Louis Armstrong, Master of Modernism
Page 70
417“King was no business man”: Wright 1987, 161–78 and 336; Stella Oliver HJA 1959; Simeon HJA 1955; Moore HJA 1959; Bernhardt 1986, 96.
418“I watched all that”: Armstrong 1950b, 30.
418He and his band arrived: Details of the New Orleans visit from the following sources: Armstrong 1936, 96; Scrapbooks 5 and 83, LAHM; Louisiana Weekly, June 13, 1931, p. 1; Armstrong 1961; Havens 1992, 8; Jackson 2005, 103; Jackson HJA 1958; Jackson 1994, 76; Jackson FDC 1973 and 1973a; Jones 1988, 135; Randolph IJS 1977; Jones and Chilton 1971, 122ff; Bob Watts HJA 1963.
418Collins and Armstrong … Huey Long: Jackson 2005; photocopies of court depositions held by Louis Armstrong House Museum. Hogan Jazz Archive, “Louis Armstrong” vertical file; Scrapbook 5, LAHM, clipping from Morning Tribune, June 9, 1931, “The Spotlight” by Mel Washburn.
420On the first night: Jackson 2005, 104.
420“Virtually all” … Armstrong confessed: Scrapbook 83, LAHM. Jones and Chilton 1971, 123.
421In late June: Defender, July 4, 1931, p. 5; Hodes 1977, 81; Scrapbook 5, LAHM.
421“Randy, pick out a set”: Zilner IJS 1977.
422One night at Suburban Gardens: Jackson FDC 1973a; Jackson 2005, 104.
422Bud Freeman talked: Freeman IJS n.d.
423“This is my band”: Jackson 2005, 104; Jackson HJA 1958.
423Loyal to his friend … an incalculable degree: Jackson 2005, 104. Jackson 1994, 76. Jackson HJA 1958.
424“That happened the whole three months”: Jones 1988, 138.
424On August 23 … off the mound: Scrapbook 5, LAHM. Louisiana Weekly, Aug. 29, 1931, p. 9.
424The summer of 1931 … young musicians: Four areas: Brothers 2006, 266–68, with further literature cited there. Jackson FDC 1973a; Jackson 2005, 104; Bethel 1977, 82.
424Efforts were made … had intervened: Louisiana Weekly, June 13, 1931, p. 5; Scrapbook 5, LAHM. Louisiana Weekly, July 4, 1931, p. 7. Jones and Chilton 1971, 126; Jackson 2005, 107.
425“I had never seen such a superb act”: Jackson FDC 1973a; Zilner IJS 1977.
425He had been entertaining: Scrapbook 5, LAHM, clipping identified as Item-Tribune New Orleans, June 14, 1931.
425Collins’s southern tour …teenage novices: Jackson FDC 1973; Havens 1992; Jones 1988, 138; Jackson 2005, 107; Scrapbook 5, LAHM; Randolph IJS 1977; Armstrong 1971, 213. Armstrong 1961, 81. Jackson CJA n.d.
426First stop was … Houston, 3,000: Scrapbook 5, LAHM. Jones 1988, 138. Afro-American, Dec. 26, 1931, p. A9.
426Ralph Ellison heard him play: Ellison 1995, 314. Ellison dated the appearance to 1929, but that seems unlikely. Stratemann (1996, 22) places the band in Tulsa Sept. 9–13, 1931.
426They gave two … “can’t read or write”: Jackson FDC 1973. Smith 1964, 199.
427“Steam whistle power”: Black 1979, 67.
427After Tyler … “they’d ever talked to”: Johnson IJS n.d. Armstrong 1971, 218.
428Oliver had been touring: Moore 1945, 10; advertisement for Sept. 19, 1931, in Scrapbook 5, LAHM.
428The scene was tense … waiting for them: Havens 1992, 9; Jones and Chilton 1971, 213. Scrapbook 5, LAHM.
429Back in Memphis … “Dig this Mezzeerola!”: Jackson 2005, 107. Mezzrow 1946, 235; Jackson FDC 1973.
429The Defender reported: Defender, Oct. 17, 1931, p. 5.
429“There isn’t the shadow”: Scrapbook 5, LAHM.
430Lee Collins saw them: Collins 1974, 71.
430where she lived until the end: Armstrong WRC 1954.
432“One feels that a Negro’s expression”: Tichenor 1930, 489.
433“According to the crowd”: Scrapbook 83, LAHM.
433“Very good for a cabaret”: Scrapbook 5, LAHM.
434His ascent … “Yes sir”: “not only”: Scrapbook 83, LAHM, clipping dated Nov. 5, 1931. Sullivan: Scrapbook 5, LAHM, clipping identified as New York Evening Graphic, Oct. 9, 1931. Oberstein: Photocopy of legal transcripts at LAHM.
435Then came … his big band: Eldridge: McCarthy 1978, 23. Wilson: Dance 1977, 183; Dixon CJA 1990.
435Charlie Carpenter remembered: Dance 1977, 148.
436Then the band settles … this performance: James: Havens 1992, 8; Jones 1988, 138. Barker 1986, 153.
436Two Chicago sessions … during these years: Courier, April 9, 1932, p. 9. All of Me is partially transcribed and analyzed in Givan 2004.
436“Louis stopped the show”: Jackson 2005, 109.
437“When he finished”: Jackson HJA 1958; Jackson 1994, 76.
437“The reason, I believe”: Jones 1988, 138.
437making two short films: Stratemann (1996, 23) estimates the movie-making dates to “either mid-to-late January or the second half of February, 1932.”
439Buck Clayton remembered: Jones and Chilton 1971, 132.
439closely associated with Shine: Johnson IJS n.d.; Dance 1977, 211–12; Harker 2011, 107. John Hammond (Melody Maker, April 1932) describes musicians attending the Lafayette Theater and bringing lunch, dinner, and marijuana, staying for all four shows to watch Armstrong perform high-note stunts with Shine.
439“what he can do”: Appel 2002, 140–43; Scrapbook 5, LAHM.
440“It is an act that shows”: Gushee 2005, 216.
440“When I was coming along”: King 1967, 66.
440In Sleepy Time … at Sebastian’s: Lyrics of Carolina Sunshine in Cox 2011, 17–18. Pasadena: Louisiana State Mint, clipping dated May 7, 1979; also “A Story of ‘When It’s Sleepytime Down South’ (In memory of the late LOUIS ‘Satchmo’ Armstrong)” by Leon René, both in vertical file “Louis Armstrong,” HJA.
441“Louis Armstrong Scores Again”: Scrapbook 5, LAHM.
441watermelon smile: Armstrong WRC 1953.
441Thurgood Marshall: Armstrong WRC 1954; vertical file “Louis Armstrong,” HJA, clipping from Melody Maker dated Oct. 12, 1957; Gillespie 1957, 55.
441“With one or two” … occurred to him: Moton 1929, 204; see also Bushell 1988, 55, on plantation songs. Armstrong 1971, 218.
442Reconciliation of North and South: For this general theme, see Cox 2011, 16, citing further sources.
442The fun of … say anything more: “appeal”: Cox 2011, 34. Ed Sullivan, Washington Post, Sept. 13, 1935, “Broadway: Talk of the Town” column, p. 13.
443the first in the Paramount series: Stratemann 1996, 11.
444Critics have seen: Murray 1976, 31; Gabbard 2008, 103.
445When they filmed Cab Calloway: Erin McKinney, paper for liberal studies class, Duke University.
445ultimate marker of African primitivism: Torgovnick 1990, 147.
446“Sometimes it is all a huge joke”: Moton 1929, 219.
447“musical octoroon”: Hurston 2006, 280.
447“barbaric indigo dance tunes”: New York Clipper, Sept. 14, 1923, p. 31; Wright 1987, 28.
448“Music is such a tremendous proposition”: Lomax 1993, 237.
449“culture that both psychologically and physically”: Early 1984, 94.
450“hotbed of dark, uneducated”: Edmond Souchon, typed and unpublished memoir (Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans, n.d.), p. 73.
451“Musicians don’t talk about music much”: Higgenbotham IJS n.d.
451Leonard Bernstein: Satchmo the Great (New York: Columbia Records, 2000), CD track 22.
451You can see … melodic design: “He can: Green 1970, 4; McCarthy 1978, 22. Hines: Dance 1977, 23.
452White musicians … culturally and socially: Mezzrow 1946, 151. Freeman: Banks 1980, 227.
454“the average layman does not understand”: Bernhardt 1986, 97. Eli Oberstein, executive at RCA Victor, deposition taken March 1, 1932; photocopy of legal transcripts at LAHM.
454“an endless succession”: Scrapbook 5, LAHM, clipping identified as Ohio State Journal (Columbus), Oct. 18, 1931.
458“that’s what they hired me for”: Armstrong 1971, 91.
460His modern versions … “and its effect”: Sousa: Patrick Warfield, ed., Six Marches by John Philip Sousa, vol. 21, Music of th
e United States (Middleton, WI: A-R Editions, 2010), lii. Scrapbook 6, LAHM.
INDEX
Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations.
Page numbers beginning with 489 refer to endnotes.
Adams, Stephen, 63
Adams, Wilhelmina, 125
Africa, 3, 6–7
diaspora of, 38, 93, 97, 272, 449
music of, 6, 92–95, 142, 196, 269–70
sub-Saharan, 6, 95
Africana, 351
African-American music:
church-based, 4, 5, 41–42, 48–49, 52, 63–64, 67, 84–85, 133, 191, 248, 395
communal participation in, 4, 97, 134, 191, 450
diminished chords in, 5, 66
fixed and variable format in, 6–7, 9, 11, 68, 92–97
group identity strengthened by, 6, 128
harmonies of, 5, 27
heterophony in, 4–5, 6, 67, 84–85, 330, 386
history of, 141
integration of movement with, 242, 252
pitch bending in, 4, 6
“release and return” of, 231
rhythmic intensity of, 4
vernacular principles of, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 48–49, 53, 67, 68, 69, 80, 92, 107, 128, 131, 135, 162, 166, 189, 196, 199, 200, 224, 247, 252, 255, 273, 371, 409, 454
vocal traditions of, 4, 5, 27, 134
see also bebop; blues; Dixieland; jazz; ragtime
African American press, ix, 27, 138, 343
see also specific publications
African Americans:
achievement and “self-improvement” of, 10, 40, 43, 44–45, 103–5, 114, 453
“Aunt Jemima” image of, 442–43
dark-skinned, 1, 3, 80, 115, 189
economic exploitation of, 230
Great Migration from South to North by, 3, 8, 13–15, 32, 39, 40–42, 44–45, 48, 50, 51, 53, 60, 79–80, 109, 115, 190, 325, 370, 374, 440, 452–53, 515
higher education for, 125–27
light-skinned, 20, 23, 29, 30, 71, 78, 120, 145, 170, 233
lynching of, 15, 42
oral tradition of, 4, 107, 109, 162
ornamentation and embellishment valued by, 84, 95, 398
social discrimination among, 120, 121, 170
stereotypes of, 42, 229–33, 342, 416, 441–43, 448
“talented tenth” of, 123–31, 137, 139, 141, 148, 150, 163, 166, 191, 335, 355
terminology for, 43–44
“Uncle Tom” image of, 42, 239, 342, 441
upwardly mobile working class of, 196
white culture vs. culture of, 8, 9–10, 305–7, 397–98
see also racism; slavery
African Baptist Church, 395
African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, 125–26
After You’ve Gone, 357, 365–66, 447
Ain’t Misbehavin’, 153, 211, 249, 359, 367, 396
LA’s vocal on, 346–48, 351–54, 356–58, 407, 513
Alabama, 42, 84
Alabamy Bound, 148–49
Albert, Don, 427
Albert, May Ann (mother), 4, 13, 16, 48
death of, 276–77, 277, 504–5
LA’s relationship with, 71, 78–79, 99, 114, 276–77, 319, 320, 390
Lillian Armstrong and, 79, 99, 276
alcoholism, 282, 391
Alexander, Charlie, 413
Alhambra Girls, 220
Alix, Mae, 78, 233, 237, 242, 244, 246, 252, 260, 265, 276
All Alone, 193
Allen, Henry “Red,” 210, 361–62, 362, 374
Alligator Crawl, 261–62, 503, 514
All of Me, 436
Alone at Last, 146, 148
Al Turk’s Princess Orchestra, 144
American Federation of Musicians, 419
American Mercury, 338
Amos ’n’ Andy, 378, 385
Amsterdam News, 130, 346, 354–55, 493, 503, 512
Anderson, Charles W., 124
Anderson, Connie and Eddie, 379
Anderson, Gene, 303, 334
Anslinger, Harry, 389
anti-Semitism, 448
Anybody Here Want to Try My Cabbage, 158
Appel, Alfred, 408, 439
Arban cornet method, 104
Arkansas, 425, 428
Armstrong, Alpha Smith (third wife), 115, 318–19, 320, 321, 334, 377, 430, 510
Armstrong, Beatrice (sister), 16, 390
Armstrong, Clarence (nephew), 319, 321
Armstrong, Daisy Parker (first wife), 71, 99, 188, 320, 492
Armstrong, Lillian Hardin (second wife), 37, 68, 69, 96, 153, 164, 182, 276, 431
classical piano training of, 10, 66, 70, 72, 115, 126, 179
courtship of LA and, 74–80, 98–101, 105, 109–10
death of, 430
divorce of LA and, 430
engagement and marriage of LA and, 83, 99, 113–16, 113, 325
fashionable clothes of, 70, 71, 113
first marriage of, 70, 99
in Hot Five and Hot Seven, 165, 204, 206, 260
LA guided and influenced by, 100–101, 105, 110, 113–15, 118–21, 141, 165–66, 176, 191, 222–23, 291, 292, 312, 314, 430
LA’s co-compositions with, 99–100, 106, 110, 111, 319–20, 430, 457
LA’s first meeting with, 70, 71, 114, 321
marital friction of LA and, 115, 120–21, 222, 318–21, 377, 430
physical appearance of, 70, 71
piano playing of, 10, 66, 68, 70, 72–74, 86–88, 95, 97, 101, 158, 165, 334, 381, 395, 430
refinement of, 114–15, 319
singing of, 209, 319
Armstrong, Louis, 16, 37, 43, 55, 96, 147, 320, 336, 362, 399, 461
acting talent of, 441
adaptability of, 164, 274, 410–11, 418, 516
African cultural heritage of, 3, 6–7, 92–94, 196, 269–70, 275
ambition of, 182, 202
arrests and jailing of, 387, 389–90, 412, 428
artistic discipline and work ethic of, 10–11, 141, 312, 394
birth of, 4, 43, 56
black criticism of, 439–41
career advancement of, 69, 98, 141, 430, 441, 449, 452
childhood and adolescence of, 4–6, 25, 56, 63, 65, 66, 102, 103, 118, 126, 189, 197–98, 200, 212, 222, 237, 276–77, 301, 312, 317–18, 321, 327, 402, 449
clothing styles of, 25, 100, 122, 438
collage decorations of, 84, 85
comedy routines and humor of, 118, 173–74, 190–91, 246, 279, 349, 352–53, 407, 435, 438–39
competitive nature of, 8, 110, 159, 255, 260, 291–92, 365
compositional skills of, 9, 64, 69, 83, 99–103, 106–12, 149, 155, 204, 217, 251, 263–64, 272, 300–301, 313–14, 316, 319–20, 457–58
conducting by, 263, 520
confident persona of, 2, 3, 149, 163, 197, 373, 410–11
copyrights of, 102, 108–9, 111–12, 250, 269, 430, 457–59
cornet virtuosity of, 1–2, 4–5, 13, 15, 20, 45, 174, 175, 198, 207
dancing of, 237, 318, 356
dark skin of, 1, 3, 115, 189, 224, 239, 246, 441
death of, 3, 430
distinctive solo playing of, 90, 100–101, 110, 139, 142–51, 191–95, 198, 200–201, 206–7, 374–76
early church singing of, 4, 63, 84, 247–48, 276, 312
efforts to succeed in white market by, 9, 11, 141, 274, 327, 360, 363, 365–66, 408, 411, 441–43, 460
European trip of, 431–32
fifty-year career of, 2–3
fillins and obbligatos of, 90, 97, 147–49, 154, 158, 160, 162–63, 257, 266, 270, 274
first cornet of, 4, 5, 421
first interracial recording session of, 332
first musical job of, 56, 426
first recorded solo of, 456
fixed and variable format central to music of, 6–7, 9, 11, 148, 162, 163, 172, 197, 211, 250, 270–75, 394, 453
formal education of, 3
formidable musical intellect of, 10–11, 253–54, 301, 451, 461
hair style of, 25, 70
harmonic command of, 66–67, 198, 253–55, 269–73, 406
high-note playing of, 9, 191–92, 198, 211, 246, 253–54, 259, 267–68, 299, 337, 357, 369, 371, 382–83, 432, 435, 437
illnesses of, 309, 498
improvisation of, 197, 198, 238, 242, 250, 283–84, 350
income of, 1, 24, 165, 174, 183, 191, 223, 291, 309, 355, 379, 409, 429
innovation and talent of, 1, 5, 6–9, 11, 56, 74, 83–84, 106, 149, 171, 198–99, 203, 452
instructional books published by, 266–67
as “jazz concert king,” 203–4, 248, 290
as largest selling artist on records, 434
late-life persona of, 189, 306
letter-writing of, 78–79, 106–7
loyalty and generosity of, 113, 120, 423–24
marijuana use of, 307–8, 377–78, 387–94, 428–29, 516
as master of modernism, 8–11, 106, 148, 164, 174, 196, 242, 268, 350, 354, 376, 394–96, 407–8, 453–55, 460
mature musical style of, 6–9, 40, 92, 94, 98, 112, 118–19, 164, 166, 189, 191, 198, 200, 324
melodic creativity of, 7, 9, 111–12, 148–49, 157, 196, 210–11, 242, 250, 257, 269–72, 275, 330, 372, 374–75, 401, 449, 455–56, 459–62
memoirs of, 321, 388, 517
multidimensional skills of, 150, 166–68, 170–72, 197–99, 237–38, 272, 275, 394, 459
musical dialogue of, 312–13, 400–401, 406, 448
musical quotations of, 349–50, 369, 432
musical training of, 4–10, 24, 45, 56, 65–67, 69, 80, 81, 83, 97–98, 103–5, 109, 110, 118–19, 141, 149, 188, 283, 292–93, 418
musicians influenced by, 152, 163, 194, 200, 231–32, 239–40, 251, 262, 271, 374, 380, 403–4, 410–11, 435
nicknames of, 24, 25, 490
performance video of, 431–32, 444
playful verbal “mugging” of, 151, 204–5, 238
popularity of, 174, 192, 194, 238, 244, 249, 419
prose writings of, 84, 170
quick fingers of, 9, 102, 103
radio broadcasts of, 1, 9, 150–51
ragging the tune by, 393, 395–96, 400–401, 403, 406–8, 412, 448, 454, 460, 493
reading of music by, 122, 180–81, 198, 291, 418
recordings of, 1, 7–9, 28, 50, 62, 81, 83, 84, 97, 194, 369–76, 375, 381–82, 409–10, 434–36
scat vocals of, 209, 211–18, 220, 242, 298, 349, 351–52, 367–68, 375, 382, 396–98, 439
sexual life of, 317–19, 430
smiling of, 239, 303, 439
social tensions of, 120, 121–23, 390