[Dixielandjazz] King Oliver

[Don Ingle]

Ken Mathieson wrote:
> Hi listers/lurkers/listees,
>
> It has occurred to me that Oliver has never had his due recognition as an influential figure in the development of jazz arranging. He may not have actually written the charts (I wonder who did?), but I'm pretty sure he had a lot of input in their creation. The Oliver sides from 1926 on are as advanced in arranging terms as most of their contemporaries. There's also plenty of anecdotal evidence that Oliver specified how the individual instruments should perform in the ensembles of the earlier Creole Jazz Band of 1923. He was clearly a musician who thought about the structure of performances and I'd be amazed if he hadn't largely dictated how he wanted pieces to sound. It would also be interesting to know how some of the compositions of Oliver and Dave Nelson were written. Did they write together, or did one of them do all the writing with the other getting his name on the pieces? Their Sweet Like This is one of the prettiest pieces to come out of the 1920s.
>
> Any Oliver specialists out there who can shed some light?
>
> Regards,
>
> Ken Mathieson
>
> www.classicjazzorchestra.org.uk
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>   
Lillian Hardin - Later Lil Armstrong, arranged some of the material and 
composed many of the numbers that the  Oliver band performed. She was on 
the band when the young Louis joined Oliver and they were married while 
still on the band.
I was so fortunate to have met, even played with Lil in Chicago, and to 
also spend time with her at her summer home in Idlewld, MI just five 
miles from my home in Baldwin, MI.
A lovely lady, sunshine smile, great laugh, and a real contributer to 
both the Oliver and Amstrong band legacies. And a good pop songwriter in 
her own right. Her ballad, "Just For A Thrill," I heard sung by Nancy 
Wilson many years ago at a Chicago appearence, and it showed what a good 
song and a good vocalist could combine to bring a little magic to it all.
I talked with Lil a few days before she left MI to go to play a tribute 
concert in Chicago in honor of  Louis. Jean and I had dinner with her 
and Chicago drummer Red Saunders who was visting with her at her 
lakeside cottage. Then three days later the news came that she had 
collapsed at the keyboard on stage, was taken off to the wings, but had 
passed before EMT's could reach her to try to revive her. It was a sad 
day for Jean and I and a sad one for all who owe Miss Lillian a lot of 
respect for her part of our jazz legacy.
Don Ingle