Most people today don't know that Chicago was where both advertising and broadcasting as we know it were invented. This provided lots of high-paying work for musicians along with the coast-to-coast exposure that launched many careers.
Very good observation about Chicago and advertising. I worked in SF advertising agency in 1970s and seemed like everyone was from Chicago (Leo Burnett). And they all learned to drink at jazz clubs. . .
I had a few friends in the audio side of Burnett, and supplied and mixed sound for 8-10 years of the December breakfasts. Many fond memories of the fine musicians (usually big band plus strings) who played those gigs. There would be a full rehearsal the day before, but it was for the Burnett people and the support staff -- it was common for one set musicians to play the rehearsal, mark up the parts for charts that had been written for that year's show, and a different group of musicians to play the Breakfast. I also enjoyed hearing these guys in the Monday night "kicks" band at the Wise Fools, that allowed Dave Remington to lead them.
Great gratitude for this. The jazz story with all its twists and turns was a group effort with many worthy contributors, but he’ll do just fine now and forever as the torch bearer for a new time.
Read this with a lot of emotion. My old man had just turned 15 a couple weeks before LA made it to Chi-town, and was about to start gigging with local bands; by the time the curtain fell when he was 87+ he’d been a member of the musicians union for decades stretching back to the 20s. He loved Armstrong and also landed in Chicago a few years later - 1928. He was good but went on to other things, eventually becoming an MD. But he never forgot the inspiration. And of course it wasn’t just the music, wonderful and fresh as it had been. For everyone who knows anything of the story should grant that we live in a better world now, and Louis played a special part in that no one else could match. From street urchin to the highest heights - you could say he made a pretty good account of himself. Vaya con dios Satch. Say hi to my old man when you get a chance.
Some years ago I wrote a humorous pamphlet on "Dispensational Jazzology," where I correlated jazz history with a Christian theology called Dispensationalism. Here's how the history starts:
"Genesis
The Creation Of Jazz
1 In the beginning God created jazz. And jazz was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep [note: those days are still shrouded in darkness, as they are the days of pre-recorded jazz history]. And the Lord God formed Buddy Bolden of the dampness of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and Buddy was given Soul. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters, in the city of New Orleans, which is as close to the Garden of Eden as you’re going to get in this life. And the Spirit of God carried the sound of Buddy’s trumpet over the hot and humid bayou, and the sound wafted over the Mississippi river, and people heard the sound, and it called to them. And God heard the Jazz that He had made, and behold, it was pretty good.
First Dispensation: Innocence (New Orleans)
2 And the music grew and developed. And Buddy Bolden begat Freddie Keppard and Joe “King” Oliver, and Joe “King” Oliver begat Louis Armstrong, on whom the Spirit of God came to rest.
And the Lord God said, It is not good that the Pops should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall on Pops. And as he slept, God took one of his ribs. And Pops dreamt of barbequed ribs, and when he awoke he was inspired to record Struttin’ With Some Barbeque.
And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from Pops, made he into Ferdinand Morton, who became as important to jazz on piano as Pops was on trumpet.
And they were both naked, and were not ashamed [though as naked pianists go, Pops preferred Lil Hardin].
This was the dispensation of Innocence. There was no knowledge of good or evil. There were no pretenses, and no self consciousness among these musicians about being “artists.” They just played the music they liked, and tried to make people happy. It was as simple and as pure as that..."
I would never deny Armstrong's innovations in Jazz and popular music. But there were also other innovators, such as Miles Davis, who allowed themselves to change and evolve in new directions after innovating, something I don't hear with Louis. Call me a party pooper, but I personally know people who literally worship Armstrong, as if everything he did, from "West End Blues" to "Hello Dolly," was equally worthy of otherworldly praise. One of the flaws in Ken Burns' documentary film on Jazz was this same kind of ebullient and unending adoration, unfortunately, at the expense of other true innovators whom Ken and Wynton didn't feel were worthy enough to receive any mention at all, such as Benny Carter and Bill Evans. I can understand such an attitude regarding Duke Ellington, who grew in directions even his most ardent fans disapproved of, but that also never stopped him.
You miss the point. Louis Armstrong defined ALL of popular music at the age of 27 both as an improvising musician and as a singer. Listen to singers before him -- they are so straight, so unimaginative as to be "sing-song." Without the harmonic, rhythmic, and freedom that Armstrong gave us, there would be no Holiday, Sinatra, Bennett, Aretha, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, or all of blues and rock and roll! Every jazz musician, and nearly all of popular music, descends from Armstrong. The great innovator Dizzy Gillespie said, "No Louis, no me." Miles revered him. I don't know of a single jazz musician who doesn't feel that way.
And don't bring up Ken Burns, whose series ignored virtually all of the important white jazz musicians making the music what it is, AND Black and White mostly had great respect for each other. America is (or at least was) a great melting pot, and this was especially true in jazz. Bix Biederbecke, the White trumpet innovator whose style was very different from Armstrong's, were mutual admirers, friends, and came to hear each other play in their days in Chicago.
There are so many incredible innovators in jazz history, and Pops and Miles are at the very top (as are countless others)! I think an important thing to remember is how much of a trailblazer Pops was-the things that Miles was able to achieve wouldn't have been possible without his great predecessor. All the musicians you listed are phenomenal, and the Ken Burns doc is notoriously incomplete/flawed-let's celebrate all these great players and not let comparison be the thief of joy.
I'm not music educated but I know that Mr Armstrong was a smart guy. I mean brain wise as well as sartorially. There is a film starring Danny Kaye about an old time jazz star,who was old time when the film was made. Now most of the film is formulaic but there is one sequence in it that even when I saw it aged 13 I recognised rose above the rest of the standard biog film. Danny (as the old time jazzer) does an impromptu spot at an after hours type cool low down jazz club with Louis Armstrong. Now the latter is both acting but also being himself. And something about that sequence rises way above the standard formulaic rest of the film. The drama of the scene is also intensified by the presence,so inappropriately of the jazzers little five year old daughter,he was left to take care of her while his wife had to go somewhere but the lure of music was so strong he just took her with him and they ended up in this early hours of the morning hoochy cooch jazz music and drinking place and somehow the awful inappropriateness of this adds to the drana of the whole section,it's the high point of the film. The only transcendant bit worth watching.
After years of producing, one take away among many is, you sing / play what you are. You’re revealed. Louis’ smiling heart shone thru his playing and singing and life. He was a virtuoso of joy. And as a Chicago south sider, the neighborhood he so beautifully describes, comes alive. Thanks for shining a well deserved light on this.
I had the pleasure of seeing Satchmo in Minneapolis in the 50s. My father took my brother and I to see him.
And I in West Virginia, where I grew up. I had just started High School
Fantastic / my music teacher Tommy Thomas (1901-1995) was from Chicago - he told me stories of his Sunday visits to Louis house for jam
Sessions - Tommy was a sideman in those days with Bix Beiderbecke and Benny Goodman .
Love this! Oh to be at Lincoln Gardens when King Oliver and Louis Armstrong were playing together.
Incredible! We all owe a tremendous debt to Louis Armstrong.
Louis Armstrong was my hero too - I formed a New Orleans jazz band in the 1960s, very happy times
Thanks for this, Ted. Thank God for Louis Armstrong.
Most people today don't know that Chicago was where both advertising and broadcasting as we know it were invented. This provided lots of high-paying work for musicians along with the coast-to-coast exposure that launched many careers.
Very good observation about Chicago and advertising. I worked in SF advertising agency in 1970s and seemed like everyone was from Chicago (Leo Burnett). And they all learned to drink at jazz clubs. . .
https://www.wttw.com/chicago-stories/real-mad-men/ten-advertising-campaigns-that-were-born-in-chicago
I had a few friends in the audio side of Burnett, and supplied and mixed sound for 8-10 years of the December breakfasts. Many fond memories of the fine musicians (usually big band plus strings) who played those gigs. There would be a full rehearsal the day before, but it was for the Burnett people and the support staff -- it was common for one set musicians to play the rehearsal, mark up the parts for charts that had been written for that year's show, and a different group of musicians to play the Breakfast. I also enjoyed hearing these guys in the Monday night "kicks" band at the Wise Fools, that allowed Dave Remington to lead them.
Boy, those were the days. It is amazing all the talent that went into the whole industry.
It was also the center of the film industry before Hollywood, and country music before Nashville.
Great gratitude for this. The jazz story with all its twists and turns was a group effort with many worthy contributors, but he’ll do just fine now and forever as the torch bearer for a new time.
Read this with a lot of emotion. My old man had just turned 15 a couple weeks before LA made it to Chi-town, and was about to start gigging with local bands; by the time the curtain fell when he was 87+ he’d been a member of the musicians union for decades stretching back to the 20s. He loved Armstrong and also landed in Chicago a few years later - 1928. He was good but went on to other things, eventually becoming an MD. But he never forgot the inspiration. And of course it wasn’t just the music, wonderful and fresh as it had been. For everyone who knows anything of the story should grant that we live in a better world now, and Louis played a special part in that no one else could match. From street urchin to the highest heights - you could say he made a pretty good account of himself. Vaya con dios Satch. Say hi to my old man when you get a chance.
Great 👍
Beautiful!!!
Some years ago I wrote a humorous pamphlet on "Dispensational Jazzology," where I correlated jazz history with a Christian theology called Dispensationalism. Here's how the history starts:
"Genesis
The Creation Of Jazz
1 In the beginning God created jazz. And jazz was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep [note: those days are still shrouded in darkness, as they are the days of pre-recorded jazz history]. And the Lord God formed Buddy Bolden of the dampness of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and Buddy was given Soul. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters, in the city of New Orleans, which is as close to the Garden of Eden as you’re going to get in this life. And the Spirit of God carried the sound of Buddy’s trumpet over the hot and humid bayou, and the sound wafted over the Mississippi river, and people heard the sound, and it called to them. And God heard the Jazz that He had made, and behold, it was pretty good.
First Dispensation: Innocence (New Orleans)
2 And the music grew and developed. And Buddy Bolden begat Freddie Keppard and Joe “King” Oliver, and Joe “King” Oliver begat Louis Armstrong, on whom the Spirit of God came to rest.
And the Lord God said, It is not good that the Pops should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall on Pops. And as he slept, God took one of his ribs. And Pops dreamt of barbequed ribs, and when he awoke he was inspired to record Struttin’ With Some Barbeque.
And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from Pops, made he into Ferdinand Morton, who became as important to jazz on piano as Pops was on trumpet.
And they were both naked, and were not ashamed [though as naked pianists go, Pops preferred Lil Hardin].
This was the dispensation of Innocence. There was no knowledge of good or evil. There were no pretenses, and no self consciousness among these musicians about being “artists.” They just played the music they liked, and tried to make people happy. It was as simple and as pure as that..."
https://dispensationaljazzology.wordpress.com/genesis-the-creation/
Wonderful story..
My husband is a huge Louis fan. I will be hunting these books down for sure! Thanks again, Ted!
I would never deny Armstrong's innovations in Jazz and popular music. But there were also other innovators, such as Miles Davis, who allowed themselves to change and evolve in new directions after innovating, something I don't hear with Louis. Call me a party pooper, but I personally know people who literally worship Armstrong, as if everything he did, from "West End Blues" to "Hello Dolly," was equally worthy of otherworldly praise. One of the flaws in Ken Burns' documentary film on Jazz was this same kind of ebullient and unending adoration, unfortunately, at the expense of other true innovators whom Ken and Wynton didn't feel were worthy enough to receive any mention at all, such as Benny Carter and Bill Evans. I can understand such an attitude regarding Duke Ellington, who grew in directions even his most ardent fans disapproved of, but that also never stopped him.
You miss the point. Louis Armstrong defined ALL of popular music at the age of 27 both as an improvising musician and as a singer. Listen to singers before him -- they are so straight, so unimaginative as to be "sing-song." Without the harmonic, rhythmic, and freedom that Armstrong gave us, there would be no Holiday, Sinatra, Bennett, Aretha, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, or all of blues and rock and roll! Every jazz musician, and nearly all of popular music, descends from Armstrong. The great innovator Dizzy Gillespie said, "No Louis, no me." Miles revered him. I don't know of a single jazz musician who doesn't feel that way.
And don't bring up Ken Burns, whose series ignored virtually all of the important white jazz musicians making the music what it is, AND Black and White mostly had great respect for each other. America is (or at least was) a great melting pot, and this was especially true in jazz. Bix Biederbecke, the White trumpet innovator whose style was very different from Armstrong's, were mutual admirers, friends, and came to hear each other play in their days in Chicago.
There are so many incredible innovators in jazz history, and Pops and Miles are at the very top (as are countless others)! I think an important thing to remember is how much of a trailblazer Pops was-the things that Miles was able to achieve wouldn't have been possible without his great predecessor. All the musicians you listed are phenomenal, and the Ken Burns doc is notoriously incomplete/flawed-let's celebrate all these great players and not let comparison be the thief of joy.
this Ethan Iverson article may be of interest https://ethaniverson.com/2014/03/11/louis-armstrong-and-miles-davis/
He was once a wide-eyed, innocent young man like anyone else. Chicago must have bewildered him at first.
I'm not music educated but I know that Mr Armstrong was a smart guy. I mean brain wise as well as sartorially. There is a film starring Danny Kaye about an old time jazz star,who was old time when the film was made. Now most of the film is formulaic but there is one sequence in it that even when I saw it aged 13 I recognised rose above the rest of the standard biog film. Danny (as the old time jazzer) does an impromptu spot at an after hours type cool low down jazz club with Louis Armstrong. Now the latter is both acting but also being himself. And something about that sequence rises way above the standard formulaic rest of the film. The drama of the scene is also intensified by the presence,so inappropriately of the jazzers little five year old daughter,he was left to take care of her while his wife had to go somewhere but the lure of music was so strong he just took her with him and they ended up in this early hours of the morning hoochy cooch jazz music and drinking place and somehow the awful inappropriateness of this adds to the drana of the whole section,it's the high point of the film. The only transcendant bit worth watching.
After years of producing, one take away among many is, you sing / play what you are. You’re revealed. Louis’ smiling heart shone thru his playing and singing and life. He was a virtuoso of joy. And as a Chicago south sider, the neighborhood he so beautifully describes, comes alive. Thanks for shining a well deserved light on this.