Friday Night Jazz: Louis Armstrong
I have been so crazy busy working on EVERYTHING -- the office, the market, the blog and the book -- that FNJ is one of the things that fell thru the cracks.
Well, given what a mad week/month this has been, and how overdue this is, its that time: Without further adieu, Satchmo:
~~~
I'm sure you've heard a Louis song or three: Hello Dolly, When the Saints, What a Wonderful World.
If that's all you know of Satchmo, you are missing out. Considering his innovations as an artist -- amazing song-writing skills, unique vocals, mastery of the Coronet and the Trumpet, especially his stratospheric solos -- these well known ditties are practically boring.
Oh, and after he forgot the lyrics on the 1927 song "Heebie Jeebies," he invented Scat singing.
He was one of the most influential musicians in jazz history, setting new standards for originality and invention.
There are a couple of ways to get to know the works of Louis Armstrong:
The most basic is to grab one the Best Of discs. For those of you who want to go this way, try the The Definitive Collection.
The collector types are more inclined to go for the complete earlier years, including his various ensembles known in this box set: The Hot Fives & Sevens. (Note that Columbia version is considered a much inferior remastering: The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings).
But of all of the Louis Armstrong works out there, none are more delightful than the many duets he recorded with Ella Fitzgerald. Aside from the small fact that her voice is incomparable to any female jazz singer before or since, there is a strange and beautiful complementary combination that is so unique and incredible. I can listen to these all day long -- they are unique works of art.
I highly recommend the first two: Ella and Louis (1956), and Ella & Louis Again (1957). Both are astonishing works of gentle beauty.
You can also check out Porgy & Bess soundtrack, but that is more for fans of that show.
(NOTE: There are all manners of different variations of these, so look at the song list before buying variations of the same album.)
From a WSJ article this past summer:
"From 1925 to 1928, bandleader and trumpeter Louis Armstrong led a recording group, known as the Hot Five and Hot Seven, through nearly 90 recordings. These tracks are now considered among the most seminal, enduring and influential recordings not only in jazz but in American music and include "Big Butter and Egg Man," "Hotter Than That," "Struttin' With Some Barbecue," "Potato Head Blues," and "S.O.L. Blues." In these dozens of sides, Armstrong abandoned the traditional collective improvisation of New Orleans-style jazz and almost single-handedly transformed the music from a group art into an art form for the soloist. He left behind two- and four-bar breaks of earlier jazz in favor of entire choruses of improvisation. In the 1920s, Armstrong would, more than anyone else, take the role of soloist to new heights in American music.
Besides his technical mastery, what else set him apart? His big, beautiful tone; his rich imagination as a soloist; his perfect sense of time; his deep understanding of the blues; his projection and authority; and the force of his musical personality.
And he boasted a gift for personalizing the material he recorded, transforming it into music that is unmistakably his in sound and style and ownership. The essence of jazz -- making something new out of something old, making something personal out of something shared -- has no finer exemplar than Armstrong."
Summertime - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
What a Wonderful World
Louis Armstrong - Danny Kaye: When the Saints Go Marchin In
Dream a Little Dream
Dean Martin & Louis Armstrong Medley
West End Blues
A Rhapsody in Black and Blue
Instrumental
 | Louis Armstrong - Tight like This |  |
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Found at bee mp3 search engine |  |
Sources:
You Tube: Ella & Louis
Louis Armstrong, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Armstrong
Louis Armstrong, Red Hot Jazz
http://www.redhotjazz.com/louie.html
Satchmo.net
official website for Louis Armstrong House
http://www.satchmo.net/
Louis Armstrong's Revolution
The 80th anniversary of a celebrated American recording
JOHN EDWARD HASSE
WSJ, June 14, 2008; Page W16
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121338811823972983.html
Friday, October 10, 2008 | 06:52 PM | Permalink
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Comments
Glad to see the music return. The markets have been all too consuming lately. Who knows if we will ever return to "normal times"?
Posted by: rightline | Oct 10, 2008 7:00:46 PM
Ella and Louis - the perfect tonic for a nutcase week. These two albums are simply wonderful. Think I'll go listen. Thanks Barry.
Posted by: Gary | Oct 10, 2008 7:04:08 PM
Thanks I just now dug this out of basement(cassette!!!)
Posted by: MarkD | Oct 10, 2008 7:06:03 PM
Barry -- Glad you haven't lost track of the essential things in life. Thanks for reminding the rest of us! -- Monica
Posted by: Monica Starr | Oct 10, 2008 7:06:20 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3CcAD_seww
Also, I felt a little Django when my trades went thru this mornin ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS2ylPAUxzA
Posted by: Dr. Kenneth Noisewater | Oct 10, 2008 7:11:28 PM
Was he the guy that sang while Rome burned? Or was that Nero? Perhaps Busho???
Posted by: JustinTheSkeptic | Oct 10, 2008 7:17:22 PM
Barry --
I found your site years ago via Bob Lefsetz citing your music/music industry writing. I've stayed for the excellent economic commentary (even if I do not understand much of it; I am learning *a lot*). No one who reads your site should be at all surprised by recent events.
Glad to see you writing about music again. Definitely a welcome respite in these turbulent times - and a reminder that there is more to life than money.
And kudos for plugging the JSP mastering over the shoddy (and overpriced) Columbia set of the Hot 5s & 7s. The JSP set sounds as good as 78s can sound and sells for around $25 brand new for 5 packed CDs. Essential music and a tremendous bargain.
Best wishes.
--rgc
Posted by: Rodger | Oct 10, 2008 7:17:54 PM
Oh! all you Lefty music lovers make me sick. Your the ones that bought the big Mic Mansions, thinking Miles Davis lived next door...lol.
Posted by: JustinTheSkeptic | Oct 10, 2008 7:50:39 PM
Oh! all you Lefty music lovers make me sick. Your the ones that bought the big Mic Mansions, thinking Miles Davis lived next door...lol.
Oh Please, lefties all think Miles sold out when he went Fusion with _Bitches Brew_, and when Dylan went electric..
TRUE arugula-slurping sandal-smoking commie pinkos are into the Ornette Coleman....
Posted by: Dr. Kenneth Noisewater | Oct 10, 2008 8:06:28 PM
I think the rock song Louie Louie was named in honor of Armstrong.
And politically speaking, American liberals are the actual American conservatives. What calls itself "conservative" in America is actually the radical make-over party
Don't like Shinseki's plan, do the totally rad Rumsfield plan.
Don't like the constraits from Volcker central banking, do the totally rad Greenspan/Wall St "we are genius" banking
And it goes on and on
Posted by: christofay | Oct 10, 2008 8:14:16 PM
Great suggestions for relaxation and enjoyment of live, especially as we have finally found and comnirmed the market bottom today!
Posted by: mel | Oct 10, 2008 8:23:05 PM
Not to diminish the conversation too far, but this reminds me of a nice bit of snark Richard Thompson wrote after Pat Metheny's critique of Kenny G's 'duet' over 'Wonderful World' (mp3 available at RT's site):
I agree with Pat Metheny
Kenny's talents are too teeny
He deserves the crap he's going to get
'Overdubbed himself on Louis
What a musical chop suey
Raised his head above the parapet
Now Louis Armstrong was the king
He practically invented swing
Hero of the twentieth century
'Did duets with many a fella
"Fatha" Hines, Bing, Hoagy, Ella
Strange he never thought of Kenny G
Posted by: pmorrisonfl | Oct 10, 2008 8:36:31 PM
I knew I'd pull up my reader and see Friday Night Jazz in my number one blog position!
Barry, you're the best!
Cheers...
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything." ~ Plato
Posted by: Kent @ The Financial Philosopher | Oct 10, 2008 8:49:07 PM
Woody Allen's homage to Potato Head Blues (in Manhattan?, I think) notwithstanding, I've got 6 words. West End Blues. Tight Like This. Totally awe-inspiring, and it being a Friday night, Tight Like This as an aural representation of love-making, his then-wife the pianist Lil Hardin providing the vocals, makes stuff like the Stones' Goin Home pale in comparison.
Posted by: Scott Frew | Oct 10, 2008 9:00:41 PM
A return to Normalcy. Thanks BR!
Posted by: TallSkippy | Oct 10, 2008 9:13:22 PM
BR, thanks for jogging the memory; Festival Hall, Melbourne, Australia, 1963! Louis, Arvell Shaw, Trummy Young (forgot the others) Gee, the world and I were young then and both unleveraged.
Posted by: pah | Oct 10, 2008 9:28:50 PM
http://beemp3.com/download.php?file=1355842&song=Tight+like+This
Posted by: Tight like this | Oct 10, 2008 9:29:15 PM
Thanks for the videos of Louis, especially "It's a Wonderful World." So nice to see his beautiful old face reminding us you can live through hard times and still be happy.
Posted by: Charlotte Allen | Oct 10, 2008 9:34:56 PM
In response to an comment upthread, I have to mention that JSP has also just finished their superb series of (incredibly inexpensive) Django Reinhardt sets now totaling 18 CDs...Django was superhuman even though he essentially crippled. He could do more with "two fingers and a thumb" than most guitarists can do with all five digits. God-like.
--rgc
Posted by: Rodger | Oct 10, 2008 9:35:19 PM
Nobody did more than Pops to bring jazz to the world, the whole wide world.
Posted by: catman | Oct 10, 2008 10:02:39 PM
I think "Struttin' With Some Barbecue" is just about the funnest song ever recorded. But all the Hot Fives and Hot Sevens are fabulous - you can't go wrong. Any of Barry's readers who've never listened to Satchmo shouold take Barry's recommendations to heart.
I do want to put in a good word for Louis' often underrated big band recordings from the early to mid thirties, with a variety of different bands. There's the classic versions of "Stardust," "Blck and Blue," and "Body and Soul," the wonderful "I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You," and sweet songs like "Love, You Funny Thing," "Walkin' My Baby Back Home," and "I Surrender Dear."
I once heard a story that prior to appearing in Memphis Louis was arrested on some trumped up charge or other. He was finally bailed out and invited the sheriff to the show. When the sheriff appeared, Louis recognized him from the stage, to the sheriff's great deligh -- and then played "I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You." Oh, and his great recordings backing up Bessie Smith, too -- one of the few artists who could hold his own with the Empress of the Blues -- and with Earl Hines.
Phil Schaap on Columbia University's radio station WKCR once played Louis doing "Them There Eyes," followed immediately by Billie Holiday doing the same song but with the pitch lowered, and you could barely tell them apart. And just today I was listening to Ethel Waters doing "Am I Blue," and right in the middle of it she breaks into a hilarious impersonation of Satchmo.
Anyway, good choice BR - Pops truly is tops!
Hopefully next week we won't all be singing "My Bucket's Got a Hole In It."
Posted by: AndrewBW | Oct 10, 2008 10:20:07 PM
Ella + Louis = Perfection
Posted by: KGW | Oct 10, 2008 10:47:08 PM
US to buy stake in banks.
Now that's a game changer.
Posted by: John Borchers | Oct 10, 2008 11:07:51 PM
My earliest musical memories were three songs: "Hello Dolly", She Loves You", and "Downtown"
Posted by: Phil Spector of Deflation | Oct 10, 2008 11:09:37 PM
Ahhhh...Friday Night Jazz is back. Thanks Barry, I've missed it. After reading 2 weeks of Doom and Gloom about the markets, this is indeed refreshing.
Wayne
Posted by: Wayne Sarchett | Oct 10, 2008 11:30:55 PM
