[Dixielandjazz] Re: Better Players

[Stephen Barbone]

willc wrote:

> Hullo, troops -
>
> Stephen Barbone wrote:
>
> >  Those that play better than Louis do so
> > because:
> >
> > 1) They play Higher.
>
> > 2) They Play Faster
>
> > 3) They play Cleaner
> >
> > 4) They are better masters of the horn.
> >
> > 5) The play vastly more complex harmonics.
>
> It should be borne in mind that this opinion comes from a non-brass player.

Yes, however they are simple statements. All of which are true, And all of which were used to point out that Louis was better
than his peers at the time. They are the answer to "Why was Louis better?"

> As a cornetist, I think, relative to "high", that Hackett was right on when he told the prospective buyer of one of his
> horns that it was "like new" because he had "hardly ever played it above the staff".

Sure, agreed. But so what? That is how Hackett heard music. It should also be pointed out that Hackett was no Louis
Armstrong.

> "Faster" implies that it is better to fly into a mountain at 600 mph than at 100 mph. A lot of notes demonstrate skills
> only remotely connected with music, unless you're a drummer . . .  no, wait a second, it's true there, too.

Absolutely the wrong analogy. Makes no sense.

> "Cleaner" suggests the purity of a sine wave, which has no harmonics, no vibrato and no amplitude variation. This sort of
> colorless Miles-like tone is a fine objective in test oscillators but is sad achievement in trumpet players. Louis, Bix,
> Bobby, et al forever!

Subject opinion. Cleaner means less clams. Better articulation.

> Better masters? Okay, if your goal is screeching, hummingbird, loud trumpet, you do need to be a master of the instrument.

No, list to Clifford Brown. And also, Louis was one of the loudest trumpet players of his day. Loudness was a key ingredient
of his playing as well as that of Buddy Bolden (by anecdotal evidence). That is part of what made him great.

> But the mastery without taste and intelligence  . . . hey, Kenny G!! .   I have met classical  (and some big band) players
> who can play the Arban exercises flawlessly but who couldn't play an ad lib solo to save their lives. There's more to it
> than technology.

Wrong analogy, Kenny G is hardly a master of his instrument. In fact, he is less of a master than most  jazz saxophone
players in Jazz today. That is part of why some players view him with contempt.

> They play more harmonics? Harmonics from a trumpet are far less influenced by the resonator (horn) and impedance
> transformer (mouthpiece) than by the oral cavity and training, and some people are better equipped in these areas than
> others. Actually, I suspect Steve meant harmonies, relating to chord complexity. I must admit that Eddie Higgins is right
> when he says I get a hernia if I have to play any chord more involved than a seventh, but I find ruptured ninths offensive
> to my ear.

Why quibble over definitions. The word got a "c" where an "e" would have been better used. Big whoop. What Brown plays is
much more difficult that what Louis played. He is also light years ahead of Louis "harmonically". The rest of you reasoning
is subjective. Who said what, out of context, is meaningless and only used by people who have arrived at a conclusion with
little or no prior basis in fact and then want to justify that conclusion.

> We must all remember, in charity, that Steve is a lawyer and a sax player. He can't help it.

Wrong on both counts. I was a lawyer long ago. Stopped being one in 1963. Do not play the saxophone either. Haven't played
one since about 1958. Currently, if you insist on categorizing me, I am a Working Jazz Musician.

> Oh, one last thought on "high": Louis stuck to maryjane. God only knows what the modern kids are shooting up!

"High?" Louis was idolized for hitting "high" notes. A hundred high Cs in a row, etc.., etc., That is a simple historical
fact which, however,  seems to elude you.

And he smoked pot every day. So what?

Most of the modern kids playing jazz today that I know, and I know a bunch,  do not shoot anything up. They do not use
"maryjane". They are virtually clean of most vices except chasing women and having a drink from time to time, if indeed those
are vices.

Very different from the 40s, 50s and early 60s jazz times that I also knew first hand. Most jazz musicians were smoking gage,
sniffing coke, shooting up horse, taking bennies, boozing up, you name it. But once again so what? That was then.

Be as critical as you want, let all your preconceived notions and prejudices hang out, but please, get the facts right before
speak.

> Kindly,
> Steve Barbone