[Dixielandjazz] Dixieland Standards to West End Blues Cadenza

[dwlit at cpcug.org]

Steve Barbone said:
>> 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.

This was the bottom line to my question: records that caused musicians to
start playing the tunes regularly. I assumed for starters that we know
where the most popular multi-strained tunes come from. So I aimed the
question at the pop tunes, because some were picked up and many others
weren't.

Armstrong's "When you're smiling" was recorded in 1929. Was he influenced
by the Louisiana Rhythm Kings or Seger Ellis records of 1928? Early in
1930 it was picked up by Jimmie Noone, Ellington, Irving Mills, I assume
because the tune had shown some commercial staying power. Sharky Bonano
did it in 1936 with Condon and members of his circle, Teddy Wilson did it
late '37-early '38.

If you want, you can just call the exercise "fun with my old records", and
perhaps it has no other value but the accumulation of arcane data...but
one never knows, do one? After all, pop tunes are part of the history of
jazz, and jazz is part of the history of pop tunes.

--Sheik