would be easy to remember, because it’s the first initial and last name of one of my forebears, backwards.

I tend to speak plainly and frankly. Most often, I don’t temper what I believe to be real with words such as “possibly“ or “perhaps“. I know that my written prose offends some people. I do not believe that I can change. I have never had a full-time “job“ (always prepared to sever ties any part-time employer (typically: long-term gigmeisters or repair customers), if “the deal“ is no longer right…much like cats - who live with people), so I haven’t spent a whole lot of time patronizing superiors, thus my patronizing skills tend to be fairly lean.
As to “low joe”, I’ll answer to it, but am more accustomed to answering to it to those with whom I have a history of answering to it.
... Though I just bumped it, I’ll probably be pretty glad when this thread sags to page 2 or 3.

[Doc]

"Now you can call me Joe, or you can call me Low, or you can call me Joey, or you can call me Jody, or you can call me bloke, or you can call me broke; now you can call me Sell J, or you can call me BJ, or you can call me BLJ, or you can call me The Real J but you doesn't hasta call me LOW JOE!""



*Youngsters need not apply*

[Three Valves]

I didn't notice the moniker on "Riverboat Shuffle" I'll have another look.

Mine was 14.95 with shipping included. Minty, never opened!!



I also had a $5 AMZ gift card and about the same in rewards from my Discover Card.

[sdloveless]

There's a short, slightly different, bio of all the band members on the back of both volumes of Stompin' Room Only. Joe is not referred to as "Low Joe" on either.

[bloke]

I didn't notice the moniker on "Riverboat Shuffle" I'll have another look

Dr. George M. Ryan, I have to believe, scripted all of the back-of-l.p.'s blather.

He (again: women's doctor - now, in his 90's) was born in Mississippi, but practiced in Boston and taught at Harvard Medical School, prior to be recruited by the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

helluva cornet player...no ego, though...

George Ryan.png (25.42 KiB) Viewed 940 times

pro'lly c. 1982

The thing is that most of those guys were in their 50's, one was in their 60's, and I was in my 20's...so I was treated as if a kid.
On one three-week tour of the UK and the Netherlands, two of them got international driver licenses...("bloke/low joe won't need one"), but they would DRINK-DRINK-DRINK (as if on a college band trip) and then tell ME that I had to drive the backwards-set-up 5-speed van back to the hotel. Of course, it was dark...and I did NOT drive to the gig (nor to the place we ate dinner), so (with no driver license) I got to where I felt a good bit "put upon". (The fabulous trombone player - in his 40's - was clever enough to always make his own sleeping/mobility arrangements. I mimicked him, on subsequent tours.)

[The Big Ben]

Now knowing all this, I almost have to buy that LP, although I no longer own a turntable.

Jeff "Maybe I should buy the equipment and start a garden shed LP-MP3 transcription outfit" Benedict

[bloke]

Here's the whole "Take Your Tomorrow" l.p. (George Buck owns these cuts.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRQPAzK ... 1PJ3apw5JI

There are a couple of tunes that George Buck (NOLA record producer) told George Ryan to "tack on" that were NOT the Hot Cotton Jazz Band...because Mr. Buck thought the "Take Your Tomorrow" l.p. didn't have enough cuts on it...so Ryan pulled some cassette-recorded stuff from one of the Memphis Jazz Festival sets and gave them to Mr. Buck...Though (I believe) it was the legendary Milt Hinton, there are some wrong bass changes on one of those, and I didn't want to get blamed.

In the same afternoon at Ardent Studios, we also recorded all the cuts for the l.p. "Riverboat Shuffle", which we ("the band") owned.

I played a bit more Ampeg bass on the cuts for "Take Your Tomorrow", and tuba on more of the cuts chosen from "Riverboat Shuffle".

I used my F tuba because it was smaller than an E-flat sousaphone (as I was always ALSO hauling the bass and a Polytone amp), and because it was easier to play in tune than the E-flat sousaphone. If I had the Besson comp-E-flat (then) that I have (now), I'm CERTAIN that I would have used that.

Here are most of the Riverboat Shuffle l.p. tunes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyDT2zVO4pE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWCLQcTNRV8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-HSOQ3gB98
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwal_H6TgnY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi449sv0BUI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yLCj4qYT6M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgwsArJH6EI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU3ooyXYv4s

This is one of my ABSOLUTE favorites that we played (sorry: bass...not tuba)...a Jelly Roll Morton tune...
again: We had NO lead sheets, NO charts, JUST played.


ANOTHER favorite of mine was this King Oliver tune (from 1923)...(also: bass)


Our regular Sunday afternoon bar gig was our "rehearsals", and where we taught ourselves new songs.


At the bar gig, we had to play some stuff that people could dance to...but we tried to make the dance numbers "special", such as this one:


The ONLY tune that featured a punch (repair/something stuck in or replaced later) was (another dance tune) "SUGAR"...I quoted Bix's version of the verse (note-for-note...just as he did it) on the TUBA - with the tenor guitar accompanying me. I left out four bars of BASS playing in the chorus (to set the tuba down, and pick up the bass), and then went back and put in those four bars of bass playing later.

The bar was always packed when we were setting up. The bartender told me one time, "You know, these folks show up at 11:30 so they can get a good table for when you guys show up at 1:00." (I believe the blue laws - at that time - dictated that liquor could not be served until 1:00 P.M. on Sundays).

We tried to not repeat very much stuff at that regular gig (unless requested) for a least a month. We usually played three long sets.
I do NOT recall having ever played "When the Saints Go Marching In", "Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home", "Back Home, Again, In Indiana", nor "Sweet Georgia Brown" with that band.

[BopEuph]

Man, the recording quality of these is pretty great. I ONLY wish there was a bit more punch to the bass, but that's just the bass player talking. Man, those were some heavy players, too!

We tried to not repeat very much stuff at that regular gig (unless requested) for a least a month. We usually played three long sets.
I do NOT recall having ever played "When the Saints Go Marching In", "Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home", "Back Home, Again, In Indiana", nor "Sweet Georgia Brown" with that band.

Ah, the dream trad band. In every pickup band, it's "Saints, when in doubt."

[Doc]

We tried to not repeat very much stuff at that regular gig (unless requested) for a least a month. We usually played three long sets.
I do NOT recall having ever played "When the Saints Go Marching In", "Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home", "Back Home, Again, In Indiana", nor "Sweet Georgia Brown" with that band.

These weren't requests? You must have kept them well-satisfied with everything else. Or they possessed some musical intelligence. Or were entirely clueless (not a bad thing at all). I suspect they were satisfied. And no one had to play worn out tunes. WOOHOO!

Wasn't it the Preservation Hall Band (the old days) that had a request board with Saints being the most expensive? I seem to recall Saints was $25, but most of the rest were pocket change. Am I remembering this correctly, or am I thinking of somewhere else?

[bloke]

We tried to not repeat very much stuff at that regular gig (unless requested) for a least a month. We usually played three long sets.
I do NOT recall having ever played "When the Saints Go Marching In", "Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home", "Back Home, Again, In Indiana", nor "Sweet Georgia Brown" with that band.

These weren't requests? You must have kept them well-satisfied with everything else. Or they possessed some musical intelligence. Or were entirely clueless (not a bad thing at all). I suspect they were satisfied. And no one had to play worn out tunes. WOOHOO!

Wasn't it the Preservation Hall Band (the old days) that had a request board with Saints being the most expensive? I seem to recall Saints was $25, but most of the rest were pocket change. Am I remembering this correctly, or am I thinking of somewhere else?

Even 40 years ago, the bandleader (who was not hurting for dough) said, "If we're going to put on these navy blazers, grey slacks, black dress shoes, white dress shirts, and dark red ties with cotton bolls on them (for three hours on a Sunday afternoon, and for only $75/man) we are going to entertain ourselves, FIRST !!! When people requested crap, we would ignore those requests...but the people who would crowd into that venue mostly knew to not request crap...

...and George grabbed the mic - right after each tune, and began talking about the NEXT tune IMMEDIATELY after the (well...) applause ended. He would go into the next tune's history (or whatever) until his lip felt ready for the next tune...so it was difficult for people to shoehorn in requests of trite crap. clarification: We were NOT beneath doing things such as "St. James Infirmary Blues", etc...

We received MANY requests to play a couple of Wilber DeParis tunes: "Wrought Iron Rag" and (actually...Do you know this one, Bill...?? We performed them JUST LIKE the records)..."Martinique"...
Having (yes...??) now heard cuts of OUR band, you can hear-in-your-head how VERY well we could emulate Wilber De Paris' band...

[Three Valves]

I didn't notice the moniker on "Riverboat Shuffle" I'll have another look.

Nope, just plain Joe.

[humBell]

"Hey, Low Joe"

No one took the opportunity to say "Hi, Low Joe"?

Oh well.

I also chose tuba forum handle to remind me not to get too full of myself. Which is a greater risk, as i am not so well grounded.

[Doc]

Even 40 years ago, the bandleader (who was not hurting for dough) said, "If we're going to put on these navy blazers, grey slacks, black dress shoes, white dress shirts, and dark red ties with cotton bolls on them (for three hours on a Sunday afternoon, and for only $75/man) we are going to entertain ourselves, FIRST !!! When people requested crap, we would ignore those requests...but the people who would crowd into that venue mostly knew to not request crap...

If you have a crowd of regulars that knows the deal, that's nice. With my regular band, we sometimes get requests for the songs that only come from fools and drunks. Mustang Sally, Sweet Home Alabama, Freebird. Our band leader will sometimes ask them if that's the best they can do. Other times, he tells them we'll do it for $200 per man. Sometimes, we get someone who asks us to play a rock song (somehow this became a thing country bands did decades ago - pandering to all to make more money - to the point some people simply expect you to play rock songs; our band can, but we don't). He'll ask them if they request a George Jones song at a rock show. The answer is always some form of "no." He follows up with, "You won't ask a rock band to play country, but you'll ask a country band to play rock?" The typical response is, "Well, I never thought of it like that."

...and George grabbed the mic - right after each tune, and began talking about the NEXT tune IMMEDIATELY after the (well...) applause ended. He would go into the next tune's history (or whatever) until his lip felt ready for the next tune...so it was difficult for people to shoehorn in requests of trite crap. clarification: We were NOT beneath doing things such as "St. James Infirmary Blues", etc...

It's smart to not give the drunks and fools an opportunity. Plus, when there is no white noise/dead time in the show, that keeps patrons from getting bored, complaining, or leaving, and the bar likes them (and their money) to stick around.

We received MANY requests to play a couple of Wilber DeParis tunes: "Wrought Iron Rag" and (actually...Do you know this one, Bill...?? We performed them JUST LIKE the records)..."Martinique"...
Having (yes...??) now heard cuts of OUR band, you can hear-in-your-head how VERY well we could emulate Wilber De Paris' band...

I've heard that tune, but I don't know it well. I bet you guys ate up those tunes. Too bad there aren't more recordings of ya'll.

[jtm]

If you have a crowd of regulars that knows the deal, that's nice. With my regular band, we sometimes get requests for the songs that only come from fools and drunks. Mustang Sally, Sweet Home Alabama, Freebird. Our band leader will sometimes ask them if that's the best they can do. Other times, he tells them we'll do it for $200 per man. Sometimes, we get someone who asks us to play a rock song (somehow this became a thing country bands did decades ago - pandering to all to make more money - to the point some people simply expect you to play rock songs; our band can, but we don't). He'll ask them if they request a George Jones song at a rock show. The answer is always some form of "no." He follows up with, "You won't ask a rock band to play country, but you'll ask a country band to play rock?" The typical response is, "Well, I never thought of it like that."

...

Now I'm hearing the Blues Brothers playing Rawhide from inside the cage....