[Dixielandjazz] Trummy Young preferred soft and gentle

JimDBB@aol.com JimDBB@aol.com
Thu, 13 Jun 2002 14:45:28 EDT


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In a message dated 6/13/02 12:46:37 AM Central Daylight Time, 
nancyink@ulink.net writes:


> Hi,
> Since it's so quiet, I'll share a story that my dad told me today. (Yes, 
> I'm
> one of the young pup Listmates.)
> My dad was a navigator on yacht races to Tahiti and Hawaii back in the 50s
> and 60s, and on one of his trips to Hawaii, he stumbled upon Trummy Young
> playing a small gig in Honolulu. My dad inquired about what it was like to
> have Louis Armstrong for a boss: "Was he hard to work for?" Trummy answered
> "Yes," that Louis could indeed be a very demanding perfectionist at times.
> As an example, he said that Louis insisted he play trombone with a "big
> blast" sound, which really wasn't his preferred style. Trummy told my dad
> that, as an artist, he preferred to play it "soft and gentle." He then
> proceeded to show my dad exactly what he meant by playing Stardust for him,
> right there on the spot. Now Listmates, my father is a rather stoic old
> Irishman, so imagine my surprise when my dad got all choked up just
> remembering the moment, and describing how beautiful it sounded!
> Love and hugs,
> Nancy 


   Nancy, may I respectfully comment on your post.  I had talked with Trummy 
Young a number of times over the years, during his years with Armstrong and 
after.  Trummy was completely devoted to Louis armstrong and stayed with him 
probably much longer than he should of for his own health considerations.  
Constant travel is not conducive to a healthy life style.  Trummy Young was a 
professional jazz artist and he fit in with Louis wonderfully, both as a 
trombonist and as a showman.  If a particular piece called for soft and 
gentle, Trummy could and would play that, if it called for something hard 
swinging, Trummy could and would play that.  Louis and Trumnmy had a very 
special and and rare musical and personal relationship.  Neither one was the 
same without the other after Trummy left for a life in Hawaii.  

Jim Beebe


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<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT  SIZE=2>In a message dated 6/13/02 12:46:37 AM Central Daylight Time, nancyink@ulink.net writes:<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Hi,<BR>
Since it's so quiet, I'll share a story that my dad told me today. (Yes, I'm<BR>
one of the young pup Listmates.)<BR>
My dad was a navigator on yacht races to Tahiti and Hawaii back in the 50s<BR>
and 60s, and on one of his trips to Hawaii, he stumbled upon Trummy Young<BR>
playing a small gig in Honolulu. My dad inquired about what it was like to<BR>
have Louis Armstrong for a boss: "Was he hard to work for?" Trummy answered<BR>
"Yes," that Louis could indeed be a very demanding perfectionist at times.<BR>
As an example, he said that Louis insisted he play trombone with a "big<BR>
blast" sound, which really wasn't his preferred style. Trummy told my dad<BR>
that, as an artist, he preferred to play it "soft and gentle." He then<BR>
proceeded to show my dad exactly what he meant by playing Stardust for him,<BR>
right there on the spot. Now Listmates, my father is a rather stoic old<BR>
Irishman, so imagine my surprise when my dad got all choked up just<BR>
remembering the moment, and describing how beautiful it sounded!<BR>
Love and hugs,<BR>
Nancy </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>
</FONT><FONT  COLOR="#000000" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"><BR>
<BR>
</FONT><FONT  COLOR="#000000" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0">&nbsp;&nbsp; Nancy, may I respectfully comment on your post.&nbsp; I had talked with Trummy Young a number of times over the years, during his years with Armstrong and after.&nbsp; Trummy was completely devoted to Louis armstrong and stayed with him probably much longer than he should of for his own health considerations.&nbsp; Constant travel is not conducive to a healthy life style.&nbsp; Trummy Young was a professional jazz artist and he fit in with Louis wonderfully, both as a trombonist and as a showman.&nbsp; If a particular piece called for soft and gentle, Trummy could and would play that, if it called for something hard swinging, Trummy could and would play that.&nbsp; Louis and Trumnmy had a very special and and rare musical and personal relationship.&nbsp; Neither one was the same without the other after Trummy left for a life in Hawaii.&nbsp; <BR>
<BR>
Jim Beebe<BR>
</FONT><FONT  COLOR="#000000" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"><BR>
</FONT></HTML>
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