MEMORIES OF SATCHMO (Aug. 4, 1901-July 6, 1971)
“If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.” –Louis (“Satchmo”) Armstrong
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Awake at night, at sunrise, every sunset too, seems to be bringing me….
But that was long ago, and now my consolation is in the….
My only sin is in my skin — what did I do to be so….
In contrast to our current culture of celebrity-for-celebrity’s-sake, today we celebrate the memory of a man who was the genuine article: a true game-changer, unsurpassed in the history of America’s contribution to the music world, namely jazz. To quote Scott Yanow, author of CLASSIC JAZZ:
Although jazz existed before Louis Armstrong (including important giants Jelly Roll Morton, James P. Johnson, Freddie Keppard, Sidney Bechet, and King Oliver), Armstrong had the biggest impact of any jazz musician. Whether it was transforming jazz from an ensemble-oriented music into one showcasing solos by virtuosos, popularizing both scat singing and hornlike vocalizing, infusing pop songs with the blues, making dramatic statements with the inventive use of silence and dynamics, and (via his sunny personality) making jazz accessible to millions who had never heard it before, Armstrong’s contributions are so vast [that] jazz would have been a lot different if he had not existed.
To help the reader (who isn’t a jazz buff or remembers only the past-his-prime Armstrong) understand something of the impact of the early Armstrong, I’ll close with this 1928 recording — his favorite (and mine) of his own playing:
There, brethren, you have the earthly counterpart of The Rapture enrapturing you from the West End of jazz heaven. May you abandon yourself to the American Gabriel’s clarion call as his golden trumpet leads you to Blues paradise. Or just enjoy.
leggypeggy 12:30 am on August 4, 2019 Permalink |
I was lucky enough to hear Satchmo perform live.
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mistermuse 12:36 am on August 4, 2019 Permalink |
Well, I’ll be a DOING DONG DADDY FROM DUMAS! (Sorry about that, readers, but that reply is an inside joke that only Peggy will appreciate….hopefully.)
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leggypeggy 12:54 am on August 4, 2019 Permalink
I sure do.
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calmkate 3:01 am on August 4, 2019 Permalink |
one of my heroes, thanks for this delightful tribute!
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Garfield Hug 4:58 am on August 4, 2019 Permalink |
These are beautiful oldies but goldies😊
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masercot 5:54 am on August 4, 2019 Permalink |
“Incomparable” is the only word you need to describe Armstrong…
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mistermuse 8:16 am on August 4, 2019 Permalink |
I can’t (and would never) argue with that.
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Yeah, Another Blogger 8:25 am on August 4, 2019 Permalink |
Hello there. I saw him once in concert, in a stadium in the borough of Queens, which is part of New York City. He lived in Queens with his wife. Their home has been turned into a museum.
Neil Scheinin
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mistermuse 9:43 am on August 4, 2019 Permalink |
Thanks, Neil. I didn’t know their home had been turned into a museum. It could have just as fittingly been turned into a shrine.
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Ashley 8:29 am on August 4, 2019 Permalink |
Brilliant! Love that last piece….the best!
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mistermuse 9:48 am on August 4, 2019 Permalink |
That’s what’s known as saving the best for last (though, in this case, it’s the best of the best)..
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scifihammy 8:37 am on August 4, 2019 Permalink |
Excellent post and music. 🙂
My Mum really like Satchmo. 🙂
Once when I was talking about him to my kids, I called him Sasquatch!! But my kids knew who I meant. 😀
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mistermuse 9:53 am on August 4, 2019 Permalink |
Glad to hear you talked to your kids about Sasquatch — I mean Satchmo. All most kids today know about music is today’s music.
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scifihammy 10:16 am on August 4, 2019 Permalink
That’s true. But I think it’s important to share with your kids things that you appreciate 🙂
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Rivergirl 10:40 am on August 4, 2019 Permalink |
Classic!
Great clips… I’d never heard Black and Blue from 1929.
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mistermuse 1:08 pm on August 4, 2019 Permalink |
In 1929, only a black man with the stature of Louis Armstrong could ‘get away with’ performing such a song sympathetic to the black man’s perspective. Then, in 1939, a black woman first sang this much more outspoken song that continued to outrage white racists for years, including during the McCarthy hearings of the early 1950s. Here she sings it in a 1959 TV appearance:
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In My Cluttered Attic 3:34 pm on August 5, 2019 Permalink |
Satchmo, truly was one of the very best. Thanks for this post, Jazz. :O)
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mistermuse 5:29 pm on August 5, 2019 Permalink |
My pleasure….and I do mean MY PLEASURE (I’ve listened to WEST END BLUES 4 or 5 times since I posted the clip).
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In My Cluttered Attic 11:10 pm on August 5, 2019 Permalink
I don’t blame ya. Good stuff. :O)
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Don Ostertag 3:53 pm on August 5, 2019 Permalink |
Thanks Neil for getting me out of the funk caused by this horrible weekend. I found that playing my wide selection of Satchmo’s recordings helped me see in spite of what’s happening, deep down I agree with him when he sings ‘What a Wonderful World.
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mistermuse 5:09 pm on August 5, 2019 Permalink |
My oldest daughter is a Red Cross volunteer in Dayton, helping with the human aftermath of the horrible weekend there. Words cannot adequately convey what the victims’ families are going through. We can only hope that, with time, it will become a Wonderful World for them again, although it will never be the same.
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thelonelyauthorblog 8:27 pm on August 5, 2019 Permalink |
A great one from our past.
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Silver Screenings 4:05 pm on August 7, 2019 Permalink |
Ah, these songs are a marvellous soundtrack to this gorgeous, sunny Wednesday. Thanks so much. 🙂
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mistermuse 5:27 pm on August 7, 2019 Permalink |
Thanks for the comment, SS. You inspire me to write this:
I screening, Silver Screening, we all screening for ice creaming.
Actually, I wouldn’t blame you for screaming at me to stop being so inspired.
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America On Coffee 12:15 am on August 12, 2019 Permalink |
Such an amazing personality with a loving style and loving smile. Great song!
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barkinginthedark 3:04 am on August 17, 2019 Permalink |
MM, i had the great honor of Louis Armstrong recording one of my songs; Not a great jazz piece just a little feel good thing. I am eternally humbled by it. Here it is:
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mistermuse 8:28 am on August 17, 2019 Permalink |
Love this kind of “little feel good thing,” Tony! Although no one could do it like Louis, it’s the kind of song I think a good Dixieland band could also ‘have a party’ with.
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barkinginthedark 11:22 am on August 17, 2019 Permalink
i think you’re right. thanx, continue…
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