# Music by Genre > Jazz/Blues Variants, Bossa, Choro, Klezmer >  New Orleans String Bands

## DavidKOS

I did a search and couldn't find any links referring to the string bands of New Orleans, a unique style of string band music, very Dixieland oriented.

This is the Six and 7/8 string band:




These guys played in some form from the 20's to about 1960.

----------

Brandon Sumner, 

brunello97, 

derbex

----------


## Jim Garber

Check out *this thread from 2011*.

I think I have the re-issue LP on Folkways. This is the *same one* on Smithsonian as a download or a CD.

----------

brunello97

----------


## DavidKOS

Spelling - I searched 7/8, not spelled out!

Well, I'm glad you guys discovered them.

I've been wanting to put a similar style band together but so far no luck.

----------


## Jim Garber

Interesting article *here* about New Orleans strings bands at the turn of the last century. However...




> It isn’t until the late 1940s that we have recordings of a New Orleans string band, a quartet formed around 1910 and modeled after the bands the players had heard in Anderson’s Annex. This band, Edmond “Doc” Souchon’s 6 7/8 String Band, with rhythm guitar, mandolin, “Hawaiian” slide guitar and bass, may be the best surviving evidence of a string band in the style of collective improvisation on early ragtime, society, pop and novelty tunes played around the turn of the century.


Another blog article *here*.




> The Six and Seven-Eights String Band was recorded 1955-56 by Samuel Charters for the Moses Ash label, issued on a Folkways lp and now available on a custom cd or cassette from Smithsonian. However, there is more material from these sessions not issued on Folkways, but it has been issued lately by the 504 Records (CD28).


That reissue of that additional material is available *here*.

----------

brunello97, 

DavidKOS

----------


## Jim Garber

> I've been wanting to put a similar style band together but so far no luck.


I will be right over... too bad we live on polar opposite coasts.  :Smile: 

Dave, have you listened to the Cheap Suit Serenaders? Those guys were playing sort of that style a few decades ago.

----------

DavidKOS

----------


## DavidKOS

> I will be right over... too bad we live on polar opposite coasts. 
> 
> Dave, have you listened to the Cheap Suit Serenaders? Those guys were playing sort of that style a few decades ago.


Maybe we can play together someday....who knows?

Anyway, Yeah, I heard Crumb's bands, he always got hot players.

Thanks for reminding me of it.

----------


## Marty Jacobson

Is that THE R. Crumb?

----------


## DavidKOS

Yup, he loved that string band /jug band lowbrow jazz.

----------


## Jim Garber

> Is that THE R. Crumb?


He still does and (I believe) lives in Paris. The last time I heard of him musically, he was playing in a French musette ensemble. 

He did the cover for this one and plays on it:



Marty, look at the cover in that video I posted above... he did the artwork. 

Many many years ago he gave a talk at the School of Visual Arts in NY city and after the talk, the Cheap Suit Serenaders gave a concert in the SVA cafeteria. Loads of fun. Somer serious creative folks in that band. Aside from Crumb, there was Robert Armstrong, another excellent cartoonist, and Terry Swigoff a filmmaker who made, among other films, Louie Bluie, about fiddler and mandolinist (requisite mention of mandolin here) Howard Armstrong (no relation to Robert).

Gettting back to the OP's topic... it is interesting that 6&7/8 is the only string band from NOLA who was recorded. Way too bad for that.

----------


## brunello97

> I will be right over... too bad we live on polar opposite coasts. 
> 
> Dave, have you listened to the Cheap Suit Serenaders? Those guys were playing sort of that style a few decades ago.


Jim, can you stop and pick me up on the way out to the coast?  We can get Pablo H and Sheri while we're at it.

Mick

----------


## Jim Garber

> Jim, can you stop and pick me up on the way out to the coast?  We can get Pablo H and Sheri while we're at it.


Road trip!! Watch out I may be on your doorstep sooner than later...

----------


## DavidKOS

I'll fire up the barbecue and we'll have a party.

Just bring some more beer or wine.

----------


## John Morton

String bands were mostly a rural phenomenon - 6 7/8 was a rare exception.  The proto-jazz bands featured violin soloists, but they were squeezed out by louder instruments.  Banjo, guitar and banjo-guitar were always important as the only rhythm/chordal instruments that were portable, unlike a piano.

Interestingly, there is now a wave of string and string/horn combos in N.O. that are having fun with the trad jazz repertoire.  Here's a new string band favorite: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywFOoioTZ8Q
And for horns with full string rhythm:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJudaoLs3GU

----------

DavidKOS, 

Randolph

----------


## bluesmandolinman

[QUOTE=Jim Garber;1333274]He still does and (I believe) lives in Paris. The last time I heard of him musically, he was playing in a French musette ensemble. 


Check this out :

Crumb´s mandolin blues  :Cool:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsAJC9jGczY

----------


## SincereCorgi

> String bands were mostly a rural phenomenon - 6 7/8 was a rare exception.


I dunno, man, Jelly Roll Morton mentions string trios (I think guitars and mandolins?) as being very common house party instrumentations of his youth in New Orleans. I think the tradition had simply died out by the time recording technology got good enough to record the softer instruments.

----------


## Mark-o

Hey David

Just joined up, and the first thing I see is yer smiling' face. 

Interesting stuff about NO string bands and the Six & Seven Eights in particular. 

I'll be at Lark next summer, let's find some time to play some of this stuff.

All the best!

----------

DavidKOS

----------


## DavidKOS

Great...hope to see you!

----------

