[Dixielandjazz] New Orleans 13th annual Satchmo Summerfest-- reviewed.

[Norman Vickers]

To:  DJML & Musicians and Jazzfans lists

From: Norman Vickers, Jazz Society of Pensacola

 

Responding to Bob Ringwald's post from New Orleans Times-Picayune, I
attended the 13th Satchmo Summerfest again this year.  The event is held at
the Old U. S. Mint, now a museum of Louisiana State University. At the
"back" opf the French Quarter.  There are two covered stages on the grounds
and seminars are held on the third floor.  Renovations since Hurricane
Katrina kept it closed for a couple of years and the event was held in a
smaller building, also near the French Market, of the Jazz National Park.
Third floor is all soundproofed now  ( needed because of the two stages
outside on the property) and wired for sound.  Room would hold about 120
people for the seminar.  There were "overflow" rooms on the second floor
with large TV monitors, good sound.  I caught some of the seminar on second
floor where I was viewing some jazz photos, old and recent.

 

The event is free with multiple sponsors including Chevron, a number of
foundations.  It's administered by the French Quarter Festivals and some
funds come from the New Orleans JazzFest held weekends end of April and
first of May.  Thomas Brothers was lead-off speaker, talking about his new
book on Armstrong.  There were the "usual suspects"  Michael Cogswell,
director of Armstrong house;  Dan Morgenstern, writer and jazz scholar;
Ricky Riccardi, curator at Armstrong House, author of a book on Armstrong
and video expert who had great Armstrong videos at his fingertips.
Musicians Evan Christopher, Wycliffe Gordon, Jeff Klein and Brice Miller
were also featured speakers.  Vocalist Daryl Sherman spoke about Armstrong
as vocalist.  David Ostwald, attorney and leader of the Armstrong tribute
band which plays early evenings Wednesdays at the Blue Note, was also a
featured speaker who spoke about Armstrong and civil rights.  Recall
Armstrong's speaking out against the segregationists preventing the
court-ordered integration of Little Rock High School.  Armstrong publicly
chided President Eisenhower and threatened not to make the planned State
Department sponsored European Tour.  Soon thereafter, Eisenhower sent US
troops to enforce the court order and Louis made the European tour.

 

The seminar is supposed to have streaming video for about 30 days.  I've not
been able to get it yet but Joan McGinnis of California wrote that she'd
been able to get it-said download was slow.

If interested try:  MusicAtTheMint.org     Hope it works for you.  I'll keep
trying.  At least there are some pictures which would come up for me.

 

God willing, I'll be present for next year's festival.  

Thanks.

 

Norman

 

 

Ringwald wrote:

 

 

Message: 4

Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2014 11:52:33 -0700

From: "Robert Ringwald" <rsr at ringwald.com>

To: "DJML" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>

Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>

Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Louis Armstrong - New Orleans Times-Picayune,

      July 30, 2014

Message-ID: <742D0BBB661E4AC993D0BEC50B1CF3D1 at BobPC>

Content-Type: text/plain;     charset="UTF-8"

 

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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