New Orleans Jazz – News and Views – Kid Thomas

Kid Thomas Valentine – Trumpet – Vocals and a bag of tricks! Born Reserve Louisiana 3rd February 1896. Died 16th June 1987 In New Orleans.

Let’s get the history out of the way: Kid Thomas was a band leader from 1922 onward and led bands all over Louisiana, but always remained based in New Orleans.

I want to quote from “The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD” by Richard Cook and Brian Morton. Their brilliant words on the subject cannot be bettered. “He approached this awesome career with a Zen-like simplicity, reducing the New Orleans sound to its essentials and creating a lifetime’s work from them. A fascinating lead trumpeter – his method, including a strict observance of the melody, a blunt jabbing attack and a vibrato that sounds like an angry trill, managed to create high drama and lyrical depth alike. He seldom took solos, he was such a strong lead voice he tended to dominate every band he played with.”

Kid Thomas made the most amazing number of recordings, and many of them are available to you on CD right now! But first a warning: the music and these musicians produce a sound that is like fine wine or great coffee – you may take some time to acquire the taste: but when you do you, like me, will become addicted for life.

Try from 1961 “Kid Thomas – George Lewis Ragtime Stompers” on GHB bcd-5. a true classic. Try “The December Band” from 1965 on GHB BCD – 197 and BCD – 198. Then try “New Orleans, The Living Legends” Kid Thomas and his Algiers Stompers on Riverside OCJCCD – 1833 -2 from 1961.

This is one of the rare occasions when I had the great good fortune to be personally acquainted with Kid Thomas and to count Albert Burbank and Emmanuel Paul as very dear friends. In 1963- 4 I toured with Kid Thomas and Emmanuel Paul all over the U.K. on their tour with the Kid Martyn Ragtime Band. My payment for using my band bus and driving for many miles was the pleasure and yes, honour of playing a session at Studio 51 the Ken Colyer Club with my Gothic Jazz Band and Kid Thomas andn Emmanuel Paul. Much later, back in Australia it was a great joy to renew my friendship with them when they toured in a package show – sharing the stage with Dizzy Gillespie. I always remember one of these non-jazz press reporters at Sydney Airport asking Art Blakey how he felt about playing a concert with these “primitive musicians”. Art said “It’s a great honour for us to play on the same stage as these gentlemen. Let’s face it – without them we would not exist! They are the creators.”

Kid Thomas Valentine was an enigma, although I spent many hours with him his conversation was like his trumpet playing: staccato, brief and to the point. Just the melody line sparsely stated. Only one night in an hotel room in Melbourne, Australia with most of his band and some star- struck executives of the Sydney Jazz Club, including me, did he let himself go. He told us wonderful stories of his earliest days as a band leader in New Orleans and of the amazing eccentricities of those long gone musicians on the gigs. I wish that I had had a tape recorder but again thankfully we do have plenty of his music on record.

My first purchase was the Riverside Kid Thomas and his Algiers Stompers I recommended earlier. Apart from the missing Emmanuel Paul, this was a band with a long history of playing together. Put on Panama Rag, it’s hotter than a fiery furnace! Gulley House Blues can bring tears to the eyes! Sammy Penn is the true master drummer and I hope to write about him in a future article.

When the band broke into ” Smile Darn You Smile” at the St Pancras Town Hall it was ecstasy, just like the record and although Alonzo Stewart was no Sammy Penn the overall effect was electric and we knew we were in the presence of the living legends.

Kid Thomas Valentine was an entertainer, his bag of tricks was with him at all times; slap sticks, maracas, tambourines, bonnets for “Milk Cow Blues” and always the biggest New Orleans grin!

Quotes: The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD by Richard Cook Brian Morton (Penguin Press)

Bringing Your Business Online

Remember the days when you were young and doing your best to learn new things? It always seemed like there was someone there within reach that could teach us what we needed to know to advance to the next level of our minds. Someone who could answer the burning questions we had as we had them. For many of us, this is almost always true until we gain a bit more experience within our lives and then tend to have that fatally flawed mindset, “I can do it all by myself…” ouch!

As a business owner this could often mean the end of growth, wasted dollars spent on unneeded things. Right now you are searching for a way to bring your business online and your about to get flooded by ‘expert’ advice. This happened to me a few years ago and now, looking back, I wish I would have had someone to tell me what I was about to do. I ended up paying a lot of money to someone who claimed to be an expert online because they knew more than I did, but what I didn’t know was that they didn’t know much.

There are companies out there that truly mean well, but make a living off what others do not know. Often times, for the business owner, these people will be your advertising experts who constantly want to sell you advertising in all the different avenues. Have they already started marketing you?

A memory I still have clearly in my mind is with the local yellow pages. They told me that for so much money that they would give me a website, do its Search Engine Listings, and my marketing program for the site. What did that mean to me…it meant someone was going to help me make money. What it meant to them…I was about to give them money!

What they ended up doing was taking my money and putting it into a Click Words and AdWords campaign. That does nothing to drive traffic when just starting out, but I was uneducated in this field at the time and away my money went….fast. Online education is a wonderful investment for those looking to grow any type of business now. The majority of people spend more time online than they do in front of the television, behind pages of books, or anywhere else seeking and sorting information.

The best way to grow a business with low advertising budgets is online marketing and the best way to make that time worth while is to know how to spend it. You may not want to do this, but trust someone who was once where you are right now…find a school, a mentor, and someone who is already successful online and follow their lead. In the end, you’ll end up with education that has value and time well spent.

4 Easy Ways You Can Make Money Online for Beginners

Believe it or not, there are countless ways to make money online for beginners if you just know where to look. Whether you’re a tenderfoot still learning the ropes or perhaps a seasoned veteran looking to make your way on top of your niche, here are some superb ideas to help you get started in no time at all:

  • Sell stuff on the Internet. The adage “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is a tried and true strategy when it comes to making money off of the worldwide web. The next time you see random stuff lying around the house, don’t just chuck them away in the trash just yet. Online auction sites like eBay can fetch top dollar for various collectibles, designer clothing, musical instruments and virtually anything under the sun other people are willing to buy but you don’t necessarily need. You just have to set up a seller’s profile account and you’re good to go in a snap.
  • Blogging. A portmanteau of the term “web logging,” blogging is simply the act of posting content on the Internet. It could be writing about something you’re really into like cars and sports or posting comments and reactions to someone else’s blog. While this may sound rather odd, a blog is very much akin to a traditional billboard you see while walking down the street. The more people that visit your blog and click on the ads, the more money you’ll make online. Blogging is so popular these days that thousands and thousands of accounts in WordPress and similar platform sites are created each day.
  • Promoting products and services. If you already have a business and you’d like to take it up a notch, giving it the online exposure it deserves can be one of the smartest decisions that you’ll ever make. From article marketing to posting infomercials on YouTube, gathering more and more followers for your venture is just a matter of getting the right earn money online strategies to start the ball rolling. Even the most prominent companies in this day and age integrate the worldwide web in their marketing and advertising strategies for its ability to give them almost instantaneous results.
  • Becoming an Internet star. There are already a handful of people who have made a name for themselves using the worldwide web as a stepping stone and you might just have the same success story if you play your cards right. Remember how Justin Bieber got discovered by posting videos on YouTube? Or how the blog, Boing Boing became one of the biggest pop-culture phenomena ever? Start showing the denizens of the web what you’re really good at and next thing you know, you might just be the next Internet sensation.

Property Surveys – What They Are

The property survey describes and indicates the boundaries of the land and other physical features. Each property owner should obtain a property survey before purchasing land and before building to avoid problems that may arise from incorrect assumptions. Individuals often become involved in a dispute when a neighbor decides to build on or near a property line. If the property owner crosses the line, this could lead to a dispute that results in numerous lawsuits. Disagreements have often occurred from fences that crossed property boundaries, buildings, houses, trees, livestock, and others. Whenever the property changes ownership, a survey should be conducted.

Mortgage lenders require potential owners to perform a property survey prior to receiving a loan from the bank. Insurance companies may also require a land survey. The property survey is typically required whether or not there was one completed in the past. Some states have local laws and ordinances that mandate the survey when the property exchanges hands. The property survey will outline exactly what is being purchased and dispel any questions regarding the acreage, boundaries, zoning and the type of terrain. Most property surveys should be completed within 6 months of the closing date.

Upgrades and Renovations

Owners usually receive property surveys before any renovations or property upgrades may occur. For instance, the property owner may want to add a secondary driveway, an addition to their home, or a swimming pool. A property survey will confirm the boundaries and indicate where the easements are located, as well as, public utility lines, telephone lines, sewage lines, or gas lines. Individuals who do not use a property survey may rupture a line. If this happens, not only will the owner have a dangerous and inconvenient interruption of service, but they may also incur the costly repair bills as well. This is an avoidable expense. Individuals who build on the wrong property may incur the expense of building the property and also tearing it down.

Property Disputes

Unfortunately, disputes over boundary lines between neighbors are common. Crossing a boundary line is called “encroachment” in most cases. These cases may be decided in court. Court fees add to the expense of building and “tearing down” a building that violates property lines. Land surveys can help owners avoid these problems. Detailed property surveys are required to resolve property disputes.

Insurance Purposes

Before a property is insured, many insurance companies must know about the risks the property may pose for the insurance company. For instance, a property in a known flood zone will require a flood zone rider. The rider will increase the property insurance, but it will lower the risk for the insurance company. A home in a flood zone increases the likelihood that a claim will be filed.

Although residential properties are the focus of this article, property surveys should be completed in both residential and commercial zones. There are two types of residential property surveys:

House Location or “Drive-By” Survey: This survey is the most basic and least expensive survey on the market. This type of survey will show the location of the house, as well as, other structures located on the property. This type of survey may be suitable for mortgage lenders and land transfers.

Detailed Survey: This type of survey involves a detailed description of the property through the use of precise measuring. The property survey will mark the boundaries of the property with metal or wooden stakes. Property surveyors often refer to old records to establish the original boundaries of the property. These types of surveys are generally more expensive. However, they are good for disputes and other legal matters. A detailed survey will save the owner incredible time and energy.

A licensed professional should be hired to perform a property survey. Property surveys completed by individuals who are not licensed will not be deemed credible in a court of law. Disputes will not be resolved with a survey that is completed by a non-professional. Individuals should graduate from a four university or possess 10 years of experience prior to taking mandatory licensure examinations. Individuals with a 4 year degree may require 2 to 4 years of experience prior to becoming a property surveyor. After obtaining a license, the individual may also obtain a professional certification. Property surveyors also known as land surveyors should have proper training in Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. Verifying the property surveyor’s credentials will ensure that the client will receive a credible survey and complete report.

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