Correspondence: On Satch

Boy, you really were (and had me) confused on the subject. Glad you figured it out and was able to learn something.

"...there was Louis and then there was everybody else" -- Dzimis: That's too much of a burden on anyone's shoulders, don't you think so? -- Satch was no saint, was he? -- But he was certainly "the" jazz man of the last century. I wish I could have seen him live on stage. Those films and recordings reflect only 50%, if not less, of his energy, the joy he gave to the world.

To Charlton Price:

Yeah, that's the film. Most of that film is beautifully done, and when you've watched it (One should see it on a big screen!), you ask: "Why aren't there more films like that?" There's one thing I would have done differently: Thelonious Monk's part is a bit weird, isn't it?

Okay, the sailing boats are nice. Anyway, were the shouts of the tillerman really more important than Monk's performance of his favorite blues "Blue Monk"? -- Columbia's film "Sound of Jazz" corrected that little flaw and showed the artists at work, unaffected from contrived shots on sailing boats ... ;)

That Satch clip from YouTube is from the unforgettable "Jazz on a Summer's Day" --even more memorable when enhanced by his onstage remarks before, and his "Rockin' Chair" with Teagarten after, IMO.

No need to apologize for Louis behavior on or off stage. No need to take the stoners Miles and Billie seriously except when they're on stage. In the history of the world, there was Louis and then there was everybody else.

I'm afraid I have to correct myself a bit, because I obviously had misquoted Miles. I found a whole encyclopedia entry on Louis Armstrong being NOT, of course, an Uncle Tom. This was part of it:

"Miles Davis, whose disdain for Armstrong's persona and his musical opinions was as great as his admiration for his trumpet artistry, and who often performed with his back to the audience, distancing himself as much as possible from the role of musician as entertainer, was asked if Armstrong was an Uncle Tom, replied (quoting Billie Holiday), 'When Louis Armstrong Toms, he Toms from the heart.'"

The entire entry is at this url:

http://knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Louis_Armstrong_and_His_Orchestra/