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WHAT A WONDERFUL MAN OF THE WORLD:
a praise to LOUIS ARMSTRONG
Place Jazz
in the context of African-Americanmusic in general
Place the individual jazzmaninto the context of Jazz
Analogy
Tension between freedom and social orderin their comitted groups and public life
The music they perform -> jazzFreedom for soloists but appear at their best in the company of their groups
When Approaching Legends as
-> Charlie Parker <--> Coltrane <-
-> Miles Davis <--> Armstrong himself <-
Be cautious about individual gifts
Notion found in many Histories of Jazz
The very nature of Jazz performance
makes evident
performers depend on one another
in everything they do
The Hot FiveFrom Left to Right: Louis Armstrong, Johnny St. Cyr, Johnny Dodds, Kid Ory and Lil Hardin Armstrong.
Early Years of Jazz
with special reference to the
life and work of Louis Armstrong
Stupendous Cultural Achievements
FromU. S. Slaves
Generation after Generation
Kidnapped, Middle passage, Slavery
Dispossessed of material and immaterial things:
the support of kingThe respect & status within the group
Stable family lifeDeference due to the old
Factors of Slavery
Nothing to wait for but
A lifetime of labour &
Physical and continuous punishment
Tool of survival
Learn something about survival
Their use of music to make sense of an otherwise
senseless situation
Identity
Knowledge -> who they are -> what have been done to them
Contrast -> that is who (“what”) you are -> less than fully human
Around 1800 by unknown artistAround slaves, dancing became a physical resistance test
Learning bits & piecesIn plantations
FromEuropean culture
The houses of their MastersAnd
Churches
The Great Awakening
Black slaves singing their spirituals
combine certainty of heaven
with the hope of freedom in this world
Linguists say there is no such thing as a primitive language
In the same way no music can be considered primitive
Black Diaspora + White music
Absortion of European musical traditions
Attraction and Repulsion
Between European and African values
Metaphor
Black people efficient and imaginative with the spoken word
Tension between Western Euro-American + African-American music
Improvisation versus notation
New Orleans
The Blackest of Black The Whitest of White
Spanish & French originsWealth & corruption
CosmopolitismDevotion to pleasure
Contrast -> puritanism
Place CongoDancing the bamboula in the Place Congo
New Orleans
Class of Creole Blacks
Every culture contributes something to the creation of this style
New Orleans
After oppressive legislation of 1894
Reclassified as Black
Forced to play with Blacks
New Orleans
The result of creole musicians (european style) into rougher atmospheres (held together by a minimum written material)
Musicians with the ability to play both styles; skilled in reading and writing music
New Orleans
CREOLE TEACHERS WITH EUROPEAN STYLE
Something of that training was fostering special abilities into new musicians
-> Armstrong
BLUES, RAGTIME, …
New Styles
1917 - > first recording of jazz
Players could improvise faithful to the community
Due regard to overall effect
Mutual human care
Satisfaction of the (dancing audience)
Louis ArmstrongEarly life deprived materially and emotionally
1913 -> ARRESTED (COLORED WAIF HOME)LEARNT TO PLAY THE CORNET
He himself played for pennies on street corners
1922 - > KING OLIVER SENT FOR HIM AND ARMSTRONG WENT TO CHICAGO (A SENSATION)
1924 -> AFTER MARRYING LILLIAN HARDIN (CLASSICALLY TRAINED) SHE HELPS HIM IN HIS CAREER
SUMMARY
Owned these skills: Slow vibratto, cadences, melodic inventiveness
keywords
Historical Hardship
• Steorotype threat• U.S. Slave Descendants• Racism• Segregation• Undervalued by Official
Culture• Their values disputed
and contested• Considered primitives
Affirmative action
• Survival• Orality• Identity• Comitted group• Complex web of human
relations• Black Expressing Culture• Political action (music)• Human right: the power
to define oneself
West end blues soloLouis Armstrong
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