[Dixielandjazz] Re: HOT 7 CONCERT? Live vs. Recorded.

[Bob Loomis]

Steve Barbone wrote:

   "Louis Armstrong's most creative years 
were long gone by the 1960s. His solos were the
same live as on record, he was playing the same
patterns, why shouldn't they sound the same as 
what he recorded previously? He was for the most
part, in effect, reprising himself."
   
   Interesting to see this comment first thing
this morning after watching "Satchmo," the
Masters of American Music DVD last night. I'm
certainly not the guy to question the statement
that Louis's creative years were gone by the
1960s. But I wanted to note that Wynton Marsalis,
one of the folks who comments on Satchmo
throughout the film, states near the end that
late "Pops" was as creative as any music Marsalis
had ever heard, including any and all classical,
or whatever genre ... He cites the "nuance" of
Armstrong's playing, using that exact word, and
says that the caliber of a player's solos in late
stages is determined not by how many notes he or
she can play nor how fast, but by how much can be
expressed in nuance ...
   Also states that Armstrong's late period solos
are so complex in this respect and in terms of
rhythms, that they are extremely difficult if not
impossible to duplicate. Seeing a couple of clips
of Louis playing with the All-Stars certainly
seemed to back that up, IMHO. Each note is played
in a truly mastful attack, I think. (Also very
nice to see him and Jack Teagarden playing
together ...)
   Just throwing in Wynton's .02 worth for him
... <GGG>

Happy Webtrails, Bob Loomis





__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com