[Dixielandjazz] Louis Armstrong in Owen Sound

[Gary Lawrence Murphy]

(sorry to change the subject but ...)

For our Eighth Street Orchestra spring schools tour this year I am writing
a new show to illustrate the history of jazz music by sticking closely to
the biography of Louis Armstrong, from his earliest memoires of players
right up to and hopefully including his James Bond theme song, and in the
process I have been reading various children's books on Armstrong and
several biographies, it's turning out to be the perfect inspirational hero
for modern kids, having come from such low beginnings and reaching such
great heights and all, but that's not my question ;)

In the course of my probing, I've learned that Louis Armstrong had played
the Balmy Beach Pavillion Dancehall very near Owen Sound, at the time the
largest dance floor in Canada, and while some of my older friends recall
the event or second hand stories of the event, none can recall the actual
date.  Is there a chronology somewhere of Armstrong tour dates?

Also a local and ancient downtown pub had a venue information page claiming
that Louis Armstrong played at their Coach House Inn, but I've not been
able to find any verification of that and the CHI hasn't returned my emails
about it (they likely don't know who to ask) -- I'm thinking if I can
narrow down the date, I can check the newspapers of that time and find out
for certain; it is one thing to tell the school kids that he played here in
their grandparent's day, but quite another if I can tell them a landmark
that still stands prominently downtown!

-- 
*Teledyn Addendum: teledyn blogspot ca*
*eso: **EighthStreetOrchestra blogspot ca*