TOP 10 explanations for the Endless Flow of Miles Davis Photos

Is any one else astonished at the endless succession of Miles Davis photographs? There simply can't have been this many photos of Miles taken during the 65 years of his life. The staff of the Institute has been avidly, even doggedly hunting down the source of this endless fount and has come up with:

THE TOP TEN explanations for the endless flow of Miles Davis photos.

1. New Drilling in the Arctic
2. Advances in dowsing
3. Final accounting of Jimmy Hoffa’s crypt 
4. Venus in retrograde
5. Pandemic-inspired cleaning
6. Excavations at Stonehenge
7. New Lojack add-on
8. Milk carton campaign
9. “Dark Matter” revealed
10. Uri Geller is back!

Martin Torgoff on the DuPlex

I was joined on the DuPlex Mystery Jazz Hour of 12.28.17 by Martin Torgoff, author of Bop Apocalypse; Jazz, Race, The Beats and Drugs. It was an interesting, wide-ranging conversation that used music as a guideline, as per the playlist below.

LISTEN HERE

PLAYLIST

Louis Armstrong, Muggles. Fred Robinson, trombone; Jimmy Strong, clarinet; Earl Hines, piano; Mancy Carr banjo, and Zutty Singleton on drums.

Mezz Mezzrow, Revolutionary Blues. Tommy Ladnier, Sidney de Paris, t / Mezz Mezzrow, cl / James P. Johnson, p / Teddy Bunn, g / Elmer James, b / Zutty Singleton, d.

Rosetta Howard, If You’re A Viper. With The Harlem Hamfats 

Count Basie Orchestra, Every Tub. 

Billie Holiday, I Must Have That Man. Buck Clayton, t / Edmond Hall, cl / Lester Young, ts / James Sherman, p / Freddy Green, g / Walter Page, sb / Joe Jones, d

Charlie Parker, Ko Ko. Curly Russell on bass and Max Roach on drums. Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie played piano, but trumpet here instead of Miles Davis

Charlie Parker, Moose the Mooch. Miles Davis-tp, Lucky Thompson-tenor and Dodo Marmarosa-piano, Vic Macmillan-bass, Arvin Garrison-drums

Charlie Parker, Lover Man. Charlie Parker (alto sax), Howard McGhee (trumpet), Jimmy Bunn (piano), Bob Kesterson (bass), Roy Porter (drums)

Wardell Gray, The Chase. Bass-Don Bagley , Drums –Chico Hamilton, piano-Bobby Tucker B

• Tenor Saxophone –Dexter Gordon, Wardell Grey 

• 
  

Miles Davis, Round Midnight. Miles Davis – trumpet, Paul Chambers-bass, John Coltrane – tenor-Red Garland – piano, Philly Joe Jones – drums

John Coltrane, My Favorite Things. McCoy Tyner piano, Steve Davis bass, Elvin Jones drums 

Jazz Soundtracks, II

Here's another DuPlex Mystery Jazz Hour about sound tracks, recorded on 3.16.17. So, close your eyes and let the cinematic images float through your mind.

LISTEN HERE


PLAYLIST (Theme music from the film, unless otherwise noted)

Elmer Bernstein, "The Man With The Golden Arm"  1955 on Spectrum
 ‪
Elmer Bernstein/Chico Hamilton‬ "Sweet Smell Of Success" 1957 on Decca
 ‪
Henry Mancini‬ "‪Touch Of Evil ‬" 1958 on Sarabande
 ‪
Lalo Schifrin‬ "Bullitt" 1968 on Warner Bros

Ella Fitzgerald "Pete Kelly's Blues"  (Jazz, 1955) on Decca

Eddie Sauter "Mickey One" (Jazz, 1965) on Polygram

Martial Solal "A bout de souffle" (Breathless) 1959 on Classic Soundtrack Collector

Gato Barbieri "Last Tango in Paris" 1972 on United Artists

Ennio Morricone "‪The Cat O' Nine Tails‬" 1971 on Colonna Sonora

Miles Davis "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud" 1961 on Fontana
 ‪
Quincy Jones "Hanging Paper‬" from "In Cold Blood" 1968 on Colgems

Duke Ellington "Happy Anatomy" from "Anatomy Of A Murder" 1959 on Columbia

Sonny Rollins "Alfie's Theme"1966 on Impulse

Donna Lee Sing-Along

In honor of Charlie Parker's birthday, here's the tune Donna Lee, with my lyrics below. You're all invited to think of me as the bebop Mitch MIller and sing along.

DONNA LEE

Donna Lee has a melody that teaches us that

Learning the trade of music takes a lifetime,

But the joy that comes from knowing that this

Rocky road you choose can let you

Open up your soul,

To the mysteries around you,

Means the path has found you.

Sing a tune by Charlie Parker or a ballad by Sinatra,

Anything that can train your ears to listen

To the subtlest things.

Honeysuckle Rose can sing but

She gets bored with singing in just one key.

Learning the trade of music you must

Set a goal like learning to sing Miss

Donna Lee in twelve keys,

Only time can make it happen,

You had no idea time could possibly go so slow…

When you have heard the half steps and the

Minot thirds you think you’re almost home only

Now you see that you’ve got four bars left to sing without a breath

But now you’re flying you know Donna Lee won’t get the best of you.

10 Ballads to Slow Down Summer

I'm still cold from last winter, so the idea of rounding the corner into autumn is not thrilling. I invite you to luxuriate in these beautiful ballads. Let them keep the thought of neck-high snow at bay while they temper the burn of August heat.

Clifford Brown-I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance


Lawrence Brown, Ben Webster-All Too Soon

Jazz, Junk, Cool and Nostalgia

So, who gives a crap about nostalgia, that fatuous relict of Ye Olde Bullshit Shoppe? I do.

nos.tal.gia. From two Greek words: nostos (homesickness) and algos (pain).

Notwithstanding the abuse it takes, nostalgia is a singular brain state of happy/sad/hyper-self conscious/free-floating-ness that feels like nothing else. When any emotional state grabs me that hard, I pay attention.

Jazz-the music itself-doesn't traffic much in nostalgia, although jazz-the listeners-with their wax and catalogues, do. Jazz musicians are known for not wanting to listen to their own old recordings, but name me a jazz fan who can't tell you the first album they bought.

                                

Out-and-out schmaltz, like Jackie Gleason jazz records, or schticky trad bands are more bathetic than nostalgic. Unrooted in any particular time, they lack the weight to induce nostalgia, although they may induce a treacly simulacrum. In fact, I think there's an anomalous combination of elements that can make it happen in jazz.
                     
                             Shmaltz + Cool = nostalgia.

Miles, then, would seem to be a candidate-plays a lot of ballads and medium tempi, often uses the harmon mute, cultivates an elusive persona-but his playing lacks schmaltz, which keeps it cool and non-nostalgic. (Miles Davis, the Bertolt Brecht of jazz?)

Chet Baker's pose is emotionally distant, like Miles, but Baker's music has the schmaltz and is nostalgic. His drug habit makes sense in this context. Heavy dope is not about being here now. The Now is Just Too Much. It's about retreating to a place of your own imagining; hassle-free, light (not heavy), but not without bittersweetness. This is also a credible definition of nostalgia. We relate to the music with a sigh, a sense of yearning, an emotional attachment to the notes. 

I don't know of a lot of tracks in jazz that use the word "nostalgia." The two below are the most well-known and are often covered. The first, by Fats Navarro, is in a medium tempo and actually has many of the qualities I defined as nostalgic. Despite the fact that Fats was one of the most declamatory trumpet players, he tempers his style and his solo here fits well in the emotional framework established by the song.

We think of Charles Mingus as one of the least nostalgic players-and people; seemingly, always searching for new musical routes, staunchly in the moment, to the extent that his groups were "workshops" and he taught his musicians their parts by singing them. He also had a streak of violence we don't associate with nostalgia.

While the tempo of this tune is slightly slower than the Navarro, the rhythmic approach is choppy and the second restatement of the tune is even choppier, which actually makes it seem faster. There is a fair amount of dissonance in the melody and little of the lilt and legato of the Navarro. Being nostalgic in Times Square is no simple matter.


OK, now to contrast Miles and Chet, here are their versions of My Funny Valentine. Of course, Miles never sang, and that makes a hell of a difference, but just listen to their horn solos.





Kudos, contrary opinions, suggestions for inclusion, elision and relevant EKG's are welcome.

Was turned on to Svetlana Boym by Artemis Nasby. Found a great essay about nostalgia written by her here.

Blindfolding Russ Gershon

Listen as Russ Gershon, the brave and intrepid Boston bandleader, musician, composer, arranger faces off against the musical unknown. On the Duplex Mystery Jazz Hour, WZBC, 90.3 FM with Steve Provizer, 03/12/2015 5:00 to 07:00 PM.

Listen here for download and here to stream.

Playlist. Don't look, if you want to play along.

Before his arrival:

Either Orchestra "Nutty Ode to Billie Joe" from "Radium" (1989), Accurate Records

Either Orchestra "The Petrograd Revision" from "Mood Music for Time Travelers" 2010, Accurate Records

Either Orchestra "Born In a Suitcase" from "Radium" (1989) on Accurate Records

Either Orchestra "Suriname" from "Mood Music for Time Travellers" 2010 on Accurate Records

Either/Orchestra "Hard To Know" from "Radium" (Jazz, 1989) on Accurate Records 

Down to work:

Henry Red Allen "Love is Just Around the Corner" from "World On a String" 1957 Bluebird 

Phil Woods "Lemon Drop" from "Early Quintets" 1959) on Prestige 

John Tchicai "Sumolle" from "Hope Is Bright" 2002 on CIMP 

Donald Byrd & Pepper Adams "Day Dreams" from "Out of this World" (Jazz, 1961) on Compulsion 

Dexter Gordon "Our Love is Here to Stay" from "Our Man in Paris" 1963 on Blue Note 

Serge Chaloff "Keen and Peachy" from "Boston" 1950 on Uptown 

MIles Davis Sextet "Out of the Blue" from "Live at Birdland" 1952 on Fresh Sound 

Bix Beiderbecke "Trumbology" from "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans" (Jazz, 1927) on Okeh 

James Carter Organ Trio "Tis the Old Ship of Zion" from "At the Crossroads" (Jazz, 2011) on Decca 

Jazz on Film: Caveat Emptor

There are good documentaries about jazz. A person can see the films listed on this site and walk away without reaching for the gas pipe. But, as the furor around the film Whiplash (well, to jazz people it was furor) reminds us, it's wise to keep the bar low.

When Hollywood does jazz, it should stick to hagiography and cheesy romance: The Benny Goodman story, the Fabulous Dorseys, the Glenn Miller story; these are really just the Lindbergh, Curie and Young Abe Lincoln stories with clarinets and bobby socks. Henry Fonda coulda played Miller and Jimmy Stewart coulda been Lincoln. Fred Astaire and Burgess Meredith as trumpet players in Second Chorus, competing for Paulette Goddard? No problem. These movies are a nice, comfortable roll in the lowest common denominator hay. And, of course, any time Louis Armstrong is on, he lights up the screen. Ditto, Hoagy Carmichael.

But, when the egomaniacs in L.A. go all arty and pseudo-egghead on us and decide they have to "explain" jazz and jazz musicians, it's a formula for disaster.

Remember your initial excitement when you heard about "Round Midnight," and about "Bird"? Remember your disappointment after you saw them? Why didn't they let Dexter play anything up tempo! Why did they make Bird a man-child! Why did they strip the original rhythm section off the sound track! Bird didn't look like that when he played! Is every black man a tragic figure and every white man a dolt?

Possibly the most exasperating example of the genre is "Jung Man With a..." Sorry: "Young Man With a Horn." The insane ilk of psycho-babble that oozes through this movie like celluloid arteriosclerosis makes me think Professor Irwin Corey had a hand in the screenplay. Kirk Douglas/Bix Beiderbecke has "one wing" then falls for the broken pseudo-shrink Bacall who has a pet macaw? She smashes your 78's? I hate to see that; even if they're just Caruso on Victor. You're right, Kirk/Bix, she is "dirty and twisted inside," while you-were-born-to-play-the-trumpet-and-can-only-communicate-through-that-damn-horn. Why, oh why do they try and foist off that juvenile premise: "I want to play the note that no one else has ever played?" Bejasus.

Don't ask me if the same 4th-class Freudianisms befoul the Dorothy Baker novel it was based on. I can only deal with psychic effluvia in one genre at a time. "Based on the life of Bix Beiderbecke"-my moldy toenail. Harry James is the film's music adviser and dubs the trumpet parts. James is a great player, but his style bears as much resemblance to Bix's as, well-you finish the analogy. Kirk Douglas pushes the trumpet valves convincingly and has the appropriate unyielding embouchure and convincing lunatic gleam in his eye.  

Happily, the movie is quite informative for all you trumpet players out there, as there are at least 4 mentions of the loathsome "roll" in this movie. You know, where the mouthpiece gets too low on your lower lip? You better correct it pronto, or I will strap you in this comfy chair and force you to listen to cinematic dialogue about trumpet rolls until your chops fall off.

I suppose it's not really the aspiring filmmaker's fault. They're not gonna raise a lot of money to make a movie-insightful or not-about jazz, unless it's about Miles Davis, who is now the only jazz musician that Americans can name. We'll see how Mr. Cheadle makes out with Miles, but when you walk into the multiplex, my advice is: caveat jazz emptor. 

Whither Jazz Mojo?

The online conversation around jazz, BAM, improvised music, whatever you want to call it, seems to have shifted. I see far fewer pieces that dig into the marrow of the music and many more conversations reacting to mainstream perceptions and/or acceptance of jazz. 

Declining CD sales and "I can't get a gig" anecdotes speak to an uncertain financial future, while the recent proliferation of mainstream "humor" pieces at the expense of jazz point to a deep attitude shift. The intense response to all this diss seems to reflect an erosion of the idea that our efforts will somehow-maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but someday-impact the wider culture. 

I get the un-ease. There's a lot more than just money riding on the weight jazz carries in the zeitgeist. There's a mythology at stake and the shift in jazz mojo is the canary in the cage.

Sonny reacting to the New Yorker Piece

Jazz Infra dig, the cachet of hip-ness, meant that the squares would, of course, not "get it." That was the point. But how did it really work? It worked because the insider could always sense from body language and voice tone that there was a sort of grudging respect on the part of the squares; at least a small sense of regret or guilt that they were not hip enough to dig it.  

That tension was recognized and seized on by Madison Ave. as part of its strategy of leveraging rebelliousness to increase sales; i.e. Chet Baker-Miles Davis archetypes cradling horns with smoke curling up over their tailored chinos. I don't see that strategy in operation anymore. Yes, I see Wynton in the NY Times modeling an expensive watch, but somehow, that's not the same.

That cultural push-pull is pretty much gone, replaced by squelched yawns and the kind of confidence on the part of former-might-once-have-been-squares that comes from knowing that jazz is the music of people who themselves don't get it.

Doesn't matter very much to me. Even though my bumper sticker reads "Self-delusion is my Chosen Religion," I'd rather accept the limits of my cache(accent over the e) and just enjoy communicating with people who speak my language. If I bring any buoyancy that helps keep the good ship Jazz PR afloat, it will come through my natural excitement discussing the relative merits of Lee and Freddie on my little radio show, or having a friend turn me on to a musician saying something new on the alto.

But, lest you be cast into a fit of gloom, my dear jazz people, bear in mind the potential spiritual side benefits that will arise for us in the wake of this cultural shift: we will have the chance to burnish the gleaming halos associated with those who have taken to monasteries and cloisters, uninterested in worldly success and the cultivation of the ego, dedicating ourselves to preserving the ancient illuminated texts.

Veni Creator Spiritus

Mentes tuorum visita

Imple superna gratia,

Quae tu creasti, pectora.

The Codified Jazz Solo

Several improvised solos in the Basie band's "April In Paris" became codified.

Codification: when a solo is played almost exactly the same way on different recordings (or live), or when a recorded solo becomes well enough known to be orchestrated for either a section of the band or for the entire ensemble. You might call riffs 'mini-codifications.' 

Tommy Dorsey band's 1947 version of "Marie" features a well-known solo by Bunny Berigan (died in 1942) arranged for the entire trumpet section. (Starts at 1'36")


Orchestrated homages like "Marie" are well accepted as part of the arrangers art. However, while not quite a dirty little secret, soloists repeating worked out/famous solos is at least a bete noir; seen as not being in the spirit of continuously spontaneous creation that jazz people want to associate with this music. 

Is this the lingering aftershock of the Bop revolution, which moved jazz away from dance music and 'entertainment' into 'art' music?  In fact, the anti-commercialism aspect of jazz mythology predates the boppers by many years. In its 20's form it was a mythology much more driven by white jazz culture than black. i.e. "I have to play with this damned society band to make the bread but as soon as the gig is over I'm gonna go jam all night-hopefully, with some black musicians." (This dovetailed interestingly with the pressure record labels put on white bands to record "sweet" music and black bands to record "hot" even though, in practice, both colors played both kinds). 

That old devil commerciality, it was said, not only forced jazzers to play despised music, the money lust was such that bandleaders forced codified solos on reluctant musicians in order to mine every last gold shard from the vein opened up by a popular recording. 


Many possible areas of exploration open up: the 'hipness' factor in jazz and its place in the larger cultural context; the shifting/evolving relationship between that factor and the desire to please an audience (is a back-turning Miles a possible symbolic center of that shift?); the question of how much variation from melody-or from a previous solo-qualifies a performance as improvisatory. 

I invite readers to submit concrete examples of the process of codification as I have described it-or to cite other ways it has happened. Let's see how far back the process can be traced, examine contexts, compare examples and see what arises for further exploration. Tell me if you agree or disagree with the disreputability I say its reputation has acquired.

One of the Great Codifiers in jazz

You know, you can't write about Louis Armstrong, the man at the very top of the heap, without addressing codification. Give Thomas Brothers' recent book credit for doing that.

Jazz Musicians Anonymous

The first step is to recognize you have a problem. Yes, you. Now, harken unto Herman's story below and it may not be too late.

Welcome to Jazz Musicians Anonymous. Please introduce yourself.

My name is Herman and I play the trumpet.

Good morning, Herman. Let's hear a little about the music of your childhood.

Well, most of the records my parents had were the usual thing-Broadway soundtracks, Mitch Miller, Mickey Katz. But there were others, too.

Such as?


Well, there was one by Lena Horne and one by Della Reese. 

What we call "gateway" records. 

Listening to them didn't seem that risky.

That's what they all say. What else?

There was also a-a-Miles Davis record.

Which one, Herman? It wasn't Kind of Blue, was it?

No. Live at the Blackhawk-Friday night.

The hard stuff. This is worse than I thought.

There was something about the whole mythology that was so seductive-not just the music, but the cover photo, the erudite liner notes. The whole thing gave me an incredible rush of freedom. I used to lie under the dining room table and listen to it over and over...


Alright Herman. No need to go down that gory road.
Have you ever tried to put down the horn? 

Yes. And my family and my neighbors were ecstatic. But after a few days, I said to myself "maybe if I just use a mute, and play for a few minutes when no one is home..." 

How'd that work out for you? 

My wife found bottles of valve oil hidden all over the house. There was an intervention and here I am.

Not a moment too soon. Next question: Have you ever tried to substitute another instrument and switch to another kind of music in hopes it would free you from your enslavement?

Yes. I dug a dusty harmonica out of my desk drawer and tried learning Shaky Horton licks. It didn't take. A week later, I gave it to a friend with a soul patch. Then, I couldn't stop myself, I picked up the horn again. I tried watering down the music; you know, practiced using the Idiot's Guide to Clifford Brown; tried sticking to the Arban book and practicing nothing but appoggiaturas and triple tonguing-but I still couldn't keep my mind off you-know-what. 

Pitiful. And then?

In three days I started sneaking peeks at my Berigan Modern Trumpet Studies. Then, I started copping Chet Baker solos...

All right, I get the sordid picture. Next question: What radio stations do you listen to?

Just...NPR.

The truth, please.

Alright! There are some days-Mondays suck, but Tuesday's just as bad-I can't get out of bed without 95.3.

Next question: Do you ping pong between jealousy and disdain when you listen to other trumpet players.

No, no, I can take 'em as they come.

Herrrrman?

Alright, you sadist. I admit it. My girlfriend won't go with me to concerts, anymore. She says she doesn't know whether it's worse to leave with someone smiling smugly or gnashing his teeth in fury.

I pity her. Do you ever have blackouts?

Unfortunately. There was a bleak period when I came under the sway of screamers like Maynard Ferguson, Cat Anderson and Bill Chase. I blew so hard the air in my lungs became compressed to the density of a medium-sized black hole. The back pressure made the veins in my forehead sprout like kudzu on a dead oak tree. More than once I woke up not even knowing if I'd finished my solo.


Thank you, Herman, for your honesty. We can imagine the rest: Increasing isolation from family and friends; radical mood shifts; explosive responses to muzak; paying nightclubs to play; long nights arguing with fellow addicts about Lee Morgan versus Freddie Hubbard. The whole sordid downward spiral. 

I realize now how far I fell. What happens now?

You'll need a sponsor-someone you can call in case it looks like the urge will get the better of you. Stan here will take over that job. Stan plays accordion...

But, Art Van Damme...

...In a polka band.

Ok.


I want you to take home this little booklet and study it carefully. It contains all the stupid, misogynist things that Miles ever said. It should help break down your conditioning. 

FInally, you have to wear this electronic collar. It's been programmed to deliver an electronic shock every time it detects a II-V lick being played.

Seems a bit draconian.

Or would you rather we let the loan sharks get you for what you owe on mouthpieces?

No! I'll do it.

And remember, we'll be tracking your movements online. Any attempts to download Kenny Dorham transcriptions will be dealt with severely. Now, take this recording of "12 Steps to Heaven" and go in peace.

Cool. I love Horace SIlver's composition...

Forget it, pal. Your case is hopeless. Stan drop the net on him.

Miles, Bird, Armstrong Simulacrum Kits

The marketing orgy at Brilliant Corners Merch, Inc. marches on!

Inspired by the Thelonius Monk Round Midnight watch, we provided SimulacrumKits@ for Louis Armstrong and Charley Parker (see below). Once more, we have forged an unholy metaheuristic liaison, this time with a coven of disaffected Tampa Bay cheerleaders and created The Deluxe Miles Davis Simulacrum Kit. As with all our kits, it allows you to really "get next" this greatest of jazz improvisers. It includes:

1. Discarded Harmon mute stems (8)
2. Alimony check receipts (too many to count)
3. Harem pants (assorted colors)
4. Two roaches from Ferrari 275 ashtray (Davis ownership certified by Price Waterhouse)
5. 1944 Julliard Conservatory of Music freshman beanie
6. 1954 mash note from Bob Weinstock
7. Kind of Blue limited edition totebag
  
If the Davis Estate lawyers come  a-knockin', we're readin to start rockin'!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last summer, inspired by the alliance between Sony and the Miles Davis estate which offered a mouthpiece replica, t-shirts and other fascinating items, we created our own Louis Armstrong Simulacrum Kit. And, we couldn't keep 'em in stock!

Always eager to cater to the whims of the insatiable jazz consumer, we have forged a metaheuristic liaison with a clutch of Ukranian businessmen and created The Deluxe Charlie Parker Simulacrum Kit. It includes:

1. A dental x-ray showing Bird's "upper partials."  
2. A yardbird wing from 1941, preserved in formaldehyde and the wheel from the band bus that probably crushed it.
3. A bottle of Gordon's gin salvaged from the wreckage of the old Birdland, with a letter of provenance from Willy's Liquor Store on 44th St.
4. An early brochure from the Camarillo Chamber of Commerce
5. A box of Dean Benedetti out-takes (so unlistenable that even Ross Russell wouldn't release them, but still...)
6. One oboe reed with a imbedded Mitch Miller moustache hair.

And, for the first 20 buyers, we will throw in shards from the cymbal thrown by Jo Jones in the infamous jam session incident (verification pending).

So act now. Our 'operators' are standing by.

And, as we always say, "it's not re-animation, but it's pretty damn close."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some have castigated the recent alliance between Sony and the Miles Davis estate which offers "A mouthpiece replica of exactly the 'Gustat' Heim 2 model used by Davis especially created by Kanstul," t-shirts and other fascinating items. They even throw in 43 cd's. In fact, those corporate giants don't go nearly far enough in offering a package that can truly bring fans closer to their favorite artists. We have therefore forged a metaheuristic liaison with several Baltic-area businessmen and are delighted to offer the Deluxe Louis Armstrong Simulacrum Kit, composed of:

1. A copy of the gun Armstrong shot off to get sent to the Colored Waif's Home for Boys.
2. A facsimile of the original sisal belt Armstrong used to hold up his pants while delivering coal.
3. A lump of coal.
4. Two half-used packages of Swiss Kriss.
5. A set of 10 designer "do-rags" created in honor of Satchmo's 100th anniversary.
6. An "I Hate Bebop" pin, allegedly worn by Armstrong at an Elks Club meeting in Sept. 1952.
7. A glassene envelope containing a half ounce of muggles that Armstrong forgot he even had.

Act today and we will throw in a re-engineered recording of Armstrong's solos with the King Oliver band, with the rest of that rickety group stripped off and replaced by the same excellent studio musicians Clint Eastwood used to replace Potter, Roach and Haig in the movie "Bird."  Act now. Our 'operators' are standing by. It's not re-animation, but it's pretty damn close.

1950's Trumpets #4: Tony Fruscella

There's an ongoing discussion in jazz about the playing vectors represented by Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke and how these manifested through succeeding generations of trumpet players. How does a player use techniques like range, articulation and dynamics to favor melody and cool like Bix, or power and heat, like Louis?

The differences between schools are often exaggerated. After all, Pops knew melody and Bix did not lack fire, which makes placing most players squarely in one school or another difficult. Tony Fruscella, on the other hand, was clearly a child of Bix.

A brief recap shows that, in the Swing era, most players came from the Armstrong power vector-Roy Eldridge, Harry James, Charlie Shavers, Bunny Berigan, Rex Stewart... At the same time, though, there were players who, often choosing the cornet, stayed closer to Bix-Bobby Hackett, Wingy Manone, Billy Butterfield, Wild Bill Davison...

Bop trumpet players came more from power and technique-Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Howard McGhee, Red Rodney, Sonny Berman. Miles Davis had technique, but edged more toward the Bix side of the ledger. The lineage of the "West Coast" players really comes from Bix and Miles. Of these, Chet Baker became the most well known.

Chet had very good chops, although he didn't have the top register that's associated with the Armstrong vector. However, his playing (more true in his earlier days) was strong and well articulated throughout his range.

If Bix, Miles and Baker diminished the importance of power over melody, Fruscella disregarded it almost completely.