![]() Equally telling is how instead of easing into a relaxed air, Smith bursts into a racehorse display. Armstrong is majestic while Smith is defiant Armstrong pulls the audience in but Smith dares them not to blink. Smith’s introduction is less of a cadenza and more an instrumental break before the tune or the band even starts up. ![]() Not one for understatement or easing into a task, Smith picked “Jazz Battle” as the first song at his first session as a leader and started it off with an ornamental call to arms: Smith’s Rhythm Aces were actually the Brunswick label’s attempt to compete with Armstrong’s Hot Fives on Okeh. That’s a statement of musical priorities rather than an evaluation (though melody often keeps listeners coming back for more, which may explain Armstrong’s longevity). Smith’s blistering edge and intense delivery are far removed from the melodicism Armstrong maintained even in his rapid-fire excursions. Thankfully, many of them tried, several on record.īrian Harker describes Jabbo Smith as “the only trumpet player, according to many contemporaries, who posed a threat to Armstrong’s supremacy,” a threat that Rex Stewart described as truly “blowing.” Gunther Schuller points out that Smith “evidently worshipped Armstrong imitated many of the latter’s most famous solos (particularly ‘West End Blues’).” Thomas Brothers cites Smith’s recording of “Take Me To The River” as “a response to Armstrong’s celebrated performance”: It’s easy to imagine Armstrong’s contemporaries hearing “West End Blues” as the work of a genius, a tough act to follow and even something to top. Blazing fast, encompassing the trumpet’s entire range, technically dazzling, artfully constructed and as easy on the senses as the curves of a Botticelli bathing beauty, Armstrong could have easily played just this brief free-tempo improvisation and more than satisfied most listeners.Īs for his fellow trumpeters, Armstrong’s cadenza must have invited another Italian phrase, namely agita. It’s not a musical term but it is a fair description of what some players no doubt experienced after first hearing “West End Blues.” Musicians are as much working professionals with their ears open for competition as they are sensitive artists seeking inspiration. Some of them may even discuss the remaining three minutes and ten seconds of “West End Blues,” the part after Louis Armstrong’s introductory cadenza:Īrmstrong plays masterfully throughout the record but generations (rightfully) continue to focus on his cadenza. None of this music needs a defense.Ī little over two weeks from now musicians, musicologists, scholars, historians, collectors, aficionados and fans will mark the eighty-sixth anniversary of a revolution in jazz and a landmark occurrence in American music. ![]() Alternatively, you can read original content elsewhere rather than my functioning as an intellectual tick. ![]() I ended up pasting it into a Word document just to get my thoughts on paper, and you can read my three cents in the comment bubbles below. Finally, I am very proud of the small but insightful and courteous correspondents who comment on this blog, so I thought it was worth sharing here. On the other hand, this article encapsulated several ideas about a lot of music I enjoy, which made me think about why these views actually bothered me. In addition, a Google search leads me to believe that the author is a student rather than a member of the Yale faculty, someone now acquiring the knowledge and critical tools that might make them reevaluate their position or back it up with further examples and different reasoning. I also avoid commenting on this topic because it usually doesn’t interest me personally. I avoid commenting on others’ views online because I don’t always have the training or subject matter expertise to do so. Ted Gioia posted an article by a “Yale music professor” on the death of jazz.
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