I often receive requests and suggestions from readers concerning what I should write about. For example: 'How about an article on the life and work of George Lewis, the great clarinet player, who died in 1968?'
Writing such an article would involve me in a great deal of time and research. And I would be unable to come up with anything new - that is to say, anything not already available if you search for it on the internet.
I don't want to spend my time, as the saying goes, 're-inventing the wheel'. That is why I do not tackle such subjects.
So today may I point out to you that there is a vast amount of information available if you care to look for it. Wikipedia is obviously a possible starting point. And there are many sites specifically related to our kind of music.
I would like specially to mention one you may not have come across. The full 15-volume archive of the magazine New Orleans Music (incorporating Footnote) has been placed at our disposal by some fine, generous and dedicated people. They have gone to the enormous trouble of providing a large Index, which leads you to information about the musicians and bands (including many of the more obscure) who were important in the history of our music from the end of the Nineteenth Century onward. The magazine ceased publication in 2010.
To discover these riches, CLICK HERE.
