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Not a wonderful world- why Louis Armstrong was hated by so many
Interesting reading. Not comforting, but informative, none-the-less.
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12-17-2020 12:01 PM
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I remember the criticism of Louis as an "Uncle Tom", etc. It bugged me then and bugs me now, but less so.
Louis was a revolutionary figure in the history of jazz. What did people expect, for him to keep reinventing it? Louis never lost the sense that being an entertainer meant you entertained people. He was incredibly good at that.
None of the critics of his sides with Bing will ever do anything as perfect as this:
I have two words for 'em: f*ck off.
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The Terry Teachout Bio " Pops " should be required reading in US schools.
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I haven't read that one. Just placed a hold on it at my local library.
Originally Posted by Dennis D
I follow Teachout on Twitter. Interesting guy. (Can't believe how many movies he seems to watch Every Day.)
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Yes, these sad products of a 'wasteland of a later career':
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Who has any right to judge the decisions an African American made in the 20s or 30s to get by? Quite a difference even between then and the 50s, let alone today.
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One dimensional article like most things in the Guardian these days.
The truth is .... complex
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I didn’t think it was necessaily under-complex, but sometimes ill-informed. Calling Armstrong the greatest pop star of the 40‘s is certainly exaggerated, and promptly devalued by stories of the racism the „biggest pop star“ had to endure. And Dizzy‘s relationship wirh Pops was certainly more complex.
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Teachout also wrote a one-act play called "Satchmo at the Waldorf." I've neither read nor seen it staged.
Here's a snippet from one staging of it. (It is not only a one-act play, it is a one-actor play.)
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The article is a book review.
The book may be creditable but the review doesn't constructively speculate on Louis Armstrong in any way,
in my opinion.
For instance, in the third paragraph Armstrong's switch a more 'popular' style in the mid-30's is cited.
No mention here of the lip injury from the same period that is widely believed to have
permanently impaired Armstrong's great physical virtuosity on the horn.
Irresponsible to leave this out and while discussing a great artist "selling out" this way, even in a review.
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boo to the naysayers...pops was king...wynton marsalis' fave!
a humble giant..outside his modest corona, queens nyc home...still doin good work
cheers
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ps- another "wasteland...later career" classic...bah
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cheersLast edited by neatomic; 12-17-2020 at 03:29 PM. Reason: ...
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^^
here, here. the man practically invented jazz!
even if had only done this the jazz world should be grateful
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What a tough position he was in, given the times. So many factors working against him. Would be an interesting read to see how he navigated this extremely tough course. Probably not for the faint of heart.
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miles with respect
cheers
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If your going to criticize, please put your life's accomplishments on a giant screen for the rest of the world to mock, criticize, judge, make fun of and grind to a pulp.
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Looks like a few African Americans feel they have such a right. Originally Posted by BWV
Here is what the fine actress Hattie McDaniel had to say on the topic:
McDaniel wrote that the film industry had become a better place for black workers in the course of her career, and that black actors had gained recognition for their work. “I’d rather play a maid than be one,” she frequently said, according to Seth Abramovitch for Hollywood Reporter.
Of winning the Oscar, she wrote:
My own people were especially happy. They felt that in honoring me, Hollywood had honored the entire race. That was the way I wanted it. This was too big a moment for my personal back-slapping. I wanted this occasion to prove an inspiration to Negro youth for many years to come.
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Good excerpt here from
The Entertainer | The New Yorker
What Gillespie’s and Davis’s judgments miss is that jollity can be a form of strength. Armstrong couldn’t imagine letting anyone, as he once said when dressing down a sideman, “fuck with my hustle.” Some have understood this partially, supposing that Armstrong was studiously putting on a brave face; Ralph Ellison said that he was wearing a defensive “mask,” with “sophistication and taste hiding behind clowning and crude manners.” Teachout, similarly, concludes that he “returned love for hatred and sought salvation in work.” But nothing Armstrong ever said or wrote suggests that he was hiding behind anything—“Look, you don’t pose never!” he told an interviewer—nor was there any perceptible space in a joyous soul such as his for anything so gloomy as a quest for “salvation.” To read him as defensively fashioning what we now call a “black identity” is presentist. Ellison came closer to understanding the essence of Armstrong when, in another context, he asked if it was possible for a people to “live and develop for over three hundred years simply by reacting?” Armstrong was, in his way, more advanced than those whose ethnic identities are radicalized by circumstance. His strength was that he did not react. Armstrong’s voluminous writings—which include two autobiographies and enough letters to constitute a de-facto lifetime journal—are a key to his uncontrived, comfortable essence. “My whole life has been happiness,” he wrote to a friend. “I love everybody.”
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Pops was a human, though extremely talented, like the rest of us. He had his faults, but achieved the pinnacle of success and influence despite having to fight against an unjust society his entire life.
I think the details of his life, as with any history, are important, but sometimes you just get tired of arguments pro and con someone and want to listen to some good music.
I love this video. You can tell the Danes had no idea what just hit them, but I'm sure they were enthralled by it.
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I haven't read that one, but Louis' 1st autobiography was awesome, and I'm halfway though his 2nd one (more about his adult life) and it is also great. Originally Posted by Dennis D
Actually, just last night I read several pages he wrote on "swing" (what he calls original New Orleans Jazz) and commercial swing that started coming in the mid 30's.... it would have fit right into one of the "what IS jazz REALLY?" discussions here LOL...
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The author must feel the same way about BB King....
There's a good book, if anyone is interested, about what these artists went through on the "chitlin' circuit"...
Amazon.com
Interestingly, Louis does not talk much about the racism struggles in his autobiographies. It's as if he takes a "aw, they don't know no better" attitude, which is extremely generous and gracious on his part.
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Teachout's biography is a great one--truly of the standout (teachout?) musical biographs of our times.
I would rank it up there with Guralnick's bio of Elvis and Sam Phillips, as well as Miles' autobiography. Required reading.
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His lips gave him a lot of trouble over the years. One fellow musician said they were hard as a piece of wood. I've read he sometimes removed the calluses with a razor blade. Originally Posted by rabbit
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Thanks for the tip! I've put it on my list of things to read. Originally Posted by ruger9
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Saw that too... Humphrey Lyttelton - Wikipedia who played with him a few times, & with whom he stayed at least once said Armstrong did what it took to survive. Before West End Blues got me I heard this (via a J Geils band cover featuring the brecker brothers among others...) Originally Posted by citizenk74
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