The JAZZ Story
Oliver's as the crowning glory of the New Orleans tradition and one of
the
great achievements in Jazz.
LOUIS IN NEW YORK AND BIG BANDS ARE BORN
That tradition, however, was too restricting for a creative genius
like Louis
Armstrong. He left Oliver in late 1924, accepting an offer from New
York's most prestigious black bandleader, Fletcher Henderson
(1897-1952). Henderson's band played at Roseland Ballroom on
Broadway and was the first significant big band in Jazz history.
Evolved from the standard dance band of the era, the first big Jazz
bands
consisted of three trumpets, one trombone, three saxophones (doubling
all
kinds of reed instruments), and rhythm section of piano, banjo, bass
(string
or brass) and drums. These bands played from written scores
(arrangements or "charts"), but allowed freedom of invention for the
featured soloists and often took liberties in departing from the
written
notes.
Though it was the best of the day, Henderson's band lacked rhythmic
smoothness and flexibility when Louis joined up. The flow and grace of
his
short solos on records with the band make them stand out like diamonds
in
a tin setting.
The elements of Louis' style, already then in perfect balance,
included a
sound that was the most musical and appealing yet heard from a
trumpet; a
gift for melodic invention that was as logical as it was new and
startling,
and a rhythmic poise (jazzmen called it "time") that made other
players
sound stiff and clumsy in comparison.
His impact on musicians was tremendous. Nevertheless, Henderson didn't
feature him regularly, perhaps because he felt that the white dancers
for
whom his band performed were not ready for Louis' innovations. During
his year with the band, however, Louis caused a transformation in its
style
and, eventually, in the whole big band field. Henderson's chief
arranger,
Don Redman, (1900-1964) grasped what Louis was doing and got some of
it on paper. After working with Louis, tenor saxophonist Coleman
Hawkins (1904-1969) developed a style for his instrument that became
the
guidepost for the next decade.
While in New York, Louis also made records with Sidney Bechet, and
with Bessie Smith (1894-1937), the greatest of all blues singers. In
1925,
he returned to Chicago and began to make records under his own name
with a small group, the Hot Five. Included were his wife Lil Hardin
Armstrong (1899-1971) on piano, Kid Ory, Johnny Dodds, and guitarist
Johnny St. Cyr. The records, first to feature Louis extensively,
became a
sensation among musicians, first all over the United States and later
all
over the world. The dissemination of jazz, and in a very real sense
its
whole development, would have been impossible without the phonograph.
KING LOUIS
The Hot Five was strictly a recording band. For everyday work, Louis
played in a variety of situations, including theater pit bands. He
continued
to grow and develop, and in 1927 switched from cornet to the more
brilliant trumpet. He had occasionally featured his unique gravel
voiced
singing, but only as a novelty. Its popular potential became apparent
in
1929, when, back in New York, he starred in a musical show in which he
introduced the famous Ain't Misbehavin' singing as well as playing the
great tune written by pianist Thomas (Fats) Waller (1904-1943),
himself
one of the greatest instrumentalists-singers-showmen in Jazz.
It was during his last year in Chicago while working with another
pianist,
Earl (Fatha) Hines (1903-1983), that Louis reached his first artistic
peak.
Hines was the first real peer to work with Louis. Inspired by him, he
was
in turn able to inspire. Some of the true masterpieces of Jazz, among
them
West End Blues and the duet Weatherbird, resulted from the
Armstrong-Hines union.
THE JAZZ AGE
Louis Armstrong dominated the musical landscape of the 20's and, in
fact,
shaped the Jazz language of the decade to come as well. But the Jazz
of
the Jazz Age was more often than not just peppy dance music made by
young men playing their banjos and saxophones who had little
understanding of (or interest in) what the blues and/or Louis
Armstrong
were about. Still, a surprising amount of music produced by this
dance-happy period contained genuine Jazz elements.
PAUL WHITEMAN - King of Jazz?
The most popular bandleader of the decade was Paul Whiteman
(1890-1967), who ironically became known as the King of Jazz, although
his first successful bands played no Jazz at all and his later ones
precious
little. These later bands, however, did play superb dance music,
expertly
scored and performed by the best white musicians the extravagant
Whiteman paychecks could attract. From 1926 on, Whiteman gave
occasional solo spots to such Jazz-influenced players as cornetist Red
Nichols, violinist Joe Venuti, guitarist Eddie Lang (1904-1933), and
the
Dorsey Brothers' trombonist-trumpeter Tommy (1905-1956) and
clarinetist-saxophonist Jimmy (1904-1957), all of whom later became
bandleaders in their own right.
In 1927, Whiteman took over the key personnel of Jean Goldkette's
Jazz-oriented band, which included a young cornetist and sometime
pianist
and composer of rare talent, Bix Beiderbecke (1903-1931). Bix's very
lyrical, personal music and early death combined to make him the first
(and most durable) jazz legend. His romanticized life story became the
inspiration for a novel and a film, neither of them close to the
truth.
Bix's closest personal and musical friend during the most creative
period of
his life was saxophonist Frank Trumbauer (1901-1956). Fondly known as
Bix and Tram, the team enhanced many an otherwise dull Whiteman
record with their brilliant interplay or their individual efforts.
THE BEIDERBECKE LEGACY
Bix's bittersweet lyricism influenced many aspiring jazzmen, among
them
the so-called Austin High Gang, made up of gifted Chicago youngsters
only a few of whom ever actually attended Austin High School. Among
them were such later sparkplugs of the Swing Era as drummers Gene
Krupa (1909-1973) and Dave Tough (1908-1948); clarinetist Frank
Teschemacher (1905-1932); saxophonist Bud Freeman (1906-1991);
pianists Joe Sullivan (1906-1971) and Jess Stacy (b. 1904); and
guitarist-entrepreneur Eddie Condon (1905-1973). Their contemporaries
and occasional comrades-in-arms included a clarinet prodigy named
Benny
Goodman (1905-1986); and somewhat older reedman and character, Mezz
Mezzrow (1899-1972), whose 1946 autobiography, Really the Blues,
remains, despite inaccuracies, one of the best Jazz books.
Trumbauer, though not a legend like Bix, influenced perhaps as many
musicians. Among them were two of the greatest saxophonist in Jazz
history, Benny Carter (b.1907) and Lester (Prez) Young (1909-1959).
BLACK & WHITE
A great influence on young Goodman was the New Orleans clarinetist
Jimmie Noone (1995-1944), an exceptional technician with a beautiful
tone. Chicago was an inspiring environment for a young musician. There
was plenty of music and there were plenty of masters to learn from.
Cornetist Muggsy Spanier (1906-1967) took his early cues from King
Oliver. In New York, there was less contact between black and white
players, though white jazzmen often made the trek to Harlem or worked
opposite Fletcher Henderson at the Roseland. When a young Texas
trombonist, Jack Teagarden (1905-1964), came to town in 1928, he
startled everyone with his blues-based playing (and singing), very
close in
concept to that of Henderson's trombone star, Jimmy Harrison
(1900-1931). These two set the pace for all comers.
Teagarden, alongside Benny Goodman, worked in Ben Pollack's band.
Pollack, who'd played drums with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, was
quite a talent spotter and always had good bands. When Henderson
arranger Don Redman took over McKinney's Cotton Pickers in 1929 and
made it one of the bands of the `20s, his replacement was Benny
Carter.
Carter could (and still can) write arrangements and play trumpet and
clarinet as well as alto sax. For many years, he was primarily active
as a
composer for films and TV; but in the late 1970's, Carter resumed his
