These guys look like their dressed for landscaping work, this is the sort of sloppy look jazz-oriented groups seem to have gravitated toward, when did jazz musicians decide it was OK to look like they're going shopping at Wal-Mart?
Gees, and they got those uniforms specially for the American tour and the Sacramento Jazz Festival. With an Aussie group you are lucky they are not wearing T-shirts, shorts and thongs (shoes, I hasten to point out).
Certainly, if you are playing a formal function, then a tux may be appropriate. I believe that, providing the jazz is first class, what does it matter what they wear? Evan once told me that every time Tom Baker appeared at the Sacramento festival, the crowd followed him from tent to tent. They obviously did not care a hoot what he wore.
The video I posted prieviously and which followed the Wal-Marti uniforms is of Tom playing at the Strawberry Hills hotel in Australia and is much more typical of a traditional jazz band hereabouts. However, you have to remember they played in the public bar of a pub in a pretty rough area of Sydney. That particular pub is no longer featuring jazz and the area has been taken over by the inevitable bloody poker machines.
The downstairs windows on the left of this picture are the ones behind Tom in the video.
Myself, I tend to favour a uniform look for my band but it does not get much smarter than the frontline wearing all black and the rhythm section wearing white shirts
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Sam is correct about the pay though! That is the reason there are not too many jazz professionals in Australia. The real exception to that is James Morrison, perhaps because he is the only one with a business head. And a superstar to boot!
A couple more videos of Tom Baker, featuring those Fireworks uniforms that Paul likes so much.
I suspect Paul was a bit tongue-in-cheek with his criticism:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHgxAOZBb60&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CODjD6VIbnM&feature=related
Hey, listen to the audience reacting to a bit of Aussie trad.
And a couple more to show Tom's multi instrumental talents. Here playing with his Aussie lady, Janet Seidel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLnmMDQjUHE
And here on trumpet with Rebecca Kilgore; an American vocalist I like a lot who is normally heard with Dan Barrett - Tom's long-time best mate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAeZTkJm4VM
We miss you Tom!
They do seem to be aiming at a different audience:
, wear shorts. It does get pretty hot hearabouts and many of the events are outdoors.
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is a never-ending challenge. Bet on it.
and you are so right when you say that rythm section could make a brick swing. 