Part 1 – The years 1971 to 1980
Sensational: Dresden – “Capital of Dixieland”
The diverse African-American musical history began around 1870 with ragtime, which originated in the Midwest of the United States of America. A century later, music lovers, a jazz-hungry audience, and musicians in Dresden paved the way for “Jazz im Abonnement,” a program of the then concert and guest-performance directorate. In addition, an ambitious festival of Deutschlandsender took place in the newly opened Kulturpalast of the city on the Elbe. Above all, dixieland was given a stage on which the bands had the opportunity to celebrate this style of music to the full.
From the Mississippi to the Elbe
The street music of Black blues singers, spiritual and gospel singers, brass bands, and improvising soloists made a major contribution to the birth of jazz and shaped it especially in the cities of the southern United States, particularly in New Orleans on the Mississippi. Thousands of miles away, on the Elbe, the pioneers of the INTERNATIONAL DIXIELAND FESTIVAL Dresden performed on that Whitsunday in 1971 in the brand-new, elegant, and acoustically perfect Kulturpalast. Six bands from four Eastern European countries presented blues, ragtimes, and archaic as well as swinging standards from the early days of dixieland jazz.
For the premiere of this international gathering of old-time music, unexpectedly only 900 jazz fans and curious onlookers made their way to the multi-hour concert. But already in the second year, the audience experienced a colorful mix of traditional and modern-arranged dixieland. Over three days, the host Elb Meadow Ramblers, together with seven other groups, including the Harbour Jazz Band from the Netherlands, the Benkö-Dixieländer from Hungary, and the Berliner All Stars, opened the festival. Musicians from the various bands joined together for the first closing jam session, which was met with great applause and was to conclude the festival in the years to come.
When the INTERNATIONAL DIXIELAND FESTIVAL was founded in Dresden, no one could foresee how it would develop. Looking back, it becomes clear how much effort and passion were required to establish this festival. Above all, the people of Dresden themselves played a decisive role: they identify with their festival, live it, and have remained loyal to it for more than 50 years.
After the country’s oldest Dixieland outfit had opened the second festival, the Dixieland Band of the Dresden Dance Symphonists, as the East’s most long-established big band, struck the first notes at the third Oldtime gathering with Duke Ellington’s “Creole Love Call.” Even then, demand for tickets had already risen considerably.
For the first time, thousands at concerts and jam sessions
In 1974, a dozen jazz groups from twelve countries appeared at the IDF. Three sold-out concert evenings, jam sessions well past midnight, and, for the first time, “Dixieland outdoors” on Prager Strasse—later a long jazz mile between the Kulturpalast and the main railway station—drew around 12,500 visitors. Performances at workplaces such as the Dresden breweries made it clear that the festival had long since arrived all across the city.
At the same time, word spread ever more widely in the international old-time scene that Dresden was a place one simply had to have played. More and more bands applied, waiting lists emerged, and the festival clearly gained in profile. Among the defining figures of those years were Joachim Schlese, Erich Knebel, and Karlheinz Drechsel, who would become the festival’s voice for decades.
East and West German musicians separated in the hotel and on stage
In 1975, the Old Merry Tale Band from Hamburg became the first band from the Federal Republic of Germany to perform in the GDR—the audience responded with frenetic applause. Behind the scenes, however, strict rules applied: East and West German musicians were housed in separate hotels, joint stage appearances were unwelcome, and even the running order of the concert program was politically controlled.
Absurd rules ineffective in reality
Yet the reality of music could hardly be pressed into rigid rules. The international Dixieland community lived on spontaneous sessions, encounters, and mutual respect. Even the fee arrangement—payment in East German marks plus additional in-kind goods from GDR production—did nothing to change the fact that Dresden remained a dream destination for many bands.
For four days and four nights, Dresden’s music-loving and knowledgeable audience experienced the 6th Dixieland Festival and the festivals that followed, with first-class performances. These were enriched by additional musical styles, new events, and venues. The cheerfully swinging gatherings were a complete success. Poster and record sales stalls were surrounded by crowds, photo exhibitions attracted many visitors, and sessions in the student pubs thrilled Dixieland enthusiasts.
Dresden becomes the “capital of Dixieland”
With new formats, additional venues, and rising attendance, the festival gained even greater radiance in the second half of the 1970s. The Jazz Band Ball set new accents, international soloists and female vocalists delighted the audience, and the festival mascot, a hippopotamus, made its first appearance as well.
The assessment of trumpeter and bandleader John Evers proved especially influential. For him, it was not only the quality of the bands that mattered, but above all the Dresden audience. He declared Dresden the “capital of Dixieland” — a designation that remains deeply associated with the festival to this day. The first Dixieland parade in the Großer Garten also made it clear how far the festival had by then reached into the city.
The following year, the Leningrad Dixieland and the Umbrella Jazzmen from West Berlin appeared for the first time and were greeted with much applause. There was also great cheering for the quartet of French clarinetist René Franc, whose last-minute acceptance made the performance possible. Franc’s style on clarinet and soprano saxophone strongly recalled Sidney Bechet, of whom he had once been a student.
Anniversary Festival: Performance by the Harlem Veterans
In 1980, the tenth festival became a high point of the first decade. Twenty bands from twelve countries took part, including, for the first time, an ensemble from the birthplace of jazz, the USA. With spontaneous improvisations, creatively jazzed-up classics, and a strong international flair, this anniversary became a special highlight in the festival’s history.
Among the celebrated guests were the Harlem Blues and Jazz Band from New York, Beryl Bryden from England, and Bob Wallis. Seven jazz musicians from the USA were on stage, several of whom had already performed with greats such as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday. Trumpeter Robert William specially composed the piece “Dresden-Jump” for the festival in Dresden as a musical thank-you.
The 240 hours of Dixieland music also included a premiere for the youngest visitors: “Triangel und Klapperholz” created an offering for preschool children that is still regarded as something special today. The first decade’s balance sheet was correspondingly impressive: the festival had established itself internationally and made a name for itself far beyond Dresden.
The desire of tens of thousands: To experience such festivals in the future as well
On the final day of the anniversary festival, Dixieland standards such as “When The Saints Go Marching In,” “Ice Cream,” and “Glory Hallelujah” could be heard from far away across the Johannstadt Elbe meadows. A large stage gave the musicians from 15 bands the opportunity to bid farewell to the audience in a several-hour closing session. A celebration of this scale with an estimated 30,000 Dixieland friends remained unique.
Exciting, unique, exhausting — that was how many reacted to a festival that, for the first time, attracted around 100,000 interested visitors, fans, and supporters. By the end of this first decade, this provided impressive proof that the INTERNATIONAL DIXIELAND FESTIVAL Dresden had long since become a cultural force. The wish for more such festivals was to come true.