[Dixielandjazz] West End Blues

[Tony Davis]

Robert S. Ringwald wrote:

> Don,
> 
> Listen to it again.  Metcalf did a terrible job on it.  He had a clam on 
> one note and then sloughed through the rest of the notes -- very sloppy.
> 
> --Bob Ringwald
> 

Perhaps "terrible" is a bit harsh, but it's true that Metcalf's 
interpretation is sloppy.  Even the very first note is off: what should 
be a G is more like an A, and the same thing happens in the last triplet 
before the high C.  And whereas Armstrong soars up to that high C 
apparently effortlessly and seamlessly, Metcalf clambers up and pauses 
for breath before he finally hits it.  Then he blusters his way through 
the rest of it, mangling the last phrase by missing out two notes.  But 
it was a brave attempt and just underlines how superb Armstrong's 
performance was.

I'd like to know - and maybe Bill Haesler can enlighten us - who the 
piano player was.  He does a pretty good job of re-creating the original 
Earl Hines solo.

Tony Davis
Aston, Oxfordshire, UK