[Dixielandjazz] Louis Armstrong - New Orleans Times-Picayune, July 30, 2014

[Robert Ringwald]

Is Louis Armstrong New Orleans' Greatest Son? Satchmo Summerfest Celebrates His Legacy
by Chris Waddington
New Orleans Times-Picayune, July 30, 2014
New Orleans knows that Louis Armstrong is the greatest. That's why we named a park
and an airport after him, raised a statue in his honor, and once hailed him as King
Zulu. That's why we blast his music from jukeboxes and put trumpets in the hands
of our children. And, yes, that's why we have Satchmo Summerfest: three days of free
outdoor concerts and indoor scholarship that opens to the public on August 1.
Armstrong, born in 1901, remains our greatest native son -- can you think of another
to match him?
In New Orleans, we trumpet our Armstrong connection. And we do it despite an uncomfortable
fact: Jim Crow race laws (and the demands of an international career) kept this superstar
far from home through most of his career.
Of course, we're not the only ones to appreciate Armstrong.
Since his death in 1971, Satchmo's star has continued to rise with the appearance
of several new biographies, a national museum show, the establishment of the Louis
Armstrong House Museum in New York City, and tons of re-issued records. The latest
addition, a nine-CD box set from Mosaic Records, will be the focus of a sold-out
July 31 keynote event for Satchmo Summerfest 2014.
Ricky Riccardi, who co-produced the Mosaic set, has followed Armstrong's posthumous
reputation, both as a biographer, and as archivist for the Armstrong House Museum.
"When Armstrong died, some jazz insiders were firing slings and arrows -- calling
him a commercial entertainer and an Uncle Tom, but that nonsense is starting to fade
away," Riccardi said "In a hundred years, people will casually mention him in the
same breath with Mozart and Picasso -- and no one will blink an eye."
In his day, Armstrong was a pop culture titan. To get a sense of Armstrong's impact
and cultural reach, read the list of venues for the Mosaic set, which gathers live
shows and intimate studio gigs from the 1940s and 1950s. Those nine CDs take listeners
from Carnegie Hall to the Newport Jazz Festival, from classical venues in Milan and
Amsterdam to smoky Parisian jazz clubs, from a stadium gig with the New York Philharmonic
to outdoor shows in West African capitals.
"Armstrong was a complete artist -- a trumpeter of genius, the greatest jazz singer,
a natural comedian and an actor who understood everything about how to connect with
an audience. That's why his popularity continued to grow even when the jazz audience
started to shrink. He still feels like a contemporary, and that's not something that
you can say about many men born in 1901."
Armstrong's style and showmanship -- once mocked by jazz modernists -- continue to
shape today's music, Riccardi said. He points to artists like Wynton Marsalis and
Nicholas Payton who have created fresh styles that tap elements of Armstrong's improvisations.
And Riccardi argues that Satchmo's joyous stage personality, forged as a child performer
on New Orleans streets, remains a touchstone for many of the city's most beloved
contemporary performers, from Kermit Ruffins to Trombone Shorty.
You can hear all those element in the new Mosaic set: the comic asides, the blues
feeling, the romping rhythms, and note-bending vocal flights. Satchmo's trumpet is
everywhere on these recordings. It coaxes and prods fellow soloists from the background.
It rises to anthemic heights, whispers amid ballads, and struts from high notes to
tender growls in extended solos.
"Armstrong resonated for all kinds of listeners, because, at heart, he was a singer
with an amazing ability to create memorable melodies," Riccardi said. "As an artist,
he was seamless. When he told a joke, he made it swing. When he sang, his fingers
would move, as if he was pressing the valves of his trumpet. He was magical -- and
a very hard act to follow."
-30

-Bob Ringwald
Amateur (ham) Radio Operator K6YBV
916/ 806-9551

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