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Speaker 2
I'm Adam.
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Speaker 4
And I'm Peter.
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Speaker 2
Martin and you're listening to the you'll hear at Podcast.
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Speaker 4
Music Explorer.
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Speaker 2
Explorer brought to you today by Open Studio. Go to Open Studio jazz.com for your jazz lesson needs. What's me here.
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Speaker 4
Hey what's up man I'm excited a little bit nervous. Really. Because we are first of all, give it up for Caleb Kirby. Yeah, yourself. Adam manis. Well, thank you very special guest. That's right. Artist Jamal Nichols at the bass just came in laying it down for.
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Speaker 2
A friend of the show, Jamal Nichols. Here of the.
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Speaker 4
Show, Saint Louis finest. The world's finest.
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Speaker 2
Filling in for Bob W Bob's on a little vacation. Yeah, I had to get Jamal in, and. Yeah, that was great, man. Great way to start the day.
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Speaker 4
Absolutely. Yeah, I'm a little nervous because it's that nervous excitement. What do they say? Butterflies in the stomach. Yeah.
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Speaker 4
Because we're talking about today who I think may be the greatest improviser ever, certainly without doubt, is the most important jazz, you know, to the fundamentals of jazz. The most important artist ever. Yeah. One of my favorite musicians, probably my.
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Speaker 4
I'm going to give it away a little bit here. Probably my ultimate like desert island. If you could have one musicians improvised solo with you, just one, this would probably be this person. And so we want to bring the fire and honor this. But I'm super excited. We're talking about Louis Armstrong.
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Speaker 2
Louis Armstrong, the foundation of the music. Truly like he is the language of the music. And what we'll hear today, we're going to we're going to explore some of those incredible moments that he was so prodigious at throughout his whole life, but especially early in his career. He had so much talent. Yeah, and was just so revolutionary. I think we take it for granted now.
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Speaker 2
Of course we take it for granted now. How could we not? It's 100 years later. Yeah. There's no way that we can't take for granted. What a huge like a huge sea change that he provided to Improvization to music. It also. It's just incredibly serendipitous. He comes along right as recording technology is breaking up. So Improvization can be recorded for the first time and you hear someone in real time create this new art form for us to to explore, even these, the century later.
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Speaker 2
You know what I mean? I have the full century of it since. And yeah, there's no jazz without Louis Armstrong.
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Speaker 4
Absolutely. And also, he came along kind of right in his prime,
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Speaker 4
in terms of musicality and his imprint on the music, right when radio was really taking off.
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Speaker 2
Totally. So all these things coming together.
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Speaker 4
Yeah. And right during the Jazz Age, ever heard of it? You know, I do realize from looking at this. So. Okay, so let's just sort of set this up because Louis Armstrong had a very long career. He was born in 1901, of course, in New Orleans, famously.
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Speaker 2
That's debatable. The year.
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Speaker 4
Well, no. Yeah. No, apparently it's it's definitely not in 19.
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Speaker 2
Oh one, I remember there was some controversy.
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Speaker 4
1800. He really attached himself to the July 4th, 1900. I think it's been I.
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Speaker 2
Mean, he's a showman, right? Yeah. You gotta tell your story.
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Speaker 4
That's fun to be. Yeah, yeah. He's like, I was born at exactly midnight on July 4th, 1900.
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Speaker 2
You know, the greatest, the greatest dude. Like Bob Dylan's backstory and all that stuff. You know what I mean, right?
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Speaker 4
Yeah. But what I decided to do is I have chosen a decade. And I just realized due to jazz pianist math, I might as screwed this up a little bit because.
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Speaker 2
We're not known for being good at math, is what you're saying. I find that insulting, sir.
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Speaker 4
This is all recording, specifically solos, both vocal and trumpet, from 1923 to 1933. Cool. So that's actually 11 years. Oh, you're done in your eyes, I.
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Speaker 2
Just that doesn't seem true, that it's 11 years.
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Speaker 4
Old, that the decade we're going to call that the decade, ten years ish, 1923 to 1933 and this. So this would have been Louis Armstrong math. That's good. Right. This would have been like when Louis Armstrong was about 21, 22 years old, up until 31, 32. And, you know, a lot of times we look at art. We're not saying like Louis Armstrong.
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Speaker 4
It's interesting because he was so much more. He became so much more famous after that point. Yeah, he was very famous during that period. But because of, like, television wasn't really a thing yet. Yeah, he was starting to do a little like towards the end, we're going to explore some of that.
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Speaker 2
Hidden, incredible third act, a credible.
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Speaker 4
Third act all the way up to like, you know, a Billboard top chart with Wonderful World, which is not on our list because that was like 40 years later, you know,
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Speaker 4
but this is, I think, during the period where he really revolution ized not only jazz music and not even revolutionized, just sort of established what it meant to be an improviser coming out of New Orleans with collective improvization and then becoming the front line improviser coming up under Joe Oliver, who we're going to listen to to start things out, who was really his mentor.
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Speaker 4
Yeah.
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Speaker 4
And what I thought would be fun is if we just kind of looked at the different stages, you know, we're not like a history thing. We're going to screw up some of this stuff, but know we're going to screw up some of the you know, we're not.
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Speaker 2
We're not academic level historians or mathematicians.
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Speaker 4
But what we are, don't.
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Speaker 2
Sell yourself short, are.
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Speaker 4
Great at listening and finding the story, I think, in the music. And I've listened to Louis Armstrong music all my life. My an uncle who lived in New Orleans, I remember going as a kid, they were actually friends with a bunch of people that played with Louis Armstrong. Of course, I play, you know, the whole lineage of the music.
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Speaker 4
But we're going to start with 1923.
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Speaker 2
Okay.
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Speaker 4
That's when our decade starts, you know?
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Speaker 2
Fun fact, the year I was born. Really? Yeah. Hey, I look amazing. You look great, man.
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Speaker 4
The plastic surgery, man. Those trips to Brazil. Awesome, man.
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Speaker 2
I was such a bargain. I've been going to Eastern Europe. No. Go ahead.
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Speaker 4
Nice, nice. So we're going to start with 1923. And this is really like kind of coming into this I broke it down roughly. There's like obviously the New Orleans years when he was coming up. And like there's great stories and that's all well documented. You can hear about that. How he ended up playing trumpet, a little brush with the law.
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Speaker 4
And then he was put into a home for wayward youths. Come on. That happened to have an incredible band director and great instruments. Yeah. So that worked out well, you know.
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Speaker 2
Turns out weirdo kids can.
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Speaker 4
Play. That's right.
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Speaker 4
But then when we get to, like, you know, 1918, 1919, when he was, you know, 18, 19 up until around this time, 1923, he was playing on the riverboats. That's when he first Lebon was first went to Chicago, first came through Saint Louis, just a couple miles from here, right on the riverfront. Yes, yes.
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Speaker 4
First interactions with ragtime.
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Speaker 4
I mean, he had definitely heard that in New Orleans because New Orleans was a real a real cultural hub for music. Yeah. In the what do they call the 19 tens, the the early.
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Speaker 2
Aughts, the teens, the teens. Yeah, but a different.
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Speaker 4
Teens, right?
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Speaker 2
Yeah.
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Speaker 4
Yeah, yeah.
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Speaker 4
He would have heard, you know, French, you know, there was a huge French opera house in New Orleans just a couple blocks from where he grew up. Of course, the honky tonks on Rampart Street, which is where he, like he, he grew up on Jane Alley, which is right off of Rampart Street. And, the honky tonks were primarily playing when he was little ragtime music, which of course, was a lot of the Saint Louis musicians and that kind of sounds.
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Speaker 4
So he had a very,
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Speaker 4
rich kind of cultural and musical gumbo of things that he heard. And then excellent training on the trumpet, of course, always known for his incredible technique, his prodigious technique and, and kind of work ethic with working out the cornet and then the trumpet, mainly because he mentored under Joe, also known as King Oliver, who was the greatest trumpet player in New Orleans, you know, so really interesting thing how he mentored under him.
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Speaker 4
So this recording of Riverside Blues from 1923 with King Oliver,
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Speaker 4
basically Louis Armstrong was playing second trumpet with him. And we'll get into that kind of story afterwards. But you're going to hear the great King Oliver, but you can hear just the beginnings of a little bit of Louis Armstrong's magnitude, maybe even leapfrogging above in terms of like, improvisatory flavor and ingenuity and possibly even revolution.
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Speaker 4
And already starting. And that's why I chose night.
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Speaker 2
I love it, even the beginning of the music. There's kids coming up taking our spot.
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Speaker 4
That's right, that's right.
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Speaker 2
King Oliver's like man.
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Speaker 4
Yeah. And so he'd already been playing on like the riverboats. He like, read music really well because he played with,
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Speaker 4
was it Faith Marable's band? And like, there was a lot of, like, kind of, sets and raps he'd already had, even though he was only 21 years old. But check this out.
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Unknown
If it if it.
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Unknown
It's king out of on top.
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Speaker 4
Of his very New Orleans collective, improv King Oliver's Creole. Jasmine.
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Unknown
And.
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Unknown
Then we found. So they're they're jamming here. They're going.
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Speaker 4
Along. I'm going to skip ahead just a little bit, then.
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Speaker 2
Amazing. What amazing feel. Amazing sound.
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Speaker 3
And this is like polyphony happening.
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Speaker 2
Right.
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Speaker 4
You can hear that's Louis Armstrong right there.
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Unknown
And.
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Unknown
Now you have.
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Unknown
Yeah, man.
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Speaker 3
Never heard of it.
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Speaker 4
So like, I don't know if that was a good thing that King Oliver let him do that at the end there. And. Sorry, I cut it off. There's some great little.
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Speaker 2
It's a great song, isn't it?
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Speaker 4
It's a great thing. But this was the thing. This is Louis Armstrong years later talking about, King Oliver, Joe Oliver to Oliver.
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Speaker 6
You know how much I loved you all, but still not. He did make a statement to live during a conversation.
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Speaker 4
That was his wife. His wife was on as.
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Speaker 3
Long.
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Speaker 6
As little Louis is with me, he can't hold me. And she told me that that didn't. And to me, she said it's, indications that came out of his trying to hold you back. I didn't say I'm. I mean, would you met? She told me I didn't. Just split. So. Yeah. Bill spoke, and that was it.
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Speaker 2
I mean, that's what a young person should be doing today, right? You. You apprentice under someone. And when you are such a prodigious talent, like the syncopation that we just heard there. Yes. Is his gift to the world. Right. And something that every musician. I don't care what genre you're focused on, every musician who's learning how to improvise.
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Speaker 2
Yeah. Can learn from Louis Armstrong. Like listening to Louis Armstrong. He is a genius at that.
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Speaker 4
Yes.
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Speaker 2
I mean, I let a lot of things obviously sound and and and all kinds of phrasing things. But the syncopation of his language is so gorgeous, right? It's really, really special.
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Speaker 4
And the thing is, there was syncopation before this with ragtime, with a lot of the New Orleans, you know, brass band stuff. But to bring it and there was people improvising before this, and for sure, JellyRoll Moore there's a lot of contours because JellyRoll was like, I was doing that stuff before I was doing that. We're going to get into some of that.
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Speaker 2
But the confidence he brings to it is really silver, the flavor that, you know, choices every. It's just like when someone truly gets it and and all.
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Speaker 4
Over the whole band is killin on that. Like, well, we heard, but there's something about the way Louis song, like he's kind of coming in with the nuance. Yeah, it'll be there, you know? And like, he's just it's a little bit different. It's a little bit of like looking around the corner. Oh my God, there's this incredible, beautiful garden over there.
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Speaker 4
Yeah. That was going to really become the Jazz Age. So Louis Armstrong didn't create the Jazz Age. But I mean there was no jazz age without him.
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Speaker 2
Yeah. He's he's perhaps the most important artist of it. Yeah. And the person who propelled it to the next level. Yeah. There is levels to this like and you can hear.
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Speaker 4
That there's levels and you're going to hear by the time I get to well before 1933. But I mean it's really a just a massive trajectory that he was cool.
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Speaker 2
I had not heard that. That's very.
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Speaker 4
Cool. Yeah. So that's kind of I mean, there's some other things that people say are a little bit earlier, but I think that's his first great. Like where you're like, whoa, like, what is that? Yeah. And as great as Joe Oliver was and all the musicians on there, it's like that separation. You start, you know, they're all masked.
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Speaker 4
I mean, like, this was. And look, Joe Oliver, it hadn't been for Joe Oliver, not only with his mentorship of Louis Armstrong. Is there no Louis Armstrong, but he also brought him to Chicago. So he was going on the riverboats. Joe Oliver was well established. Chicago was sort of like the, you know, Chicago in New York with the recording capitals of the world.
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Speaker 4
But there was also he had a legendary, you know, on the South Side, they had the Lincoln Gardens. There was there was
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Speaker 4
I don't think it was like totally integrated, but there was,
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Speaker 4
freedom for black musicians and artists and audiences that did not exist in New Orleans. Yeah, outside of a few blocks. So, like, he opened that up, you know, to Louis Armstrong by bringing him, you know, having to play second trumpet with him, but pretty quickly,
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Speaker 4
because of little Hardin, who was an incredible pianist that was playing with Joe Oliver as well,
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Speaker 4
who was actually from Memphis.
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Speaker 4
Would later become Lewis's wife for many years.
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Speaker 4
As we heard, you know, kind of pulled his coat. And so he ended up going, to New York, with Fletcher Henderson. But before that, and really, he had already been playing. Sidney Bouchet was kind of the other big star besides,
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Speaker 4
Joe Oliver. Yeah,
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Speaker 4
on clarinet.
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Speaker 4
So this is from 1924 and this is from, Clarence Williams Blue five. This is kind of when you start to see the trajectory. So just less than a year later.
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Speaker 2
No, this is this is.
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Speaker 4
Great Texas Motor Blues.
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Unknown
Oh, oh.
00:16:13:04 - 00:16:13:18
Unknown
Oh.
00:16:13:19 - 00:16:14:15
Speaker 4
So he's already.
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Speaker 2
Celebration's.
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Speaker 4
Away from Joe. Oh.
00:16:21:20 - 00:16:38:14
Unknown
000000. 0000.
00:16:38:16 - 00:16:42:10
Unknown
Oh. For all.
00:16:42:12 - 00:16:50:14
Speaker 3
0000000000.
00:16:50:16 - 00:17:00:01
Speaker 4
So a lot of this improv still, collected, right? Yeah. Played at the same time. We're going to see though, such a break away from that, which really open things up for Louis.
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Speaker 2
Said who? Sidney Bechet. Yeah.
00:17:04:05 - 00:17:08:03
Unknown
Oh. Oh.
00:17:08:05 - 00:17:11:04
Unknown
Oh, oh oh.
00:17:11:06 - 00:17:23:23
Speaker 4
Yeah. So there's already a lot of, you know, you start to hear a lot more, but it's still that collective improvization. So it's not really standing out front and just taking along so well. Nothing could be that long because yeah, the three minute limit on the 78.
00:17:23:23 - 00:17:24:21
Speaker 2
But that was great.
00:17:24:21 - 00:17:27:10
Speaker 4
Yeah. Yeah. So then 1924,
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Speaker 4
you know, we have
00:17:28:13 - 00:17:35:22
Speaker 4
sort of the beginning of the next period, which is really the Fletcher Henderson breakthrough. Fletcher Henderson was huge with a big band, bigger band,
00:17:35:22 - 00:17:42:21
Speaker 4
was in New York, had the biggest gigs and was really like doing the, the whatever they call it, the hot style and stuff like that.
00:17:43:03 - 00:18:00:17
Speaker 4
1924 1925 Louis Armstrong played with him, played with a bunch of different people, but came to New York and this is an example of kind of just a little snippet of what he did. There's some really interesting recordings, and they're super high level, but they're really short solos. But you're starting to hear him getting away from the New Orleans collective improv.
00:18:00:20 - 00:18:01:20
Speaker 4
When you have the big,
00:18:01:20 - 00:18:16:11
Speaker 4
you know, the big personalities of King Oliver, Saint John, you know, Dodds and all of them. And this is with Fletcher Henderson, maybe a little bit more of a, New York is sophisticated kind of thing. But the solo this is Copenhagen. It's the name of the song.
00:18:16:13 - 00:18:24:07
Speaker 4
Penny. Perry.
00:18:24:09 - 00:18:29:09
Speaker 3
And.
00:18:29:11 - 00:18:32:18
Speaker 3
They're going to be here. Did you know? Yeah.
00:18:32:19 - 00:18:36:04
Speaker 2
Then all of a sudden, we're we're pushed ahead a little bit. It feels like.
00:18:36:04 - 00:18:44:11
Speaker 4
Yeah, he's still got the bit dirty, like the blues, but I bit like you're starting to hear the language. Yeah. It's going to come out a couple decades later, you know man.
00:18:44:11 - 00:18:47:03
Speaker 4
So also in New York he recorded with,
00:18:47:03 - 00:18:58:09
Speaker 4
Bessie Smith, who was like probably the biggest African-American star singer in the world, who he started to get around the world, certainly the most famous blues singer.
00:18:58:11 - 00:19:06:10
Speaker 4
I don't think anyone was really talking about jazz singers at that time. It was like there was jazz, there was blues, there was these new sounds, and it hadn't really been codified yet.
00:19:06:10 - 00:19:23:06
Speaker 4
But she was really big. And so this is a little example of their thing. And this was the beginning. Well, I think I'm sure he did it before this, but this was the earliest I could kind of find when Louis Armstrong was doing the wah wah with the plunger thing, which would become super influential, had always been done in with New Orleans trumpet players Joe Oliver and stuff.
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Speaker 4
But this is Reckless Blues from 1925.
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Unknown
Already from the world. Some love that he, mama was a rough, and pretty poor, mama want some love. And I love. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. So free is pretty far from. Yeah.
00:19:59:12 - 00:20:00:05
Speaker 2
I mean.
00:20:00:07 - 00:20:07:04
Unknown
Right now. I'm. Yeah, it's a lot of.
00:20:07:06 - 00:20:10:01
Speaker 4
What is that now become a thing. It's like the color line.
00:20:10:03 - 00:20:10:06
Speaker 2
Yes.
00:20:10:09 - 00:20:11:22
Speaker 4
It's a calliope. Yeah.
00:20:12:00 - 00:20:27:11
Speaker 2
Because Bessie has a lot of recordings that she was singing with something that sounds kind of like that. There was that was like a popular instrument or something like that. But man, that's a haunting and really cool sound. Also, it just, you know, with Bessie Smith here, it really highlights.
00:20:27:13 - 00:20:28:07
Speaker 4
She's here.
00:20:28:09 - 00:20:30:18
Speaker 2
Now with what we just heard, I man.
00:20:30:18 - 00:20:31:18
Speaker 4
I got nervous, man.
00:20:31:18 - 00:20:50:11
Speaker 2
It's like like you were saying, it just highlights like there wasn't this like it wasn't as much of a distinction here. Like these all fit together. The blues is so yeah important to what's happening that sound. And it's not like it's just like. And this is the box of blues musicians and jazz. Like everybody's kind of drawing from the same source closer to the source at this point.
00:20:50:11 - 00:20:54:12
Speaker 2
So. Right. It just fits together like this beautiful, this beautiful tapestry right here.
00:20:54:16 - 00:21:03:21
Speaker 4
Yeah. And I think, you know, this is like, you know, was probably the first singer besides himself. I'm about to get into some Louis Armstrong vocals for the first time, 1926.
00:21:03:21 - 00:21:06:18
Speaker 4
Not the first time he sang, but the first time we're listening today.
00:21:06:18 - 00:21:11:23
Speaker 4
But where he had a vocal personality that could kind of match him, that he could really.
00:21:11:23 - 00:21:12:21
Speaker 4
Yeah. You know,
00:21:12:21 - 00:21:19:17
Speaker 4
not to say that. I mean, like Sidney Bishop, for sure. We heard that, like, probably the two best jazz improvisers of the early 20s, Bessie Smith.
00:21:19:17 - 00:21:27:04
Speaker 2
Again, someone we probably take for granted as we listen to now because of the man, because of the language that she helped develop vocally. Yeah.
00:21:27:04 - 00:21:29:08
Speaker 2
It's but it's pretty special. Yeah.
00:21:29:10 - 00:21:39:22
Speaker 4
Absolutely. And it's kind of a little bit of foreshadowing to like the later 50s and for with Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong and their great collaboration on, you know, summertime Time and all those great records,
00:21:39:22 - 00:21:44:15
Speaker 4
where, where he had this ability I mean, like that Wawa with Bessie Smith that back and forth,
00:21:44:15 - 00:21:45:18
Speaker 4
is just stunning, you know?
00:21:45:18 - 00:21:52:15
Speaker 2
Okay. So I've got like, Sidney Bouchet homework to do. I got some more Bessie Smith homework to do. I went through a bit of a link to.
00:21:52:16 - 00:22:03:15
Speaker 4
To the, to this bespoke playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, and because I think that this is like if you've been a little obviously this is not an album. These were all like singles, 78. So whatever. They had cylinder things, even.
00:22:03:15 - 00:22:07:13
Speaker 2
At the beach. I don't know if an album was even a concept. No, like a long playing album.
00:22:07:13 - 00:22:19:22
Speaker 4
Yeah. And one of the things I think we're gonna have some I think I picked out some not only great tracks, but good versions. So like if you want to get into or if you've been intimidated by like, Louis Armstrong, well, what am I supposed to listen to? Maybe, you know, some of the famous ones West and Blues.
00:22:19:22 - 00:22:27:15
Speaker 4
A little foreshadowing there, but you want to kind of know about this period? Check out our playlist, because I think this goes together to really feel like the flavor that Louis brought,
00:22:27:15 - 00:22:33:15
Speaker 4
to that decade. So we're going to jump to 1926. How do you feel about that? This was a big year for Louis Armstrong.
00:22:33:15 - 00:22:36:00
Speaker 2
Feel good. So he's 25.
00:22:36:02 - 00:22:37:17
Speaker 4
That was 1925. Yeah. With no.
00:22:37:17 - 00:22:39:02
Speaker 2
No he's 25 years old 20.
00:22:39:02 - 00:22:54:05
Speaker 4
Five years old. Yeah exactly. Exactly. And so now he's you know okay. So this is the other thing that happened around 1925, 26 was he went back to Chicago. He was traveling a lot, actually. I mean, in fact, we think about how hard it is to travel out there, like going to California. Oh yeah. Right after this.
00:22:54:05 - 00:22:57:14
Speaker 2
Several days, you know, and very uncomfortable. And so you go to.
00:22:57:16 - 00:23:03:08
Speaker 4
You weren't getting on United, but you get on a ship most like we're going to get to that or he hadn't gone to Europe yet at this point.
00:23:03:08 - 00:23:07:15
Speaker 4
But he went back to Chicago and this was very interesting. He didn't go back to play with,
00:23:07:15 - 00:23:13:11
Speaker 4
Joe Oliver very much. This is when he started to put together for okay records,
00:23:13:11 - 00:23:18:04
Speaker 4
the Hot Fives and the Hot Sevens, which would become really the most legendary,
00:23:18:04 - 00:23:19:20
Speaker 4
jazz band, probably of all time.
00:23:19:20 - 00:23:31:17
Speaker 4
You can talk about the Miles Davis Quintet, you can talk about the Duke Ellington Orchestra, but you got to talk about before any of that stuff, you know, you could talk about secrets. Headhunters. I know you like talking about that, but I mean, all these great things like do it's hot.
00:23:31:17 - 00:23:34:03
Speaker 2
I really do not enjoy secrets. And they just.
00:23:34:04 - 00:23:34:18
Speaker 4
Do.
00:23:34:18 - 00:23:41:11
Speaker 4
So back in Chicago recording their okay records. This is big butter and egg man. An excerpt from it from 1926.
00:23:41:11 - 00:23:42:19
Speaker 2
Credible title of a song by. Yeah.
00:23:42:20 - 00:23:44:16
Speaker 4
Maybe we'll play this on the way out. That might be fun.
00:23:44:16 - 00:23:52:11
Speaker 2
Yeah, let's just do.
00:23:52:13 - 00:23:55:11
Speaker 4
This is his solo.
00:24:14:22 - 00:24:19:08
Speaker 4
Breaking up the rhythms.
00:24:19:10 - 00:24:25:03
Speaker 4
Chromaticism.
00:24:33:11 - 00:24:39:17
Speaker 3
It might have never been mine, but if my dream comes.
00:24:39:18 - 00:25:01:05
Speaker 4
So I think the fact that I got 26 big butter an egg, man. The fact that, like, these are great musicians that are playing along with Louis are everything. Sounds a little dated. Yeah, except for Louis Armstrong. I don't know, to me, like he sounds contemporary. It's so contemporary. You know, there is the pedal pedal pop up, you know, the chromaticism, the I mean, all the little things that musicians nerd out on.
00:25:01:05 - 00:25:05:08
Speaker 4
But it's like it's beyond refreshing. It's like separation from the piano, you know? Yeah.
00:25:05:08 - 00:25:17:04
Speaker 2
I mean, he's one of those artists where even if you haven't learned directly from him, there's a good chance you've learned from someone who's learned from him or learned from someone who's learn from someone who's learned from him, like his language has translated through the decades.
00:25:17:04 - 00:25:17:18
Speaker 4
Yes. Yeah.
00:25:17:19 - 00:25:28:20
Speaker 2
True. Now like to where you could play a Louis Armstrong solo in a modern context, in a wooden sound that out of context, I would sound like modern, right?
00:25:28:20 - 00:25:45:21
Speaker 4
Right. Still. Right. Yeah. He was really the bridge between like, the Jazz Age, which was kind of a trendy thing that maybe, you know, a lot of that sound could be considered dated a lot of ways, but like, he was already foreshadowing where the music could go. Yeah. And then others like, picked up on that and then where he was going to contribute to taking it as well.
00:25:45:21 - 00:25:53:15
Speaker 4
You talk about bebop, you talk about Duke Ellington, you talk about I mean, Duke Ellington was already doing this stuff. So but Louis Armstrong was already starting to influence that,
00:25:53:15 - 00:26:00:01
Speaker 4
through people hearing his records. You know what I mean? We're starting to get to the late 20s. More records are being I mean, they're starting to sell a lot of records.
00:26:00:06 - 00:26:14:16
Speaker 4
The recording technology was super interesting, too, because when they recorded these, there was a lot of pressure. It was so expensive to record, I guess buying the wax cylinders or whatever, it was like you had to nail the fur. You didn't have to, but it was strongly encouraged to nail it. In one take. There was no overdubs.
00:26:14:16 - 00:26:15:08
Speaker 2
Let me ask you questions.
00:26:15:08 - 00:26:16:16
Speaker 4
No Pro Tools. Adam, what's.
00:26:16:16 - 00:26:19:10
Speaker 2
A big butter and egg? It sounds like a delicious sandwich.
00:26:19:12 - 00:26:20:04
Speaker 4
An egg man.
00:26:20:05 - 00:26:21:00
Speaker 2
Yeah. What is that?
00:26:21:05 - 00:26:24:00
Speaker 4
It's a big dude who likes butter and eggs. Man, I don't know.
00:26:24:02 - 00:26:26:20
Speaker 2
That's me. That's me. You're talking about me.
00:26:26:22 - 00:26:33:10
Speaker 4
All right, so later on 1926, now we're going to check out okay. We're going to get into some vocals of awesome. He's a big.
00:26:33:10 - 00:26:34:13
Speaker 2
Butter and egg man.
00:26:34:15 - 00:26:38:10
Speaker 4
Isn't butter not a vegan. It's the opposite of cheese. Yeah he's not a vegan.
00:26:38:10 - 00:26:40:13
Speaker 2
He's a big butter and egg man.
00:26:40:15 - 00:27:02:10
Speaker 4
Okay. Heebie jeebies. Check this out. There's a couple of great things about this track. I love this track. This really. This is hot five hot seven stuff Louis Armstrong, Chicago, 1926. But he's bringing what everybody almost in the band. Almost everybody was from New Orleans, but they're bringing the New Orleans flavor. It's not as much collective improvization still some, but they've also got that Caribbean flavor, which has always been a part of the music.
00:27:02:11 - 00:27:04:15
Speaker 4
And it was very sophisticated kind of take,
00:27:04:15 - 00:27:22:08
Speaker 4
you know, there was like the French stuff, the Caribbean, obviously the street beat, New Orleans stuff, the brass band. And then we're even gonna get some vocals and some scat. But check this out, the first excerpt, how they start this. I think you're going to hear the Caribbean vibe.
00:27:22:10 - 00:27:32:08
Speaker 3
Go the. Yeah. It is me me me me me me.
00:27:32:08 - 00:27:41:16
Unknown
Me me me me the driver. Yeah.
00:27:41:18 - 00:27:52:22
Unknown
Me and me. Me me me me me me me me. Once together.
00:27:53:00 - 00:28:11:22
Speaker 4
So this is heebie jeebies. And, this is Louis Armstrong talking about this because this was sort of a legendary track that allegedly when the first scat solo was ever recorded. So a lot of controversy about that. But it's a very early one and one of the first, certainly for Louis Armstrong, for sure. Check him out. Talking about this with Dick Cavett.
00:28:11:22 - 00:28:14:14
Speaker 4
Ever heard of him invented scat singing?
00:28:14:14 - 00:28:15:13
Speaker 1
Is it possibly.
00:28:15:13 - 00:28:42:17
Speaker 6
Is that. Well, they they claim, when he was recording, heebie jeebies, and, we grounded his part for the second course in that dropped paper and the president and the control board, he says, keep on singing and saying, well, I brought back memories when I was a kid. Members of the quartet, the street in New Orleans where we get to party, we didn't know the words.
00:28:42:17 - 00:29:03:04
Speaker 6
We'd go to scat while doing like a trumpet or something like that. And it came to me just like that. I wonder where it would inspire the master? Nothing. So when we finished mystifying, he said, well, that's, that's and this is where scat was born, see? And, he said it put them in. They gave me that monocle view.
00:29:03:06 - 00:29:14:18
Speaker 6
But that's where scat was supposed to start. Yeah, but General Morton claimed that he and some comedian used to scat way back there in the 80s, something. Oh, I wasn't born and I. No, no.
00:29:14:20 - 00:29:16:20
Speaker 2
Oh, the 1880s. Got it.
00:29:16:22 - 00:29:17:14
Speaker 4
Yeah. That great.
00:29:17:14 - 00:29:36:10
Speaker 2
The 80s and the 80s. Yeah. You know, like when, it was out. No. Oh, the 1880s, you know, it's always. Yeah, man. Great to hear the the New Orleans accent because, you know, all my accents, they change and they smooth out over time. So there's not too many folks in New Orleans that I've talked to that sound exactly like that, like someone born in 1901.
00:29:36:12 - 00:29:51:01
Speaker 2
Just like when he said memories. It's memories. Memories. That's kind of how my grandmother would say it, even though she was from rural Missouri. Yeah, but she would she, like, had this like thing that we, we would never say, even though I'm from rural Missouri too, I, I wouldn't talk like that because it's gotten smoothed out. It's interesting.
00:29:51:01 - 00:29:51:09
Speaker 2
Yeah.
00:29:51:09 - 00:30:20:09
Speaker 4
It's great. And he's like, you know, they give the what do you say they, they gave me that monocle, you know, like substituting words. There's actually like a whole linguist instead of moniker. Right, right, right, right, right. But it actually has another meaning to it too. Like there's a whole linguistic thing of like analyze, especially in New Orleans where you had a lot of like African descendant tree like with more direct lineage, where there was like different cultural things, not only with food and language and stuff that were actually kept and preserved and passed along.
00:30:20:10 - 00:30:40:17
Speaker 4
Yeah. And part of the culture, you know, but I think, you know, the really cool thing you hear this is, I mean, this is him, like 40 years later talking about this late 60s. Yeah. Very close to actually right before he passed when he was on capital. But he, like you hear in how he talked, how he played, like how he infused into the culture.
00:30:40:22 - 00:31:00:21
Speaker 4
Like his personality. Yeah. Like you had this intersection of obviously, you know, which the whole world saw years later, this huge personality. But you're hearing in the 20s, like it's really blooming, on the trumpet in a way that was like, shocking to other musicians and had people like King Oliver plays trumpet player in the world saying, keep him on second trumpet so I can keep an eye on him.
00:31:00:21 - 00:31:15:13
Speaker 4
So he didn't steal my thunder, you know? Yeah. But to be able to like, you know, infuse all that and then inspire and then it comes along with the technology and it's getting spread around the world. I mean, this stuff got really, really big. We're going to get to that. I mean, years we talked.
00:31:15:13 - 00:31:35:06
Speaker 2
About this during our meetings episode. But it's always amazing to me, you I know you lived in New Orleans and like whenever I'm there you feel the music so heavy. Yeah. But it's so incredible. It's not a big city, right? Relatively, you know, and and it's outsized influence on the culture that still resonates today and still is this huge part.
00:31:35:09 - 00:31:41:19
Speaker 2
And here's like we were just talking about his accent. Yeah. Like that has informed the music which is traveled around the world.
00:31:41:20 - 00:31:42:08
Speaker 4
Exactly.
00:31:42:08 - 00:31:48:03
Speaker 2
You know what I mean? This accent from this one neighborhood in New Orleans from the early part of the 20th century. Yeah. Amazing.
00:31:48:07 - 00:31:55:01
Speaker 4
So this is the rest of CBGBs. Later on that we're gonna listen to what he was just talking about when he dropped the paper and started scatting.
00:31:55:04 - 00:32:34:16
Speaker 3
I got Hebrew, I mean, we've been talking about there's even deeper, you see, cause for Jesus, we need these bands not to not be because somebody sees you. Come on and do that thing. They call him David. They get them and that he give you see if you can given Jesus on leave it did a little do do do do do do do do do do know that do need to see and hear.
00:32:34:16 - 00:32:48:20
Speaker 3
But you don't know de de de de de de de Kooning. Because the Hebrew champions that see mama have a little heebie jeebies that people.
00:32:48:22 - 00:32:52:08
Speaker 4
Do this kind of song, you know, it.
00:32:52:10 - 00:32:53:09
Speaker 2
And I think he really.
00:32:53:09 - 00:33:01:05
Speaker 4
Did drop it because, like, probably the only thing you remember was the he once he gets back to the he big like he gets back into the lyric there. But I mean like via the law.
00:33:01:05 - 00:33:02:18
Speaker 2
As he dropped the paper. Right.
00:33:02:18 - 00:33:21:01
Speaker 4
And then and I mean the end because like they're like, just keep it going, you know, because we don't want to wait. Like you couldn't start to take again. You had to load up a whole thing. So that's another part of the technology. They kind of intersected with an artist like Louis Armstrong that really, you know, again, not the first improviser ever, but the first great improvization.
00:33:21:01 - 00:33:35:14
Speaker 4
I think that only encouraged it to be document. Could you imagine it was now it's like, wait, wait, stop, let's do it again. Like there was none of that. So it's like, who's going to rise to the top? Somebody that can come in and create something like that, that brings a smile to our face. And like you know, all these, you know, whatever.
00:33:35:14 - 00:33:39:11
Speaker 4
100 years later now, just like that in one take. Can we get.
00:33:39:11 - 00:33:41:11
Speaker 2
Some banjo up in here to this kill?
00:33:41:12 - 00:33:43:20
Speaker 4
Yeah. And I'm sorry, I should have actually, you know who that is.
00:33:43:21 - 00:33:45:13
Speaker 2
Man, that is. That is.
00:33:45:18 - 00:33:47:20
Speaker 4
Johnny saying sincere, I.
00:33:47:20 - 00:33:50:06
Speaker 2
Think Johnny sincere. Yeah. Thank you. Johnny saying so.
00:33:50:07 - 00:33:50:20
Speaker 4
Yeah. I mean.
00:33:50:21 - 00:33:51:22
Speaker 2
Just making me dance. I can go.
00:33:51:22 - 00:33:53:16
Speaker 4
Go go and then hitting the foot.
00:33:53:16 - 00:33:54:16
Speaker 2
All right. Yeah.
00:33:54:16 - 00:33:57:01
Speaker 4
No, the flavor, flavor. Incredible.
00:33:57:02 - 00:33:58:03
Speaker 2
Like. Yeah.
00:33:58:05 - 00:33:59:18
Speaker 1
Yeah.
00:33:59:20 - 00:34:01:23
Speaker 4
Okay, so now we're still Chicago.
00:34:01:23 - 00:34:06:04
Speaker 2
That's will be Nile Rodgers. Like, it's it's this similar I know thing, you know. Yeah.
00:34:06:06 - 00:34:23:15
Speaker 4
Okay. So now we're moving along. We're still, we're really getting to kind of the apex of the hot fives and hot sevens. Some of the tracks that are most known and most this is 1927, you know, okay records this way of recording that they would do things they were really starting to like with artists like Louis Armstrong get this dialed in.
00:34:23:18 - 00:34:28:12
Speaker 4
These records started going, getting really huge. Like this was such a new sound.
00:34:28:12 - 00:34:39:05
Speaker 2
Yeah. Even in the four years we're listening to hear the technology, you can hear it developing. Yeah. So it's like it's, you know, jazz is in its infancy, but like recording technology is in its infancy and it's developing fast.
00:34:39:05 - 00:34:53:14
Speaker 4
It's evolving fast. And it took people it it wasn't that they couldn't do. But like I say like the parts were expensive and and even like in the, you know, 23 and 22 and stuff when he's playing with Joe Oliver, supposedly like Louis Armstrong, sound was so big that he had to he had to stand like 15ft back.
00:34:53:17 - 00:35:03:07
Speaker 4
And Joel Ver apparently did like that because he's got like, I got a big sound, but it was like screwing up. It was costing the record company money because he'd screw up it. They would, it would overload it. So they would just position them back.
00:35:03:09 - 00:35:04:18
Speaker 2
That's what he was saying. The microphone.
00:35:04:18 - 00:35:05:04
Speaker 4
For the whole.
00:35:05:04 - 00:35:10:14
Speaker 2
Band. Was that what he was saying? Maybe when he was talking about spoiling the master like he blew it out or something and they would have him. Yeah.
00:35:10:20 - 00:35:16:08
Speaker 4
Yeah. So there was like pressure in there. It's like, you got to come in, nail this. You got to be the mix was done physically.
00:35:16:08 - 00:35:16:20
Speaker 2
Physically.
00:35:17:01 - 00:35:18:10
Speaker 1
Physically. You know.
00:35:18:12 - 00:35:20:17
Speaker 2
Well as this recording isn't hard enough, I mean.
00:35:20:17 - 00:35:23:03
Speaker 4
Like here we are with our fancy mics and our, you know.
00:35:23:05 - 00:35:26:13
Speaker 2
So comfy. Yeah. Or iPad where we could just.
00:35:26:13 - 00:35:43:07
Speaker 4
Oh what was interesting about that years later, maybe we could do so many episodes just on Louis Armstrong. Louis Armstrong was a huge technologist for recording throughout his career, so I don't know that. I think it's because he came up at the beginning of like radio and recording technology was kind of around the cutting edge of it because.
00:35:43:07 - 00:35:47:07
Speaker 2
He was recording and he got to live to see like multi-track recording and all that stuff.
00:35:47:07 - 00:35:54:14
Speaker 4
Once he ended up in New York, lived in Queens, the same house? Actually not, I want to say in the 30s, maybe I again, we're not a history show. We're not a math joke.
00:35:54:15 - 00:35:55:22
Speaker 2
You don't say, yeah.
00:35:56:00 - 00:36:10:21
Speaker 4
But Louis, it's a museum. Now, next time we we're in New York, we're going mean you. We're doing what? You going? Hey, I'm going to hold hands and walk around the Louis Armstrong house, so we'll see. But the thing is, like he had he had an office there, his fame. Like it was just a normal house in Queens, in a neighborhood.
00:36:10:21 - 00:36:23:22
Speaker 4
He lived there even as he became World, world famous and everything. But he had this, he was big into reel to reel. He was early on the reel to reel thing. He used to travel with it. Yeah. And he would, like, talk to it like a journal every night. And they have these like, hundreds of hours. Amazing.
00:36:24:00 - 00:36:42:02
Speaker 4
Talking about his life growing up in New Orleans, all this stuff. The archives. Incredible at Queens College. Yeah. And he was always into, like, having the best high fi equipment. I mean, he died in 1971, so it was like the hi fi stuff was different back then. Yeah. Okay. Wild Man Blues, 1927. Do we need to take a breath?
00:36:42:02 - 00:36:42:17
Speaker 4
Are we good? No.
00:36:42:17 - 00:36:44:01
Speaker 2
We're good man. Okay, good. Great.
00:36:44:03 - 00:36:53:17
Speaker 4
While Man Blues 1927, still Chicago. Okay. Records, hot fives, hot sevens. We're getting to some. We already had some stuff. We're really getting to some stuff.
00:36:53:19 - 00:37:15:09
Unknown
Ha ha. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
00:37:15:11 - 00:37:17:04
Unknown
Ha ha ha.
00:37:17:06 - 00:37:19:00
Speaker 3
Ha!
00:37:19:02 - 00:37:20:05
Speaker 2
This breaks.
00:37:20:07 - 00:37:25:11
Unknown
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
00:37:25:13 - 00:37:37:12
Speaker 3
I like aggressive. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
00:37:37:15 - 00:37:39:07
Speaker 2
Get out of.
00:37:39:09 - 00:37:43:18
Unknown
My.
00:37:43:20 - 00:37:54:12
Unknown
Ha ha ha!
00:37:54:13 - 00:38:00:21
Speaker 3
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Jay! Ha ha ha.
00:38:00:21 - 00:38:03:09
Unknown
Ha!
00:38:03:11 - 00:38:10:16
Unknown
Hey! Hey!
00:38:10:18 - 00:38:22:13
Speaker 3
I know it's crazy. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
00:38:22:15 - 00:38:28:02
Unknown
Ha ha ha!
00:38:28:04 - 00:38:28:20
Unknown
Ha ha.
00:38:28:20 - 00:38:38:08
Speaker 3
Ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha! Haha!
00:38:38:10 - 00:38:42:14
Speaker 4
Hi! Swing city Dodge Ram clarinet. Quincy. This is.
00:38:42:15 - 00:38:49:22
Speaker 2
There's nothing better than swing. There's nothing better than swing. Syncopation. There's just no better human feeling in music than swinging.
00:38:49:22 - 00:38:50:22
Speaker 4
It's so great. And it's.
00:38:50:22 - 00:38:54:03
Speaker 2
Such a gift that the musicians who developed that gave.
00:38:54:03 - 00:39:09:22
Speaker 4
Us. I know, I mean, it was definitely evolutionary, you know what I mean? Up to a point, like the that the groove that we call, like, what you talk, that feeling of swing, but like, something about Louis. The way he played it as a soloist, I think made it into, like, revolution, that it was evolution. And then it was like, bam!
00:39:10:00 - 00:39:12:05
Speaker 4
And then it all kind of jumped off after that. And if you're.
00:39:12:07 - 00:39:21:03
Speaker 2
If you're like listening and wondering like, oh, what do they mean by swing or syncopation? It's it's almost not worth breaking it down. Or like it said, if, if, when you know, when you hear it.
00:39:21:03 - 00:39:23:09
Speaker 4
Right, you know, you can't feel it. Forget about. No, it is a.
00:39:23:09 - 00:39:40:02
Speaker 2
Feeling like it is. Yes. You could of course, break it down with music theory and rhythmic notation or whatever, which ruins something. So, you know, with no, it's not even but it is. It is just a feeling and it's capturing a feeling that is, it's indescribable. Really, truly.
00:39:40:05 - 00:39:53:12
Speaker 4
And I think for, for look for listeners, for music appreciators, which is absolutely what I consider myself first and foremost. You know, it is a feeling. Let it resonate with you. Don't over complicated. There's no secret scope scrolls to it.
00:39:53:12 - 00:39:53:16
Speaker 2
Yeah.
00:39:53:17 - 00:39:55:05
Speaker 4
Just feel stupid.
00:39:55:05 - 00:39:57:00
Speaker 2
Stupid purple.
00:39:57:00 - 00:40:17:17
Speaker 4
I mean, it's such a it's such a beautiful thing that he established that freedom. Yeah. Okay. 1928 we're getting sort of towards the end of the Chicago Hot Vibes Hot Sevens recording period. But we're going to introduce the first of a couple of tracks we have with Earl Hines on piano. Earl Hines really considered, you know, the father of jazz piano.
00:40:17:17 - 00:40:36:19
Speaker 4
Never heard of him. Ever heard of him? Ever heard of him? And they had some wonderful duets, some beautiful things. We're gonna listen to Mughals 1928, with Earl Hines and Louis Armstrong.
00:40:46:09 - 00:40:54:00
Speaker 3
I'm here. For.
00:40:54:02 - 00:41:00:01
Speaker 3
Me. Hey!
00:41:00:03 - 00:41:24:09
Unknown
Name every. Name. Oh! Let me be my.
00:41:24:11 - 00:41:34:21
Unknown
Mammy, it's me forever. Forever.
00:41:34:23 - 00:41:39:06
Unknown
And.
00:41:39:08 - 00:41:40:12
Unknown
I mean, it's it's like.
00:41:40:12 - 00:42:03:00
Speaker 4
Wow. It's like. I'm just a beneficiary at the tone. And I think here you get with Earl Hines. Kind of like with Bessie Smith, with, Sidney Bouchet, you start to get the intersection with the biggest joke. You know, King Oliver, of course, the biggest musical personalities that could kind of at least come into his arena. You know, a lot of the stuff that Earl Hines is playing behind him.
00:42:03:03 - 00:42:10:01
Speaker 4
More starting to get into comping, less kind of collective improvization. Yeah, but I mean, Louis Armstrong, this, like peak of his powers here, which he.
00:42:10:01 - 00:42:10:12
Speaker 2
Fought.
00:42:10:18 - 00:42:12:05
Speaker 4
Here, he maintained for Mary long.
00:42:12:05 - 00:42:19:07
Speaker 2
Time again. Swing and syncopation. One nerd nook thing that I don't know if you have a nerd to plan for our open studio members. Yes we will. That's where we go going a little.
00:42:19:08 - 00:42:20:14
Speaker 4
Enter the nerd nerd.
00:42:20:14 - 00:42:21:12
Speaker 2
Nook on the Music.
00:42:21:12 - 00:42:21:20
Speaker 4
Center.
00:42:21:21 - 00:42:40:20
Speaker 2
But you know, every single song that we've listened to so far that's been a blues form. Yeah, a 12 bar blues form is like, you know, contemporary blues are all like dominant seventh chords, right? Yeah. Blues sound from the start of the form. All of these are just a major chord. Yes. And then you throw in that dominant seventh the bar before you go to the four.
00:42:40:20 - 00:42:41:06
Speaker 4
Right.
00:42:41:06 - 00:42:51:20
Speaker 2
It's kind of thing is like a second music theory wise, like a secondary dominant is here. We're going somewhere new instead of it's all the secondary dominant or the tonic dominant now. But like it's it's useful.
00:42:51:21 - 00:43:08:11
Speaker 4
Yeah. There's way more minor thirds that he's playing with that 100% dominant 700, a lot of major sixes, you know. Yeah. No, it's just in his command of the instrument. You can like, sometimes people's tell you we talk about technique on instrument. A lot of people be like, well, why was he like, they'll think about Louis Armstrong, a great trumpet player.
00:43:08:11 - 00:43:23:01
Speaker 4
Oh, they can play high and it's in tune. They don't even know what in tune. But, you know, it's like, you know what out of tune is. Yeah, but you don't know it. In tune is, you know, unless you're analyzing it. But I think to just his ability, like you can almost feel him like thinking of these ideas.
00:43:23:01 - 00:43:29:14
Speaker 4
And there's very little separation between the musical idea and what he can do, what the instrument like getting in the way of that. That's kind of, you know, technique.
00:43:29:17 - 00:43:38:18
Speaker 2
1928. He's 27 years old. It feels like this is like he's got a full handle on everything. He's got a full command of his powers now. Yeah.
00:43:38:20 - 00:43:56:23
Speaker 4
And then so this is 1928 as well. This is now this is probably the most famous, and this almost made my apex mountain. But, and my wrong. But it didn't. But it's really great weather, bird. It's probably the most famous duo with Earl Hines and Louis Armstrong. It might be the most famous sort of jazz duo of all time and was beloved.
00:43:57:00 - 00:44:00:18
Speaker 2
Well, there was last week's duel between me and you on the Michael Jackson episode.
00:44:00:18 - 00:44:05:09
Speaker 4
I'm just a doodle doo doo doo doo, Ella. That's who.
00:44:05:09 - 00:44:08:08
Speaker 2
We did. Started with you slapping me in the face with leather gloves and challenging me.
00:44:08:08 - 00:44:13:22
Speaker 4
But, it was sparkly glove because was Michael Jackson.
00:44:14:00 - 00:44:18:12
Speaker 2
To say. But yeah. Well done. I feel that for Peter Martin. Everybody is here on me.
00:44:18:13 - 00:44:30:11
Speaker 4
We try the real, But this is great weather. Bird 1928 duo. And this really here. The ragtime influence. Certainly for Earl. Yeah. Hines. But also for Louis Armstrong.
00:44:30:13 - 00:44:39:15
Speaker 3
He was.
00:44:39:17 - 00:44:43:15
Speaker 3
Back factor.
00:44:43:17 - 00:44:46:12
Speaker 3
For.
00:44:46:14 - 00:44:51:09
Speaker 3
Earl Hines field. Oh, unbelievable.
00:44:51:11 - 00:44:55:06
Speaker 2
The kind of stuff he's playing.
00:44:55:08 - 00:44:59:11
Speaker 3
This is actually.
00:44:59:13 - 00:45:15:10
Speaker 3
His.
00:45:15:12 - 00:45:21:20
Speaker 3
Yeah. And this is really.
00:45:21:22 - 00:45:29:20
Speaker 4
When people say stride, this is more rag. Feel the stride, I would say. I mean, of course it's. Yeah.
00:45:29:22 - 00:45:33:17
Speaker 2
I wish I could push that. Miss.
00:45:33:19 - 00:45:40:00
Speaker 3
We.
00:45:40:02 - 00:45:52:00
Speaker 3
This is super freak action. We just playing.
00:45:52:02 - 00:46:04:21
Speaker 3
To be.
00:46:04:23 - 00:46:13:20
Speaker 4
Anyway. Weather bird. Well, beloved. Well, well. Loved. 1928. We're going to skip over the next couple ones, because I think that they are the same.
00:46:13:20 - 00:46:15:04
Speaker 2
For our categories. We got some apex.
00:46:15:04 - 00:46:16:12
Speaker 4
Yeah, that's our moments.
00:46:16:12 - 00:46:18:16
Speaker 2
And desert islands coming up for sure.
00:46:18:18 - 00:46:22:11
Speaker 4
Still a nice, nice way. It was a big year. I had a I think I had more tracks on this.
00:46:22:11 - 00:46:24:06
Speaker 2
Maybe that's his apex moment. 1920.
00:46:24:06 - 00:46:53:22
Speaker 4
It be, it could be. I mean, I could have picked other ones. I don't know, these were all kind of personal faves, but I think that they. This was a great year. You're hearing the clarity in the recording. You're hearing like there's so much nuance even here from like that 1923 that you couldn't quite hear. Coming from I mean, Lewis obviously, like known for the high notes, for the swing, for the incredible technique, but also just like the way you would manipulate one note the the, I mean, later on the 50s, The Verge stuff with, with, summertime, it's like you hear the vibrato and going it out, I mean, the nuance stuff,
00:46:53:22 - 00:46:56:13
Speaker 4
but you start to be able to hear that better on this. Yeah.
00:46:56:14 - 00:47:11:14
Speaker 2
No, the trumpet shit is not to be, ignored. Right. It's a real thing. The trumpet is an insanely difficult instrument to get to the level that Louis Armstrong is here not to mention the artistic stuff, but just we don't want to just gloss over that, because I feel like trumpet nerds would come for us.
00:47:11:15 - 00:47:17:10
Speaker 4
Exactly. Yeah. Okay, so 1928, a little bit later, we got tight like this. This is a fun one. I'll just play a.
00:47:17:10 - 00:47:22:17
Speaker 1
Little bit of.
00:47:22:19 - 00:47:33:06
Speaker 4
This stuff that he plays coming up. Yeah I was always like, what I mean.
00:47:33:08 - 00:47:37:15
Speaker 4
Everything.
00:47:37:17 - 00:47:42:10
Speaker 4
Very kind of.
00:47:42:12 - 00:47:43:11
Speaker 4
Like going in and.
00:47:43:11 - 00:48:03:12
Speaker 3
Out all the time. Yeah, I type like that. Louis. It. It's not my favorite.
00:48:03:14 - 00:48:16:12
Speaker 4
This was still weird that because most people worked out this. So weird.
00:48:16:14 - 00:48:21:16
Speaker 3
Maybe. I like that.
00:48:21:16 - 00:48:23:15
Speaker 2
He might have been a first year. I feel.
00:48:23:15 - 00:48:30:16
Speaker 3
So good.
00:48:30:18 - 00:48:31:14
Speaker 3
So.
00:48:31:16 - 00:48:33:04
Speaker 1
Yeah, this is just.
00:48:33:06 - 00:48:45:06
Speaker 4
I feel like. Yeah, we got more stuff to get to a tie like this. That's that's a great. I think that's one of his best solos. Most inventive. Like, it's super like it's got all these, like, weird, like kind of classical operatic trumpet flavor. Yeah.
00:48:45:06 - 00:48:47:11
Speaker 2
Yeah. There's some language there, some operatic languages.
00:48:47:16 - 00:48:52:11
Speaker 4
And then going in and out of like the double time, like that heart, the backbeat. Man. It's.
00:48:52:12 - 00:48:57:11
Speaker 2
And the band sounds incredible. And the little trill thing like this. You.
00:48:57:14 - 00:48:58:04
Speaker 4
Yeah.
00:48:58:06 - 00:48:58:23
Speaker 3
Yeah.
00:48:59:01 - 00:49:20:19
Speaker 4
Yeah, yeah. Okay, we're going to jump one year to 1929. Now, this track, black and blue, or what did I do to be so black and blue? Complete title written by Fats Waller. From whatever. That musical was a movie. The same one was. I guess it was Ain't Misbehavin. But this is an important like this.
00:49:20:22 - 00:49:23:03
Speaker 2
Where there's that famous footage of fats played exactly.
00:49:23:09 - 00:49:30:18
Speaker 4
From the same movie or musical. I apologize for not knowing what that was. I wasn't born yet. Sumi. Sumi, I don't have the internet. I mean.
00:49:30:18 - 00:49:32:15
Speaker 2
It's disappointing because you are a historian.
00:49:32:17 - 00:49:33:19
Speaker 4
I was studying.
00:49:33:21 - 00:49:34:18
Speaker 2
Film and television.
00:49:35:00 - 00:49:42:22
Speaker 4
That's right. I'm kind of like a historical novelist, you know, where you weave things and fiction. But then they become like. I remember when I was hanging out with Fats Waller.
00:49:42:22 - 00:49:44:18
Speaker 2
And that's McGee.
00:49:44:19 - 00:49:49:02
Speaker 4
Oh, that's McGee, that's McGee. And Ron came in, and he asked about.
00:49:49:05 - 00:49:52:23
Speaker 2
You and slapped you with a sparkly glove. Let's go.
00:49:53:01 - 00:50:15:10
Speaker 4
But this track, black and blue, this was the first recorded, song. The first song that directly, addressed racism. And it was in 1929 by a jazz musician. So this was like a very important thing. And later on, we're not going to get into the, the we're not going to really go past 1933. But there's a lot of interesting things.
00:50:15:12 - 00:50:35:18
Speaker 4
For Louis Armstrong, as an African-American leader of culture, an international figure that became very relevant later on. But already in 1929, he was recording this. I mean, this was like Ralph Ellison and Invisible Man, which is probably the most famous novel from whenever that was late 50s. He actually the whole Prolog is about this performance and it's weaved into the story.
00:50:35:20 - 00:50:42:23
Speaker 4
And it's really a brilliant thing. And Lewis's nuanced reading of this, let's just check out a little bit of it. Black and blue, 1929.
00:50:55:23 - 00:51:10:15
Unknown
I am, I'm.
00:51:10:17 - 00:51:20:14
Unknown
Am I am. I am, I am I.
00:51:20:16 - 00:51:21:22
Unknown
Perfect.
00:51:22:00 - 00:51:37:13
Speaker 4
So anyway. And then he sings the lyrics great. Like it's really something to check out the whole track. It'll be on the playlist. I think this was. That's an incredible solo that he plays. Anyway. And a really important track. 1930. Oh, we're also getting like, so now he's out of Chicago, like he's going to New York, like he's going to California.
00:51:37:15 - 00:51:54:21
Speaker 4
This is he started to appear in movies. He started appear on there was no television, but it was like, yeah, it was film, whatever. And, you know, he's really getting getting popular. And he's, he's like, he's beyond starting to break through. He's breaking through. But this next track, this is always been one of my favorite. And there's great footage of this.
00:51:54:21 - 00:52:13:21
Speaker 4
A live performance of this from like two years later went on his first tour in Europe, This Is Dinah, which was like a really popular song and was a very square song. So like, this was really revolutionary. I think the way that he sang this. And if you look at the video too, it's super cool. It's some of the first footage of Louis Armstrong.
00:52:13:23 - 00:52:48:11
Speaker 3
And then one final up for like. 9 or 10 under one roof and hum, hum, hum. 111 right where you want to buy one, but, no, I want to know. Yeah. Well, I mean, I.
00:52:48:13 - 00:52:53:14
Speaker 4
Yeah, I have, yeah. Oh, sorry. I can't do that. I wanted to go to the.
00:52:53:14 - 00:53:02:21
Speaker 3
Sony one of you have to jump to a solo here.
00:53:02:23 - 00:53:09:00
Unknown
There's a 1970.
00:53:09:02 - 00:53:12:19
Unknown
Two.
00:53:12:21 - 00:53:23:12
Speaker 3
Rover here.
00:53:23:14 - 00:53:42:13
Speaker 2
Yeah. I should point out some of these, but so far, I've heard some things that I've heard from later. From Dizzy Gillespie. Yeah, I've heard bits of language that I've heard Dizzy Gillespie. Okay. I've heard something from Glenn Miller. Yeah. Glenn Miller song. I've heard something from Duke Ellington. Yeah. That was, that part of one of Lewis's solo.
00:53:42:13 - 00:53:48:03
Speaker 2
So yeah, it's it's pretty incredible. Like. Yeah, his again, his contribution to the language of music.
00:53:48:03 - 00:54:10:17
Speaker 4
Yeah. And then you know, Clark Terry, very Eldridge, Snooky Young like you really hear that direct connection here that bridged it to the to the next, you know. Okay, here we go. 1931. This is, lazy River by Hoagy Carmichael. There's some great Hoagy Carmichael songs and even collaborations that Louis Armstrong did with the great songwriter Hoagy Carmichael.
00:54:10:22 - 00:54:21:19
Speaker 4
But check out the scat on this. This is, like, kind of bonkers if I can find it.
00:54:21:21 - 00:54:28:02
Speaker 3
Here I'm.
00:54:28:04 - 00:54:36:09
Speaker 3
Everybody.
00:54:36:11 - 00:54:39:14
Speaker 3
Asking me to.
00:54:39:16 - 00:54:41:22
Speaker 4
Check this out.
00:54:42:00 - 00:54:43:18
Speaker 3
Yeah, yeah.
00:54:43:19 - 00:54:46:16
Speaker 4
Check out the next one.
00:54:51:13 - 00:54:58:19
Speaker 3
So.
00:54:58:21 - 00:55:31:10
Speaker 3
We're down. Way down. And, Blade Runner when old mill from, made the lazy river with the noonday sun and in the shade, a kind of tree. Throw away your trouble. Dream or dream of me. Dream a dream of me. Bed under lazy river. Where the loving long. Yeah. Wage to bright new morning. And we love along blue skies.
00:55:31:10 - 00:55:51:01
Speaker 3
Up above everyone in around of the lazy river. Oh, happy we will be my mom. Oh, only the river lily running little darling.
00:55:51:03 - 00:56:04:18
Speaker 3
The honey. Come on and let me be my love. Yeah you did. But the baby didn't do. Do you do that in the day? No, no, you don't say that.
00:56:04:19 - 00:56:08:04
Speaker 2
It goes right by this week. I don't want to be.
00:56:08:06 - 00:56:17:20
Unknown
Oh, oh. Love the lazy river I'm river.
00:56:17:22 - 00:56:23:16
Speaker 3
Oh, you river you go. Oh you river. Look out there I know.
00:56:23:20 - 00:56:25:03
Speaker 6
When are there. When am I.
00:56:25:05 - 00:56:27:01
Speaker 3
Going? Oh, man.
00:56:27:03 - 00:56:36:20
Speaker 2
Now there's so much. We haven't really talked about this a lot, but there's so much joy and playfulness and everything we've ever done as well. Yeah, and it's a great reminder that this is supposed to be fun for people.
00:56:36:20 - 00:56:40:21
Speaker 4
Man, I'm having fun. I mean, yeah, the intersection of joy and artistry, fun.
00:56:40:21 - 00:56:42:02
Speaker 2
For us and the audience.
00:56:42:02 - 00:57:02:06
Speaker 4
I know and improvization, I mean, you can just feel like his whole year. I like everything that he did. Well, sure, sure, I like it was just like with confidence, but improvization and like knowing right where you fit into the thing and when you lead it like it's it's exciting. Okay, so that's Hoagy Carmichael, 1931. We're also getting into the period, I believe already.
00:57:02:06 - 00:57:19:23
Speaker 4
Yes. So he this is right about before right before he went on his first European tour, which there's a whole other like side story to this that I don't want to get into because I'm a little scared, to be honest. It involves the Mafia. Al Capone, Joe Glazer, Mr. Glazer, let me let me just say, Mr. Capone.
00:57:20:01 - 00:57:21:08
Speaker 2
I've never seen you.
00:57:21:10 - 00:57:22:04
Speaker 4
I mean, come on, we're.
00:57:22:05 - 00:57:23:04
Speaker 2
Capitulates.
00:57:23:06 - 00:57:32:07
Speaker 4
90 miles from Chicago. You know, Louis Armstrong got so popular, like they were starting to really see the power of this music. Yeah. You know, there was a lot of, like, the gangsters.
00:57:32:07 - 00:57:32:19
Speaker 2
You mean, like.
00:57:32:19 - 00:57:51:17
Speaker 4
Come on, everybody. Yeah. The gangsters got interested, apparently, because there was money to be made. Because, you know, people interested in it, you know, so they were. But I mean, like, the US government was starting to, like, really start to worry about uprising of African-Americans because of this music. They were like, yeah, this would that like they understood the power of the music, you know what I mean?
00:57:51:19 - 00:57:53:19
Speaker 2
Did they I'm sure they didn't do anything. No.
00:57:53:19 - 00:57:54:21
Speaker 4
They were like, you know what? Yeah. This is.
00:57:54:21 - 00:57:57:02
Speaker 2
Great. Yeah, yeah.
00:57:57:04 - 00:58:06:18
Speaker 4
So anyway, you know, Louis answer was moving around a bunch. He went to California. There was a lot of, like, let me stay out of Chicago because some people don't want to.
00:58:07:00 - 00:58:08:19
Speaker 2
Love him anymore. These stories are great.
00:58:08:21 - 00:58:23:18
Speaker 4
Like when you as big as he was in terms of, like, not only popularity, but potential popularity, which you could see around the corner, you needed a dude on your side to like, guide that part. It's like, I got the music. Who's going to make sure I got it wasn't like, now where is like, is your internet contract in?
00:58:23:18 - 00:58:24:08
Speaker 4
It was like, can.
00:58:24:08 - 00:58:27:01
Speaker 2
We get a Chicago jazz gangster movie, please?
00:58:27:01 - 00:58:27:15
Speaker 4
Exactly.
00:58:27:21 - 00:58:29:19
Speaker 2
Scorsese. He if you're watching Sir.
00:58:30:00 - 00:58:48:16
Speaker 4
Right, right. Okay. So so 1931 talking about Hoagy Carmichael, this May, this is not as my desert island or apex, but it really could have been. And we're about to get two hours. But this is Stardust, probably one of the greatest American songs, you know, certainly ever written. I think this might be the greatest version of it.
00:58:48:16 - 00:59:08:22
Speaker 4
I'm not sure. I mean, Stardust, you talk about lush Life, embrace. I mean, there's a lot of great songs, but this is in that group for sure. And this is just a beautiful reading by Louis Armstrong, 1931.
00:59:09:00 - 00:59:20:01
Speaker 3
The to.
00:59:20:03 - 00:59:28:08
Speaker 3
Say.
00:59:28:10 - 00:59:36:11
Speaker 4
Now he's going to play with him.
00:59:44:22 - 00:59:52:11
Speaker 3
And.
00:59:52:13 - 01:00:02:13
Speaker 3
Boom boom boom boom boom.
01:00:02:15 - 01:00:14:04
Speaker 3
I.
01:00:14:06 - 01:00:53:23
Speaker 3
Sometimes I wonder why I spend a lonely night. Maybe one more minute of a song. Not in my memory. And again, you went along when you were in Atlanta and you said, what number? Hey. Oh my God. To make it then is gonna sound beat by the bottom of the. When you're blind. You are in my baby. Boom night.
01:00:53:23 - 01:01:13:02
Speaker 3
And give that man by the laundry man band. In my heart it will remain. Come in my thought of melody. Man. We talked a lot when.
01:01:13:08 - 01:01:18:14
Speaker 2
At open studio about, you know, like learning the melody and being true to the melody. And that's the only thing you shouldn't mess with. But.
01:01:18:18 - 01:01:24:23
Speaker 4
Oh, my God, that's like. That's like his thing. That's like the most beautifully and accurate reading of that attitude.
01:01:25:04 - 01:01:36:15
Speaker 2
And that's what he did with Diana, too. He like, hangs on the one note. He finds the one note that's going to be the common tone through the changes, and he just makes these subtle little adjustments going through. And the second time through, he's like a couple of different things that happen. Incredible.
01:01:36:17 - 01:01:40:12
Speaker 4
Yeah. This wouldn't be who you want to listen to. If you're like, I want to learn the melody. Exactly. How was just.
01:01:40:12 - 01:01:42:11
Speaker 2
Going to learn Louis Melody there. Right.
01:01:42:11 - 01:02:01:02
Speaker 4
But he really was sort of like the template, the precursor to the way that like, like he created the template for the way jazz musicians take Great American Songbook compositions. And look, Stardust is probably one of those ones that it's like, well, you could just leave it just like it is. Yeah, play it mediocre and it's going to be it's such a great composition.
01:02:01:06 - 01:02:17:18
Speaker 4
But his like harmonic, I think like his harmonic knowledge and intuition was so great that he could take all that and change it. And like his flavor with the lyrics combined, that's how he's able to get away with changing and improvising the melodies vocally. You know.
01:02:17:19 - 01:02:37:13
Speaker 2
Another thing I want to note here for any, like if you're a musician in a rhythm section, like it's really everything we've heard today, there's a lot of quarter note. Yeah. And then towards the end of the 20s you're hearing a lot of like the, the bands emphasize that one and three like. Letting the upbeat breathe a little bit.
01:02:37:15 - 01:02:40:14
Speaker 2
But they're just like laying in there right.
01:02:40:16 - 01:02:42:12
Speaker 4
On the floor.
01:02:42:14 - 01:03:05:03
Speaker 2
And it gives Louis and the improvisers the chance to be free over something super solid right. Yeah. And that translates then later to things like Duke Ellington's orchestra, the band with Freddie Green and even like to the Oscar Peterson Trio, like the most swinging bands you can imagine, have that same relationship where there's something that's just like, right in there, like this big wide pocket.
01:03:05:03 - 01:03:12:08
Speaker 2
Like I said, you could drive a truck through and then give the soloist this opportunity to to actually syncopated over something steady, at.
01:03:12:08 - 01:03:21:06
Speaker 4
Least all the way up to today, just last week. And you and I, 3 a.m. over on the east side hanging out in the club. I don't know, don't don't remember you don't remember. Okay.
01:03:21:08 - 01:03:24:01
Speaker 2
I was on a lot of drugs.
01:03:24:03 - 01:03:30:07
Speaker 4
I know they were like e I was like, I don't know what that is. They gave me that. Anyway, but I digress. Okay. 1931 32.
01:03:30:07 - 01:03:31:20
Speaker 2
That's not true, honey.
01:03:31:22 - 01:03:56:19
Speaker 4
It's not true. We're getting to the end. And Europe, became a thing for Lou songs, and partly because he was running from certain Italian American gentlemen who were part of, oh, sad AlphaGo and Joe Glaser. Maybe not Italian American. Another ethnicity. They were they were of the ethnicity of gangsters. That's what it was from several different ethnicities.
01:03:56:21 - 01:04:01:00
Speaker 4
I don't know, what am I saying? Help me. He loves it. I'm not helping dig anything.
01:04:01:01 - 01:04:03:18
Speaker 2
Yeah, this is great for the mobster. So he went to Europe.
01:04:03:18 - 01:04:22:02
Speaker 4
Yeah, but like some stuff happened. That was crazy, because it turns out Louis Armstrong at this time, 1932, had no iPhone. He was iPhone. Louis, did you know that? Yes, I assume so. He didn't know. I think he was kind of shocked by the reception that he got. He did a gig. Yeah, in Copenhagen, which is not a huge city, but there was 10,000 people at the concert.
01:04:22:02 - 01:04:35:14
Speaker 4
They filmed it, which was a big deal to film something. At that time. He played in the UK. Everybody knew his music, not everybody, but a lot of people knew his music because of the records were starting to go crazy and radio. But this is, Lewis talk a little bit about Europe during that time.
01:04:35:16 - 01:04:58:23
Speaker 7
Over there, a jazz is strong with the Masons who started the night clubs in them, honorary president of all the and and wherever we play, they come in, there's like little football games. And do you think that, this enthusiasm for jazz, in Europe is the reason for their great reception, of you when you played over there in concert?
01:04:59:01 - 01:05:20:20
Speaker 7
I mean, they have those records regularly and, and, the Midwest had blown one, you know, bands and everything, you know. And what about. No problem as far as not speaking their language in this country. But we finish the concerts, we go to nightclubs and the unions and sit in with the musicians there. We play must do the same.
01:05:20:22 - 01:05:25:12
Speaker 7
And, you look at each other and just smile and blow it. Okay, so.
01:05:25:14 - 01:05:33:03
Speaker 2
Imagine being a Dutch musician and and Louis Armstrong walks in and you're in a club, you must be like, oh, boy. Oh, it's you go.
01:05:33:05 - 01:05:40:18
Speaker 4
Of course he's talking about touring and stuff later, but I just brought that up because, you know, he toured a lot heavy all the way up to the end of his, his life. And,
01:05:40:20 - 01:05:41:10
Speaker 2
That's incredible.
01:05:41:10 - 01:05:51:00
Speaker 4
So that takes us to 1933. And, actually, let's do a little bit of desert island tracks because that'll let let's jump back and do those. I think both of ours are from 1928. And I think that matters.
01:05:51:00 - 01:05:53:07
Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah, let's let's do it. So what do you got for your desert?
01:05:53:08 - 01:06:09:07
Speaker 4
I got his mine. The probably the most famous obvious one. But first time blues ever heard of this. Yeah, I have never, never.
01:06:09:09 - 01:06:19:11
Unknown
I don't I don't have that had.
01:06:19:12 - 01:06:25:12
Unknown
Many.
01:06:25:14 - 01:06:33:18
Unknown
I mean, me, yeah, it's pretty.
01:06:33:19 - 01:06:44:00
Speaker 3
I mean.
01:06:44:01 - 01:06:48:16
Speaker 4
I.
01:06:48:18 - 01:06:54:00
Speaker 4
I.
01:06:54:02 - 01:06:55:22
Speaker 4
Would black.
01:06:56:00 - 01:07:05:13
Speaker 2
It's getting some box back into the situation to.
01:07:05:15 - 01:07:07:11
Speaker 2
Maybe segregate to your.
01:07:07:13 - 01:07:10:00
Speaker 3
Apex.
01:07:10:02 - 01:07:22:18
Unknown
I, I, I. Like.
01:07:22:20 - 01:07:24:13
Speaker 4
It I got to jump.
01:07:24:13 - 01:07:24:16
Speaker 3
Right.
01:07:24:16 - 01:07:27:02
Speaker 2
You know. Yeah. So I can't.
01:07:27:02 - 01:07:39:20
Speaker 3
Skip I but we got we got mean. Hey, no matter what the.
01:07:39:20 - 01:07:41:18
Speaker 2
Greatest.
01:07:41:20 - 01:07:47:20
Speaker 3
Whatever made.
01:07:47:22 - 01:07:49:18
Speaker 3
Blah blah blah blah.
01:07:49:20 - 01:07:51:16
Speaker 2
Tag on.
01:07:51:18 - 01:08:00:14
Speaker 3
Oh, yeah. And, Piano.
01:08:00:16 - 01:08:12:13
Speaker 2
Killing. You know, substitution there. Yeah. So, yeah, my apex moment is about to happen. So my apex moment, I think for Louis Armstrong was play the entire from there.
01:08:12:13 - 01:08:13:09
Speaker 4
Yeah. This has got to be.
01:08:13:10 - 01:08:19:17
Speaker 3
All hands on here. I'm thinking.
01:08:19:19 - 01:08:23:12
Speaker 4
Yeah. Yeah.
01:08:23:14 - 01:08:33:14
Speaker 4
To dominate. Mind it. It's a. 0I0, I know what you did.
01:08:33:16 - 01:08:40:02
Unknown
Literally.
01:08:40:04 - 01:08:48:12
Unknown
The man.
01:08:48:14 - 01:08:55:06
Unknown
Hey. And. Yeah.
01:08:55:08 - 01:09:01:17
Speaker 2
Crazy stuff is so crazy. 12 seconds in music history. Possibly so great.
01:09:01:18 - 01:09:12:13
Speaker 4
So that's a good. That's fantastic. Apex. Yeah. Okay, so I've got, Saint James Infirmary from 1928 as my desert island track.
01:09:12:15 - 01:09:13:12
Speaker 2
Yeah, it's my desert island.
01:09:13:16 - 01:09:14:17
Speaker 3
I went down there.
01:09:14:17 - 01:09:15:04
Speaker 2
Is is west.
01:09:15:04 - 01:09:28:15
Speaker 3
And this is your. My baby there. Oh, yes. I on a long white table. So sweet, so cool.
01:09:28:17 - 01:09:30:19
Speaker 2
By the way, this is the tune we played on the intro. And then.
01:09:30:21 - 01:09:33:00
Speaker 3
Let our go, let us go.
01:09:33:00 - 01:09:35:12
Speaker 2
Go. Not with this field. No.
01:09:35:14 - 01:09:48:07
Speaker 3
Whatever she may be, she can look this wine all over me. She'll never find a sweet man like me when I die.
01:09:48:08 - 01:10:03:22
Speaker 2
Yeah. Again, 19, 28. He had something going on. There was. I mean, not that he didn't later, but it was. There was a real. He was a real artistic, blossoming point. Let's get to some categories, Peter. So what's your apex moment? We talked about mine, which is the trumpet soloist and blues.
01:10:03:22 - 01:10:06:00
Speaker 4
I've got the solo on, by the way.
01:10:06:03 - 01:10:14:03
Speaker 2
Yeah. So if I can just I'm going to repackage that. Yes. I think my apex moment might be the clarinet solo with Louis answering the call response.
01:10:14:07 - 01:10:14:19
Speaker 4
Well, why.
01:10:14:22 - 01:10:18:04
Speaker 2
Do the piano solo through the trumpet?
01:10:18:06 - 01:10:21:08
Speaker 4
That's that's half a damn track. It's only about 30.
01:10:21:08 - 01:10:23:17
Speaker 2
Five seconds, that whole thing. So I don't know it.
01:10:23:17 - 01:10:25:20
Speaker 4
It's good. It is good. Go ahead. You get you get a couple.
01:10:25:21 - 01:10:26:19
Speaker 2
Okay. Sorry. What's your.
01:10:26:19 - 01:10:30:06
Speaker 4
Appetite? All right. Okay, so I got to write, sing a blues, and I got a.
01:10:30:06 - 01:10:31:06
Speaker 3
Right to sing.
01:10:31:06 - 01:10:43:01
Speaker 4
Yeah, this is singing the melody. But I want to jump to the song because this is my great call. Apex mode, this solo. I think we'll just check it out. It's the whole solo. This is later on.
01:10:43:03 - 01:11:08:05
Unknown
We never. And then the way floats here.
01:11:08:07 - 01:11:22:04
Unknown
I.
01:11:22:06 - 01:11:24:22
Unknown
Had the.
01:11:25:00 - 01:11:27:16
Speaker 3
This.
01:11:27:18 - 01:11:38:05
Unknown
I had.
01:11:38:07 - 01:11:38:19
Unknown
I think I.
01:11:38:19 - 01:11:48:16
Speaker 4
Know apex is right here.
01:11:48:18 - 01:12:06:15
Speaker 4
And me. It's this that span the freedom that he exhibits on that. It's just like he's floating there. He's not even in time for a lot of it. But when he is and when he goes up, it hits that. Oh, that high note. And it's sped. I love it, Sumi, I love it. I got to write Sing the Blues, 1930.
01:12:06:17 - 01:12:10:14
Speaker 2
Let's get to some more categories here. So bespoke playlist title. What do you got?
01:12:10:16 - 01:12:14:01
Speaker 4
So I've got, the real Jazz age.
01:12:14:03 - 01:12:15:02
Speaker 2
The real Jazz age.
01:12:15:08 - 01:12:17:19
Speaker 4
That's part of my pattern of the real whatever.
01:12:17:21 - 01:12:27:10
Speaker 2
I'm going to go with. Foundations of Jazz could be a bespoke playlist title. There's this great here, actually. Could you be any more generic? I know this, I'm saying it's like.
01:12:27:14 - 01:12:32:09
Speaker 4
Welcome to Adam's jazz class. Today we're studying the foundations of jet.
01:12:32:13 - 01:12:35:18
Speaker 2
You know, I'm I'm going to say my other ones because that was my best one.
01:12:35:20 - 01:12:36:23
Speaker 4
Models of jazz, perhaps.
01:12:37:00 - 01:12:43:17
Speaker 2
Okay. Up next, what do you got? If this was an, on a streaming service, what would they play up next after this? What I what would be a great choice?
01:12:43:17 - 01:12:53:10
Speaker 4
Yeah. What I would think would be a great choice is a Nicholas Payton record from the mid 90s called Dear Lewis. Great Call where he does great reimagined versions of this with a mini big band great tech.
01:12:53:10 - 01:12:53:14
Speaker 2
Yeah.
01:12:53:14 - 01:12:58:15
Speaker 4
And also back of Town by Trombone Shorty you know Trombone Shorty. So but I like that record from 2010.
01:12:58:15 - 01:12:59:13
Speaker 2
I don't know that one.
01:12:59:15 - 01:13:16:00
Speaker 4
Trombone Shorty, fantastic trumpet player, of course, known for his trombone player. But like both those artists and a number of others that I could think of from new ones, but Nicholas Payton and Trombone Shorty to me exude that direct connection musical lineage with the New Orleans flavor to Louis Armstrong in a in a really interesting way.
01:13:16:01 - 01:13:35:11
Speaker 2
I'm going to go any of the early Art Tatum, nice, cool singles. And then I might even go Lester Young Trio, which is the basis trio with Nat King Cole and, and Buddy Rich. Coming out of this to me is like, only because it's like you would get to hear Louis, and then you would kind of get to hear where his thing is being taken.
01:13:35:13 - 01:13:38:06
Speaker 2
Yeah, a little bit later, even before Charlie Parker. Yeah.
01:13:38:06 - 01:13:40:20
Speaker 4
So I don't know. That choice is totally baseless. I would say.
01:13:41:01 - 01:13:45:03
Speaker 2
Great. Okay, great. He is, in fact here all week. Yeah. Any quibble bits?
01:13:45:03 - 01:13:48:03
Speaker 4
No. Well, just racism in the United States during that time here.
01:13:48:03 - 01:13:50:06
Speaker 2
It's a big one. Yeah, that's a huge quibble.
01:13:50:06 - 01:13:55:22
Speaker 4
But that's not Louis Armstrong's fault. I mean, and no, I mean the recording I can't.
01:13:55:23 - 01:13:58:08
Speaker 2
Oh, you got any clip of. It's with the Chicago gangsters.
01:13:58:10 - 01:14:07:11
Speaker 4
I mean, anything you say directly. I mean, everything worked out where these records came out, so shout out, shout out, shout out Al Capone. All right.
01:14:07:12 - 01:14:09:03
Speaker 2
Star mobster Bo meter, I.
01:14:09:03 - 01:14:11:12
Speaker 4
Mean, I this is either a one or a ten.
01:14:11:12 - 01:14:12:11
Speaker 2
I think it's an eight.
01:14:12:13 - 01:14:13:08
Speaker 4
It's not a D.
01:14:13:10 - 01:14:13:23
Speaker 2
I think it's an eight.
01:14:13:23 - 01:14:16:03
Speaker 4
If it's an eight, it's nothing. That's what you always say.
01:14:16:03 - 01:14:17:04
Speaker 2
It's either an 8 or 9.
01:14:17:04 - 01:14:18:00
Speaker 4
Tell me why it's an eight.
01:14:18:00 - 01:14:20:04
Speaker 2
I feel like it's a pretty snobby experience.
01:14:20:04 - 01:14:24:11
Speaker 4
Well, this playlist might be, but but it's got Western. I mean, it's got some obvious stardom. It's got some I mean.
01:14:24:11 - 01:14:27:15
Speaker 2
I, I just think if you're not a fan, like if you don't.
01:14:27:15 - 01:14:28:02
Speaker 4
Know what is not a.
01:14:28:02 - 01:14:42:01
Speaker 2
Fan, I know, but if you don't know anything about the music. Right. Yeah. This is a steep climb because there's no there's almost no reference point. Some of the early recordings are hard on the ears. You know what I mean? It sounds so long ago. Yeah, I think it's a steep climb. I think the music itself is not that snobby.
01:14:42:03 - 01:14:43:05
Speaker 4
I would say, but it's so.
01:14:43:05 - 01:14:58:20
Speaker 2
Disconnected to things that are happening now. Whereas like when you listen to even Kind of Blue, you're like, oh yeah, that stuff is in a lot of like movies and commercials, right? Yeah. But this stuff isn't as much I mean, in like movies and commercials where you hear the sound of this music.
01:14:58:20 - 01:15:11:04
Speaker 4
But I would say if somebody listens to this playlist and doesn't find something out of Louis Armstrong's playing that they love, oh, yeah, that was like, we have a friend, Sean. While you could drive that person up to Chicago, we have some people we'd like to introduce them to to spend a.
01:15:11:04 - 01:15:12:09
Speaker 2
Weekend with Chicago.
01:15:12:09 - 01:15:14:22
Speaker 4
Okay. Thank you. You just have.
01:15:15:04 - 01:15:21:21
Speaker 2
I love on your stepmother here. You just have questions. I have no idea. I have no idea. Yeah, I it's a tough call. This is tough call for this. No, no.
01:15:22:01 - 01:15:25:07
Speaker 4
That's what I'm saying. It's both. I mean, I consider this playlist very snobby.
01:15:25:07 - 01:15:38:22
Speaker 2
Here's a yeah, here's another reason why I think it's incredibly snobby, because the people that are super into Louis Armstrong are not all of them. But there are a lot of purists. Yeah, and there are a lot of snobby. Well, I don't listen to anything after 1933, you know, like kind of people.
01:15:38:22 - 01:15:42:06
Speaker 4
Actually that that's what I'm saying. That would make it a ten on this. No, that's what I'm saying.
01:15:42:06 - 01:15:42:11
Speaker 2
Yeah.
01:15:42:12 - 01:15:50:19
Speaker 4
The fact that this is a Louis Armstrong place with nothing after 1933, whereas somebody if it was a one, if it was only. Right. Well, what a wonderful life.
01:15:50:19 - 01:15:54:03
Speaker 2
Ella and Louis is like a four. Yeah, you know what I mean? Like, what a wonderful.
01:15:54:03 - 01:15:55:10
Speaker 4
Life is a one.
01:15:55:12 - 01:15:56:12
Speaker 2
What a wonderful world. What a.
01:15:56:12 - 01:15:57:01
Speaker 4
Wonderful world.
01:15:57:01 - 01:15:58:23
Speaker 2
That's a one. Oh, I'm. Linda loves it.
01:15:58:23 - 01:16:04:18
Speaker 4
Exactly. Yeah. It's like everybody loves it. Is it better than Kobe, sir?
01:16:04:20 - 01:16:15:09
Speaker 2
I'm going to say no. I'm going to say no. For me personally, my own personal listening preferences, I'm gonna say no. I think it's amazing, obviously. Is it.
01:16:15:09 - 01:16:18:05
Speaker 4
Better? It's not. Is for your listening. Do you think it's better?
01:16:18:05 - 01:16:26:14
Speaker 2
I don't think it's been worse. I think Louis Armstrong is would be the best musician on on kind of blue for sure if he was on it. But I think as a whole.
01:16:26:14 - 01:16:26:22
Speaker 4
Miles.
01:16:26:22 - 01:16:37:21
Speaker 2
Davis I think as a whole conceptually and all of the playing and the form of kind of blue, I prefer to to everything that's going on around again, it's it's so disconnected for me.
01:16:37:21 - 01:16:39:07
Speaker 4
And this is truly apples and oranges.
01:16:39:07 - 01:16:43:02
Speaker 2
It really is. I'm not saying like, I don't of course like, but I would love, you know.
01:16:43:04 - 01:17:00:04
Speaker 4
Anyway, I would say, because this is such a curated list for what I love, but I think what a lot of people would love at this period that I would say actually is better, but it's like cherry picking in a way, kind of blues, an entire album. And this is, you know, whatever. 16 Fantastic Souls. I would say if you're just going to compare them, I would say, this is better than Kelly.
01:17:00:06 - 01:17:08:23
Speaker 2
I again, I disagree only because all the stuff going on around Lewis when he's not playing, yeah, is not as good as the stuff on campy.
01:17:09:01 - 01:17:11:16
Speaker 4
The gangster stories. What do you mean that's even better than that.
01:17:11:19 - 01:17:14:06
Speaker 2
Good, great. Like I said, where's our film?
01:17:14:06 - 01:17:18:04
Speaker 4
Well, that leads us to accouterments. Maybe that I said nah on this because there.
01:17:18:04 - 01:17:19:09
Speaker 2
Is this is really not nothing.
01:17:19:11 - 01:17:22:07
Speaker 4
But if the accouterments involves the Chicago mob.
01:17:22:07 - 01:17:29:09
Speaker 2
Well, all the stories in the Lord that the great accouterments. Seriously? Yeah. For real? Yeah. Okay. All right, man, you know what?
01:17:29:09 - 01:17:32:23
Speaker 4
Yeah, we've been having some, reviews.
01:17:33:00 - 01:17:41:04
Speaker 2
Oh, yeah. So leave us a rating and review. We have some good reviews that we've been getting recently. We want to read you 1 or 2 of those for the folks and shout out some, so.
01:17:41:04 - 01:17:42:20
Speaker 4
Find it wouldn't that be cool.
01:17:42:22 - 01:17:43:17
Speaker 2
If we find it.
01:17:43:17 - 01:17:46:11
Speaker 4
Give it vamp. Give me an F7 vamp so I can find it.
01:17:46:11 - 01:17:48:04
Speaker 2
I don't have a C. Now we're going to.
01:17:48:04 - 01:17:50:05
Speaker 4
Get ahead of of.
01:17:50:06 - 01:17:51:06
Speaker 2
This is our quibble bit.
01:17:51:06 - 01:17:56:15
Speaker 4
This is. Oh, can we have nice things? Adam, please. Can we?
01:17:56:15 - 01:17:58:18
Speaker 2
Seriously, where did you save this
01:17:59:02 - 01:18:01:17
Speaker 4
All right. Out of. We're game back on our rating review train.
01:18:01:18 - 01:18:02:18
Speaker 2
I love a great adult.
01:18:02:18 - 01:18:11:11
Speaker 4
Tune out okay. Because it's going to be really quick. And then we're going to play. Oh we're going to play your song your theme song. My theme song. Big a band. Now this is going to be fun right?
01:18:11:13 - 01:18:15:12
Speaker 2
Can I get a can I get an open studio name tag? That's Adam big button Eggman.
01:18:15:14 - 01:18:25:04
Speaker 4
But you're not and not anymore. Okay, so the idea with this, if you want to leave us a review, you got to go to app. Got it. You have the pleasure of going to, Apple Music Apple podcast.
01:18:25:08 - 01:18:26:04
Speaker 2
Podcast.
01:18:26:06 - 01:18:30:01
Speaker 4
Rating on Spotify. But go to the Apple and we're going to and we'll read it if you leave.
01:18:30:02 - 01:18:32:18
Speaker 2
Yeah, we'll read your review live on air like we're about to do.
01:18:32:21 - 01:18:34:16
Speaker 4
This is from Zach Wolf Law.
01:18:34:20 - 01:18:35:11
Speaker 2
Friend of the show.
01:18:35:11 - 01:18:50:03
Speaker 4
Friend of the show. Hang with Peter and Adam. Not the best jazz podcast. The best music podcast, period. Oh, and then he's got a period after spelling out period. It's like hanging out with two old friends who just happened to have immense knowledge about piano, jazz, harmony and jazz in general.
01:18:50:05 - 01:18:51:01
Speaker 2
He's just called old.
01:18:51:02 - 01:18:56:03
Speaker 4
Yeah. He did. These guys really have their you'll hear it stuff together.
01:18:56:05 - 01:18:59:12
Speaker 2
That's a that's an inside reference. That's old school, right. That's old.
01:18:59:12 - 01:19:16:13
Speaker 4
School. Yeah. So anyway, please leave us a rating review. Help spread the love of the podcast. What else we got? Oh, join us at the Nerd Nook where we're going to talk about something specific. We do this every week, and it's a lot of fun. Yeah. To something that we played if you want to hear some. But, you know, kind of behind the scenes analysis, of what we do become a member of Open Studio.
01:19:16:13 - 01:19:20:15
Speaker 4
Follow the link below. You just start a free trial. You can actually start a free trial and check out the here.
01:19:20:17 - 01:19:23:07
Speaker 2
And I mean, it's no big deal, just hamburger.
01:19:23:07 - 01:19:23:14
Speaker 4
I have.
01:19:23:14 - 01:19:24:04
Speaker 3
Hack my.
01:19:24:04 - 01:19:26:00
Speaker 2
Ass. That's really not a big deal if you want to start right now.
01:19:26:05 - 01:19:27:04
Speaker 4
Black and white. What a big.
01:19:27:04 - 01:19:28:00
Speaker 2
Button.
01:19:28:02 - 01:19:31:04
Speaker 4
That's right. That's it man. Yeah. Until next time.
01:19:31:04 - 01:19:31:17
Speaker 2
You'll hear it.
01:19:31:17 - 01:23:18:07
