Hazards

[Dennis Johnson]

Perhaps some of you may have heard this tragic news report that has been
around for over a month now:

_________________
>       ** MAN SLIDES HIS TROMBONE & KILLS MUSICIAN IN FRONT OF HIM! **
>
>>By Randy Jeffries/Weekly World News (January 23, 1996)
>
>Bocholt, Germany -- A band musician died of a brain injury when the
>trombonist behind him jerked the slide of his trombone forward and struck
>the trumpeter in the back of the head!
>
>Police say the tragedy occured as the Gratzfeld College band was
>rehearsing the spirited American jazz classic, _When the Saints Go
>Marching In_.
>
>According to other band members, trombonist Peter Niemeyer, 19, "got
>carried away" with the music.  He started gyrating and thrashing around as
>he played.
>
>At one point, he jerked forward and the rounded metal slide on his
>instrument hit trumpet player Dolph Mohr, 20, dropping him instantly to
>the floor.
>
>"Niemeyer was pumping the slide very hard," said medical examiner Dr.
>Max Krause.  "But it wasn't just the force of the blow that killed Mohr.
>The slide struck him in the worst possible place -- the vulnerable spot
>just behind and below the left ear. Bone fragments pierced his brain,
>killing him instantly."
>
>The incident has provoked a storm of controversy over whether or not
>American jazz should be played in German colleges.
>
>"I believe the music is to blame," said Gratzfeld band director Heinrich
>Sommer.  "I was pressured to play that selection by school administrators.
>But I've always said jazz is dangerous music,
>
>["]Our musicians can't control themselves when they play it.  They move
>and rock back and forth, creating chaos.  If I had my way, American
>Dixieland would be outlawed in Germany.  I've been directing bands for 30
>years and I've never heard of anyone dying while playing a German march."
>



Dennis Johnson
St. Olaf College
johnsond@stolaf.edu
djohn@skypoint.com