JAZZ: A BRIEF HISTORY

RECENTLY, ONE OF MY SONS ASKED THE OTHER, "HAVE YOU EVER REALLY LISTENED TO THELONIOUS MONK?" 

Louis Armstrong was a Cabaret o' Charm

Louis Armstrong was a Cabaret o' Charm

An Eternal Autumn in New York with Ella and Louis

An Eternal Autumn in New York with Ella and Louis - 1958

Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong swing the B-L-U-Z

Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra swung their way into the Pantheon.

Louis Armstrong gave all he had to make this wonderful world

“There are two kinds of music; the good and bad. I play the good kind.” - 

Louis Armstrong

I Cover the Waterfront - 1933

“My whole life, my whole soul, my whole spirit is to blow that horn...”

Louis with Duke Ellington - 1961

Gods Don't Quarrel. Louis Armstrong and Johnny Cash

Louis Armstrong and Johnny Cash 1970

Ofays and spades got the same soul

When Jack Teagarden and Louis Armstrong first met, Jack said to Louis, "I'm an ofay, you're a spade. We got the same soul. Let's blow."

They remained close friends and collaborators for many  years thereafter even though, for many of those years, they were not allowed to appear on stage together.

Sometimes, it really is as simple as knowing we've got the same soul.