[Dixielandjazz] Armstrong's upper register

Mon, 25 Nov 2002 18:40:36 -0800

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Not sure where this thread started.

Barney Bigard wrote:
"There's a little of Louis in all the trumpet players.  I mean, for 
instance, he was just getting started, getting to be known for that 
high-note stuff.  Man , they had more trumpet players around New York with 
busted lips, trying to make what he was making.  Then they figured it must 
have been his mouthpiece that was doing it, so they came out with the real 
small-bore mouthpieces.  Even that didn't help them.  They just weren't in 
his class.  In fact, when I first played with him, it was strange to be 
standing next to a guy that was playing way above the range of the 
clarinet, but after a while it didn't bother me any."

(Source, With Louis and the Duke, by Barney Bigard, edited by Barry Martyn, 
Oxford University Press, New York, 1986, page 112)

Slightly off topic, Bigard was in the Ellington organization before joining 
up with Armstrong.  Ellington also had a high note specialist song after 
Barney left, namely , Cat Anderson.  Cat did Summertime up high, and I like 
the squeak he put in for the final note of Ellington's Madness in Great 
Ones (Shakespearean Suite).

David (in Delta)

At 09:34 25-11-02, butch wrote:
>On the subject of Louis' upper register:  he was inspired, the theory goes,
>by the playing of B. A. Rolfe, an upper register specialist.  My friend
>Vince Giordano described Rolfe's playing as sounding like a "mosquito."
>When I heard the cassette Vince sent me, I realized just how accurate that
>description is.
>
>Of course Armstrong made something beautiful out of it, as usual.
>
>Butch Thompson
>
>
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>Dixielandjazz mailing list
>Dixielandjazz@ml.islandnet.com
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<html>
Not sure where this thread started. 
Barney Bigard wrote: 
&quot;There's a little of Louis in all the trumpet players.&nbsp; I mean,
for instance, he was just getting started, getting to be known for that
high-note stuff.&nbsp; Man , they had more trumpet players around New
York with busted lips, trying to make what he was making.&nbsp; Then they
figured it must have been his mouthpiece that was doing it, so they came
out with the real small-bore mouthpieces.&nbsp; Even that didn't help
them.&nbsp; They just weren't in his class.&nbsp; In fact, when I first
played with him, it was strange to be standing next to a guy that was
playing way above the range of the clarinet, but after a while it didn't
bother me any.&quot; 
(Source, With Louis and the Duke, by Barney Bigard, edited by
Barry Martyn, Oxford University Press, New York, 1986, page 
112) 
Slightly off topic, Bigard was in the Ellington organization before
joining up with Armstrong.&nbsp; Ellington also had a high note
specialist song after Barney left, namely , Cat Anderson.&nbsp; Cat did
Summertime up high, and I like the squeak he put in for the final note of
Ellington's Madness in Great Ones (Shakespearean Suite). 
David (in Delta) 
 
At 09:34 25-11-02, butch wrote: 
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>On the subject of Louis' upper
register:&nbsp; he was inspired, the theory goes, 
by the playing of B. A. Rolfe, an upper register specialist.&nbsp; My
friend 
Vince Giordano described Rolfe's playing as sounding like a
&quot;mosquito.&quot; 
When I heard the cassette Vince sent me, I realized just how accurate
that 
description is.&nbsp; 
Of course Armstrong made something beautiful out of it, as
usual. 
Butch Thompson 
 
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