Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2013-02-10 20:01
Ken,
(This is not so much of a rebuttle of your post, as it is a clarification in light of it--I hope it's received in that manner).
Wynton did indeed consciously revive Louis Armstrong's status, beginning in the late 1980s--before then, a younger, brasher, Wynton Marsalis had been one of the many dismissive voices (he's more than made up for those youthful comments, IMO). In the late '80s, Wynton seemed to realize there was a limit to bop--perhaps just physically for his chops' sake!--he's even said his "Live at Blues Alley" was the end of that sort of thing for him. As he developed his own lyrical side, he returned to his New Orleans roots...and came to more fully appreciate Pops--and then to promote him as the most important jazz musician in the history of the world, via Ken Burns's documentary. Of course this could probably have happened on Armstrong's merits, without Wynton, but the fact is that Wynton (and Stanley Crouch) played a crucial role in creating the current mythic status of Armstrong.
I tend to think that, while Armstrong is indeed very important, this pendulum swing from the slanderous "Uncle Tom" criticism to exaggerated "All Time Greatest Heavyweight Champion of the World Forever" is a bit extreme. And while the latter is closer to the mark, it still distorts reality. Duke Ellington, for instance, said that Sidney Bechet was more important to jazz than Armstrong. We don't have to agree, but to keep an open mind is helpful--it enables us to see more of jazz history and find a richer texture of places for the likes of Bix Biederbecke, Leon Roppolo, Jelly Roll Morton, Coleman Hawkins, and others. Meanwhile, other great jazz musicians have been more than overlooked--they've been denigrated in similar ways to the earlier denigration of Armstrong. I think Benny and Artie are currently in that category, unfortunately.
Eric
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The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
Post Edited (2013-02-20 13:23)
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