[Dixielandjazz] Buddy Bolden, was Armstrong-Eldridge

[Charles Suhor]

Good points, Anton. Lineages are “soft,” for sure. Some players state who influenced them. Others don’t. Despite that, there’s internal evidence as we subjectively hear how one player’s particulars of style resembles another’s and adds his/her own elements. The lineage game works best when plotting the influence of acknowledged groundbreakers like Louis, Baby Dodds, Hines, Bix, Pres, Bird, Diz, Miles, Rollins, etc. Beyond that, it gets fuzzy and perhaps useless. Where do Bunk, Honore Dutrey, Allen Eager, and Bud Shank "fit in"? They were fine players but I don’t think it’s interesting or useful to place them precisely in a stylistic continuum of artists. I confess, though, that I often feel that some highly individual musicians have been underrated in the panoply of jazz stars—Tony Spargo, Bill Rank, Joe Rushton, Ed Blackwell, and a few others.

Charlie

On Apr 12, 2017, at 7:59 PM, Anton Crouch <anton.crouch at optusnet.com.au> wrote:
> 
> The extensive discussion in this thread reminds me of the old 1950s "begat theory" of New Orleans trumpet players. The theory was that Buddy Bolden begat King Oliver, who begat Armstrong, who begat Eldridge. Naive romantic mythology, assuming a simple linear progression.
> 
> What did Bolden sound like and what is the evidence for a direct connection with Oliver? Dan Hardie may have something to say about this :-)
> 
> The "line" branches at Armstrong and we have to take into account the "Armstrong copyists". Jabbo Smith, Henry Allen, Jack Purvis and Valaida Snow. And where does Bunk Johnson fit in? Johnson was probably younger than he claimed and there is an interesting interview with Rudi Blesh in which he has to be prompted to claim to remember King Oliver.
> 
> Anton
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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