[Dixielandjazz] Louis's Loudness

[Stephen Barbone]

Anton Crouch says "strongest", not "loudest" is the correct word on the
quote I posted. Could be, I took it from a secondary source which quotes
the original. My source says "loudest". I do not know if the original
says "strongest., and will defer to Anton as he is a precise researcher.

However, like Anton said, it makes little difference to me. Louis
Armstrong was a veteran of many a "cutting contest", both in New Orleans
before he went to Chicago, and after he got there. One did not win
cutting contests in those days by not being loud. New Orleans trumpet
players were following Bolden who supposedly was "The Loudest". If would
follow that to cut Bolden, one would have to blow loud

The other information we must consider about loudness is that there was
precious little, if any, amplification in those days. One had to blow
loudly in order to be heard.

We can opine all we want about technical details of recording and
brilliance vs. loudness, but it stands to reason that Louis blew loudly
in the 1920s when he was at his peak. Street Parades, Ponchatrain
Picnics, Dance Halls all with No Amplification. Anybody who has played
these kind of events knows that you must play loudly on them. And the
Cotton Club in those days held 700 people. You couldn't play softly in a
place like that.

I saw Louis, a couple of times close up, in the early 1950s. To me he
blew loudly and he was well past his prime. Much louder than trumpet
players in the bands I played with in New York City then. The only guy
who was louder that I ever heard close up was Yank Lawson. I stood next
to him on the band stand and he was louder than Louis. However, he was
also younger.

Much of the written anecdotal evidence about the power in Louis's horn
revolves around terms like "ear splitting volume", "250 high Cs in a
row" etc.  As well as Louis' own words about never trying to play above
Joe Oliver while in that band because he was playing "2nd cornet."  So
even if he was trying to play softly, he was loud.

Louis also "reportedly" played loudly during the opening at Roseland
with Fletcher Henderson. Said band member Howard Scott: "Louis played
that opening night at Roseland and my goodness, people stopped dancing
to come around and listen to him . . .And you could hear him out in the
street and we were told that there were people passing by that stopped,
listening to him. He was so loud."

"Well, that was the first night. The next night you couldn't get in the
place."

Lastly, why should we dispute both Louis' and Lil Hardin's recollections
about the first take at Gennett in 1923? Namely that Armstrong so
overwhelmed the other members of the band that they moved Louis way over
in a corner, twelve to fifteen feet away because that was the only way
they could get the balance. Why is that so difficult to believe? Because
you can't record "synchronous breaks" when you are 15 feet away? Doesn't
hold water. That was and still is, done every day, live and in recording
studios.

Cheers,
Steve