[Dixielandjazz] Louis Armstrong documentary reviewed

[Robert Ringwald]

I listened to the first show and enjoyed it very much.  However, I can't believe that they played 
Oliver's Chimes Blues and cut it off before Armstrong's famous solo -- Reported to be his first recorded solo.  

I agree with the 2nd review.  Less music, more Louis talking.  

--Bob Ringwald



Radio Review: Satchmo by Satchmo
Louis Armstrong's home recordings made for an unusual, but fascinating, hour of radio
by Elisabeth Mahoney
London Guardian, July 28, 2011
It would be, presenter Paul Sexton promised, "a very unusual hour on Radio 2". And
so it was, with Satchmo by Satchmo, a programme filled with home recordings made
by Louis Armstrong.
The unusual element was that the focus wasn't his music, though we heard some of
that. Instead, it was all about his extraordinary voice, his words and anecdotes,
captured on reel-to-reel home tapes that he used to record things for posterity.
They range from shambolic scenes -- in one he's struggling to record a friend on
the telephone ("I put the mic at the wrong end of the telephone") -- to fascinating
recollections, told in his cheeky, growly rasp that makes Tom Waits sound velvety
in comparison.
He talked about meeting the pope, describing him as "such a fine little fella". The
pope asked if Armstrong and his wife were planning on having children. "I said, 'No,
daddy, but we're working on it!'", he recalled, booming out one of his ginormous
laughs. Many of his punchlines were similarly saucy. But there were no laughs as
he scolded Jelly Roll Morton about who originated scat singing. He framed it nicely
("with all due respect to your ability") but Armstrong's claim to be first was firmly
put. "When you got to Chicago, young man," he said, "everything had been done before."
______________________________________________
Louis in His Own Words -- So Good, You Don't Want Music
by Chris Maume
London Independent, July 31, 2011
Were he around now, I bet that, like Bob Dylan, Guy Garvey, Jarvis Cocker and Ronnie
Wood, Louis Armstrong would have his own radio show, and it would be fantastic.
Satchmo by Satchmo explored the miles of reel-to-reel tapes he amassed over the decades
at home in Corona, Queens. It was a life-enhancing delight. There were meetings with
the great and good: "The Pope was such a fine little old feller, you know? He said,
'Do you have any children?' and I said, 'No, daddy, but we're working on it.'" There
was similar pressure from the visiting English guitarist Sidney Gross, who urged
parenthood on him. "Well, I keep putting my nickel in the machine..." he told him.
He also had nice things to say about some new kids in town: "The Beatles? They're
great -- they've got a new beat there." I'm not usually one to say this -- the more
music in music documentaries the better, generally, and Armstrong the musician was
undeniably, swingingly great -- but I could have done with less music and more from
the tapes. The last one we heard was from 1970, not long before Satchmo died: "I
never wanted to be any more than I am," he reflected, "and what I don't have, I don't
need it. I've always loved and always lived a normal life. Well folks, that was my
life and I enjoyed all of it."


--Bob Ringwald
www.ringwald.com
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WHY ARE HEMORRHOIDS CALLED "HEMORRHOIDS" INSTEAD OF "ASSTEROIDS"?