[Dixielandjazz] Two Reviews

[Robert Ringwald]

I can't believe that the reviewer Steve Weinberg, devotes 5 sentences knocking the title of the book.  Leave it to a critic.  


'Pops': Louis Armstrong, Master of Jazz, Lover of Life
by Steve Weinberg
Seattle Times, December 6, 2009

Louis Armstrong was a lot more than a gravelly voiced vocalist who sang the hits
"Hello, Dolly" and "What a Wonderful World." Armstrong was also a lot more than an
innovative jazz composer and trumpet player. According to his most recent biographer,
Armstrong was a human beacon of light who brightened all of humanity.
That summary might sound treacly, but the biographer makes his case well.
Perhaps the only unfortunate choice in the excellent biography "Pops: A Life of Louis
Armstrong" is the title. To me and to countless other potential readers, "Satchmo"
is the eternal nickname identifying Louis Armstrong, dead now 40 years but alive
through his trumpet playing, vocalizing, wide smile and positive attitude toward
life. Yet author Terry Teachout, obviously a brainy, hardworking biographer, decided
to use the nickname "Pops" as the title.
"Pops" is what Armstrong called those whose names he could not recall or had never
previously met. Yes, the nickname carries a secondary meaning -- Armstrong as the
spiritual father of modern jazz and so many of its practitioners. A tertiary meaning
might be the popularity attained by Armstrong outside the realm of devoted jazz listeners.
Still, "Pops" is a disconcerting choice for the title.
Otherwise, as a biographer myself, I must label the book a masterpiece. Part of the
reason is the fit of biographer and subject. Before becoming a full-time writer (frequently
for The Wall Street Journal and Commentary magazine), Teachout worked professionally
as a jazz bassist. His firsthand knowledge lights up the pages. Like all biographies,
the book is about the man, but it is equally about the music made by the man.
That Armstrong would amount to anything seemed unlikely in 1901, when he was born
unspeakably poor with dark brown skin in New Orleans. His mother was a 15-year-old
household servant who also earned money from prostitution. His mostly absent father
was a turpentine-factory worker. By age 11, Armstrong was housed in the Colored Waif's
Home for Boys.
He actually thrived on the relatively predictable life there, and learned music as
a member of the Waif's Home Brass Band. Despite a lack of formal training, Armstrong
turned out to be a natural musician. Even in a racially segregated society, everybody,
black and white, could agree that Armstrong deserved a chance to play music professionally.
As a teenager, he performed in New Orleans clubs. After that, the trajectory to stardom,
while never painless, was relentless until he reached the top.
Armstrong harbored no bitterness about having to combat racism or needing white managers
to gain entrance into the mainstream music world. Teachout shares anecdote after
anecdote to demonstrate that Armstrong's onstage jolly demeanor was no act. Armstrong
loved his life in music and found a path to celebrate most people he met. Sure, he
divorced women he had married. Sure, he could exhibit an explosive temper occasionally.
Sure, he sometimes talked sadly about the reality of racial discrimination. Mostly,
though, he exuded happiness.
Here is how Teachout ends the main text: "Faced with the terrible realities of the
time and place into which he had been born, he did not repine, but returned love
for hatred and sought salvation in work... his sunlit, hopeful art, brought into
being by the labor of a lifetime, spoke to all men in all conditions and helped make
them whole."
_____
Steve Weinberg's most recent book is "Taking on the Trust: The Epic Battle of Ida
Tarbell and John D. Rockefeller."

______________________________________
by Robert Sandall
London Times, December 6, 2009

As a jazz musician turned drama critic and biographer, Teachout is well placed to
chart the cultural crosscurrents that buffeted the career of the most famous jazz
virtuoso of the 20th century. Armstrong's lifelong battle to bridge America's pernicious
racial divide -- in the face of attacks by redneck gangsters and taunts from fellow
musicians -- is vividly documented. Thanks to Teachout's judicious sympathy and his
access to a previously unavailable archive of recordings of private conversations,
"Satchmo" emerges as a far more shaded character than the hanky-waving entertainer
of popular renown.


--Bob Ringwald K6YBV
rsr at ringwald.com
Fulton Street Jazz Band
916/806-9551

Check out our latest recording at www.ringwald.com/recordings.htm

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