[Dixielandjazz] Dixieland Standards to West End Blues Cadenza

[Stan Brager]

Steve;

Thanks for finding this link to a rarely discussed aspect of Louis Armstrong
and some of the early jazzmen. I recommend it to  Armstrong fans and others.

Stan
Stan Brager
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
To: "DJML" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2007 8:04 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Dixieland Standards to West End Blues Cadenza


> Got interested in some Louis Armstrong research after Sheik asked about
> tunes becoming Dixieland standards and maybe it was because Louis et al,
> recorded them.
>
> Discovered that Louis first real hit record was "Ain't Misbehavin (other
> side Black & Blue?) from Hot Chocolates circa 1930 or so. Then discovered
> his love for pop tunes and Guy Lombardo. Then discovered that Lombardo was
a
> big hit at the Savoy Ballroom and among black dancers and record buyers.
> Then discovered Louis loved to play tunes that Lombardo played.
>
> Then discovered the below website which details Louis and Lombardo.
>
> http://equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/Jazz/article/viewFile/3769/2388
>
> But most fascinating in that website was a short discussion of Armstrong's
> love of Opera and his love of classical cornet virtuoso Herbert Clarke
from
> his childhood days. First listening perhaps at the home of the
Karnoffskys?
>
> The article then talks about the cadenza from West End Blues. In the
> writer's opinion, by itself, the cadenza is more a display of classical
> virtuosity than jazz. It is only when the rest of the jazz tune is added
> that the cadenza could then be classified as jazz.
>
> Then it discusses an unaccompanied cadenza by Herbert Clarke on "Caprice
> Brilliante" (The Debutante) recorded with Sousa in 1908. There are some
> similarities (not a lot) in Clarke's cadenza to the West End Blues
Cadenza.
> Too much of a stretch?
>
> Maybe not, Louis himself in 1954 told Leonard Feather." I've heard trumpet
> solos from 1908 until the present, Herbert Clarke and all the boys." And
at
> the time of his death, Armstrong possessed 10 of Herbert Clarke's 78s.
>
> There is one more link in the chain. According to Dan Morgenstern,
"Portrait
> of the Artist as a Young Man" 1994, there is an Armstrong break on a 1924
> record where he backs singer Margaret Johnson on "Changeable Daddy of
Mine".
> That break is part of the genealogy - - the Clark Cadenza 1908, to the
Break
> 1924, to the West End Blues Cadenza 1928. The break sounds a bit like both
> Cadenzas.
>
> According to Morgenstern this implies; "that far from being as gloriously
> spontaneous as it sounds, Armstrong's 'West End Blues' opening was the
> result of years of refining an idea that is spectacular even in its
> embryonic form."
>
> I haven't heard the Clarke Cadenza or the Louis break on Changeable Daddy,
> but I have heard West End Blues, and IMO that is much like an Operatic
> Cadenza. Plus I've heard Louis quote more than a few operatic passages in
> his live concert recordings, and once at alive concert that I saw.
>
> Joshua Berrett has published on the Louis + The Opera connection and would
> be a good source for more information for those interested.
>
> To hear The Louis Cadenza and the tune, circa 1955 go to:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Hbh_-IRs8
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>
>
>
>