Today's playlist. For the eighth installment, I'm featuring "Dynamic Directional Dixie," a jazz record I bought at Flash Disc Ranch, my favorite record store in Shimokitazawa.
This is a record store I've been going to ever since I first moved to Setagaya. It's popular because of its amazing point card system, which is valid as long as the store is open. Once you collect 50 stamps, you can buy any number of records under 15,000 yen for half price.
Shimokitazawa: A place that makes you want to spontaneously get off the train on your way home on the Odakyu Line.
Whenever I get off at Shimokitazawa, I always stop by here and buy a few records.
The record I chose today from among them is a classic American jazz record by Dick Cathcart.
Dick Cathcart (Charles Richard Cathcart, November 6, 1924 – November 8, 1993) was an American Dixieland trumpeter, best known for his appearances on the Lawrence Welk Show from 1962 to 1968.
Cathcart was born in Michigan City, United States.U.S. He was a trumpeter in the Army Air Force Band and also a member of a big band led by Bob Crosby, Ben Pollack, and Ray Noble.
Apparently, the genre of jazz that Dick Cathcart plays is called Dixieland jazz.
Dixieland jazz, also known as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz that developed in New Orleans in the early 20th century.
It's characterized by one instrument (usually a trumpet) playing a melody, or a recognizable variation or alteration of it, while other "frontline" instruments improvise around that melody. In any case, their refined sense is truly impressive.
