For jazz historians, Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven
recordings mark the first revolution in the history of a music
riven by upheaval. Yet few traces of this revolution can be found
in the historical record of the late 1920s, when the records were
made. Even black newspapers covered Armstrong as just one name
among many, and descriptions of his playing, while laudatory, bear
little resemblance to those of today. For this reason, the
perspective of Armstrong's first listeners is usually regarded as
inadequate, as if they had missed the true significance of his
music. This attitude overlooks the possibility that those early
listeners might have heard something valuable on its own terms,
something we ourselves have lost. If we could somehow recapture
their perspective-without abandoning our own-how might it change
our understanding of these seminal recordings? In Louis Armstrong's
Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings, Harker selects seven exceptional
records to study at length: "Cornet Chop Suey," "Big Butter and Egg
Man," "Potato Head Blues," "S.O.L. Blues"/"Gully Low Blues," "Savoy
Blues," and "West End Blues." The world of vaudeville and show
business provide crucial context, revealing how the demands of
making a living in a competitive environment could catalyze
Armstrong's unique artistic gifts. Technical achievements such as
virtuosity, structural coherence, harmonic improvisation, and
high-register playing are all shown to have a basis in the workaday
requirements of Armstrong's profession. Invoking a breadth of
influences ranging from New Orleans clarinet style to Guy Lombardo,
and from tap dancing to classical music, this book offers bold
insights, fresh anecdotes, and, ultimately, a new interpretation of
Louis Armstrong and his most influential body of recordings.
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