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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
It's a good and low-key read for especially musicians who are interested in learning about Louis Armstrong's life. It is exactly what a good biography should be. It isn't written in a down to earth way, unlike much other academic stuff. It's a great book.
My awareness of jazz came relatively late, the spring and summer before I turned twenty-four. At least that's what I think. I should stress the word awareness, I knew that something called jazz existed, especially as I appreciated other black music i.e. soul and hip-hop at the time but i had no idea of this improvisational music and its rich heritage. I do recall then listening to cds at at the university library. This coincided I believe with my discovery of Ralph Ellison and the marvelous treatment of What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue in his novel Invisible Man. Of course I didn't know the song was written by Fats Waller and had no idea who that was but thanks to Good Morning Vietnam I knew if only vaguely that Louis Armstrong existed. As my tastes quickly developed it was John Coltrane who became my lord and savior. This was followed by the lost apostle Eric Dolphy who I truly revered. After that, my tastes began the sinuous shuffling that continues to this day. Shostakovich, hillbilly, Tom Waits etc.
Somewhere along the way I acquired the revered Hot Five and Seven recordings, a set of sides recorded by Armstrong when he inadvertently changed the world. A little over a week ago I began listening exclusively to these records, almost hypnotically. I wanted to know everything I could about them. The historical coincidence that less than a thousand miles away Ralph Peer was recording the Carter Family struck me as cosmic but that is likely a discussion best served on our front porch with plenty of cold ale at hand. It was with such vigor that I bought this biography Sunday morning--and was quickly disappointed. Teachout does foreground the autobiographical writings (some unpublished during his lifetime) as well as the hundreds of hours of oral history he recorded on his endless life on the road. Thus as Duke Ellington noted, he was born poor, died rich and never hurt anyone along the way. Teachout is very middlebrow in his approach, which might be appropriate given Armstrong's move from jazz revolutionary to shmaltzy entertainer? Teachout spends a fair amount of time examining the charges that Armstrong perpetuated a shuffling passive stereotype while playing segregated venues. The private aspects reveal an angry man who bristled at having his artistry overshadowed and thus preferred to to maintain ensembles of inferior musicians. The biography also revealed the incessant correspondence which became part of Armstrong's itinerant life, his typewriter pecking away night after night in another anonymous hotel room.
Being somewhat bruised by this experience, I likely won't pursue a book specific to the Hot Five and Sevens but still marvel at their majesty.
Somewhere along the way I acquired the revered Hot Five and Seven recordings, a set of sides recorded by Armstrong when he inadvertently changed the world. A little over a week ago I began listening exclusively to these records, almost hypnotically. I wanted to know everything I could about them. The historical coincidence that less than a thousand miles away Ralph Peer was recording the Carter Family struck me as cosmic but that is likely a discussion best served on our front porch with plenty of cold ale at hand. It was with such vigor that I bought this biography Sunday morning--and was quickly disappointed. Teachout does foreground the autobiographical writings (some unpublished during his lifetime) as well as the hundreds of hours of oral history he recorded on his endless life on the road. Thus as Duke Ellington noted, he was born poor, died rich and never hurt anyone along the way. Teachout is very middlebrow in his approach, which might be appropriate given Armstrong's move from jazz revolutionary to shmaltzy entertainer? Teachout spends a fair amount of time examining the charges that Armstrong perpetuated a shuffling passive stereotype while playing segregated venues. The private aspects reveal an angry man who bristled at having his artistry overshadowed and thus preferred to to maintain ensembles of inferior musicians. The biography also revealed the incessant correspondence which became part of Armstrong's itinerant life, his typewriter pecking away night after night in another anonymous hotel room.
Being somewhat bruised by this experience, I likely won't pursue a book specific to the Hot Five and Sevens but still marvel at their majesty.
I’m not a fan of nonfiction or biographies but i really flew through this one!! There was so much interesting information that was given in such an easy to digest format and I was honestly captivated not only by the story being told but by the way it was presented
A revelatory story of the coexistence (and equal importance) of art and entertainment, the happiness that comes with balance, the triumph of a "perfectly natural" man over unnatural intolerance, and the manifestation of manhood in the power of a horn. ESSENTIAL READING! And Teachout's from Cape Girardeau, but don't hold that against him....
I remember as a child getting a Disney album with songs sung by a man with a very gravelly voice. At first I found it kind of off-putting, but I remember my mom especially enthusing about him and his music. I also remember being impressed with the fact that you could have a real name, and then a really cool nickname, like Satchmo.
I'm not a connoisseur of biographies, usually only picking them up when I feel I want to know more about someone I've run across. In my opinion, though, this is a particularly good one. The author, a musician and music critic, sure seems to know his way around jazz, but his detailed descriptions of particular musical passages and recording sessions went a bit beyond biography and a bit over my head. I most enjoyed the beginning of the book which describes Armstrong's background and his early life in New Orleans. This part was particularly good.
An excellent introduction to the man and his music. The appendix includes a list of 30 essential Armstrong recordings, all available via iTunes. I'll definitely be getting some.
I'm not a connoisseur of biographies, usually only picking them up when I feel I want to know more about someone I've run across. In my opinion, though, this is a particularly good one. The author, a musician and music critic, sure seems to know his way around jazz, but his detailed descriptions of particular musical passages and recording sessions went a bit beyond biography and a bit over my head. I most enjoyed the beginning of the book which describes Armstrong's background and his early life in New Orleans. This part was particularly good.
An excellent introduction to the man and his music. The appendix includes a list of 30 essential Armstrong recordings, all available via iTunes. I'll definitely be getting some.
A thorough examination of the life of a music legend and American cultural icon. This is the story of how one man overcame an enormous amount of personal challenges and societal obstacles, to become who he was meant to be: one of the most original, inspiring entertainers of a generation. A music history education in one life, Louis Armstrong defined a new style of music in his own likeness. By sticking to what he enjoyed doing most, playing and singing music from the core of who he was, he set a standard that inspired innumerable musicians and listeners alike. There were many critics along the way during Armstrong's decades' long career. In the end, however, there is no other jazz musician who has achieved the level of admiration and respect for his dedication to his craft. Equally, no other musician has ever left behind a collection of letters, recordings, and documents detailing life in the recording studio, on the road, in the movies, and on TV, as he. Author Terry Teachout says in the afterword, " . . . this is surprisingly, the first fully sourced biography of Armstrong to be written by an author who is also a trained musician." It is a narrative biography, not scholarly, but interpretive of a life well documented by academic scholars. Additionally, Teachout had access to a wealth of archival material previously unavailable to biographers. Poet Philip Larkin said of Armstrong, "It is already accepted -- or if it isn't, it soon will be -- that Louis Armstrong was an enormously important cultural figure in our century, more important than Picasso in my opinion, but certainly quite comparable," and further, "an artist of Flaubertian purity, and a character of exceptional warmth and goodness." For music lovers, those interested in American culture and general entertainment, Teachout's biography of Louis Armstrong will be the standard bearer for years to come.
Everything you could want to know about Louis Armstrong and then some. This was a well researched and informative look at Louis Armstrong's life and his impact on the music world. I would recommend if you're a fan of his work though some of the musical discussion went way over my head.
Just what I needed. And it does what such a book is supposed to do - makes me go back & listen.
dark
funny
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Just like Teachout's book on Duke Ellington, I can't imagine a single fact being left out of this book on Louis Armstrong's life. Very readable on amazing genius. I recommend listening to as much of the music mentioned while you read, as you can.