Six Minutes With Satch: Chinatown, My Chinatown / I Got Rhythm
Are you ready? Are you ready? So help me, are you ready? Cause Pops sure is on today's two romping sides.
Up first is a legitimate "good old good one," "Chinatown, My Chinatown," written in 1906. There's no mention of Louis doing this in his live shows at the time, but it's quite possible that he was doing it and personally wanted to wax it for posterity since OKeh had moved away from having him record such dusty material.
This is probably as close as we can get to experiencing Armstrong onstage in this period as his opening monologue, addressed to "ladies and gentlemen" and dripping with slang, is quite electric. After the saxophones say their piece in the little "argument" being presented, Armstrong takes over for one of his greatest examples of "telling a story." The pace is frantic but Louis sounds as relaxed as could be, taking his time, floating across the bar lines, working over certain motifs and ending up with some upper register work that is positively thrilling. Roy Eldridge famously came around to appreciating what Pops was putting down when he caught Louis do this live in 1932 and found himself standing and applauding at the conclusion without even realizing it. I want to stand and applaud every time I hear it, too!
Three days later, Louis put his stamp on the Gershwin's future perennial, "I Got Rhythm," taken from the 1930 Broadway hit, Girl Crazy so still of a recent vintage. For this one, Louis serves as our emcee and is in full "introduce the band" mode, perfecting a routine he initiated with "Gut Bucket Blues" back in 1931. Armstrong and his band recorded two sings a night for four straight nights, with this being the eighth and final selection from this incredible November run. Perhaps wanting to give his band--now under the supervision of music director and second trumpeter Zilner Randolph--a bone, Armstrong featured every single member of the organization on this selection. Of course, he saved the best--himself--for last, a teasing, yet confident exhibition of rhythmic prowess that all but shouts "I Got Rhythm," negating the need to ever actually sing Ira Gershwin's lyrics.
Those sure are two romping sides that probably brought a lot of joy during the Great Depression (and hopefully still bring joy as we cope with COVID-19). But OKeh knew they'd have to follow with something a little more romantic and struck gold with tomorrow's selection--til then!
LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Zilner Randolph (tp), Preston Jackson (tb), Lester Boone (as), George James (as), Albert Washington (ts), Charlie Alexander (p), Mike McKendrick (g), John Lindsay (b), Tubby Hall (d).
OKeh recording session - Chicago, IL November 3, 1931
LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Zilner Randolph (tp, talk), Preston Jackson (tb), Lester Boone (as), George James (as, cl, ss), Albert Washington (ts), Charlie Alexander (p), Mike McKendrick (g, talk), John Lindsay (b), Tubby Hall (d)
OKeh recording session - Chicago, IL November 6, 1931
YouTube links:
Up first is a legitimate "good old good one," "Chinatown, My Chinatown," written in 1906. There's no mention of Louis doing this in his live shows at the time, but it's quite possible that he was doing it and personally wanted to wax it for posterity since OKeh had moved away from having him record such dusty material.
This is probably as close as we can get to experiencing Armstrong onstage in this period as his opening monologue, addressed to "ladies and gentlemen" and dripping with slang, is quite electric. After the saxophones say their piece in the little "argument" being presented, Armstrong takes over for one of his greatest examples of "telling a story." The pace is frantic but Louis sounds as relaxed as could be, taking his time, floating across the bar lines, working over certain motifs and ending up with some upper register work that is positively thrilling. Roy Eldridge famously came around to appreciating what Pops was putting down when he caught Louis do this live in 1932 and found himself standing and applauding at the conclusion without even realizing it. I want to stand and applaud every time I hear it, too!
Three days later, Louis put his stamp on the Gershwin's future perennial, "I Got Rhythm," taken from the 1930 Broadway hit, Girl Crazy so still of a recent vintage. For this one, Louis serves as our emcee and is in full "introduce the band" mode, perfecting a routine he initiated with "Gut Bucket Blues" back in 1931. Armstrong and his band recorded two sings a night for four straight nights, with this being the eighth and final selection from this incredible November run. Perhaps wanting to give his band--now under the supervision of music director and second trumpeter Zilner Randolph--a bone, Armstrong featured every single member of the organization on this selection. Of course, he saved the best--himself--for last, a teasing, yet confident exhibition of rhythmic prowess that all but shouts "I Got Rhythm," negating the need to ever actually sing Ira Gershwin's lyrics.
Those sure are two romping sides that probably brought a lot of joy during the Great Depression (and hopefully still bring joy as we cope with COVID-19). But OKeh knew they'd have to follow with something a little more romantic and struck gold with tomorrow's selection--til then!
LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Zilner Randolph (tp), Preston Jackson (tb), Lester Boone (as), George James (as), Albert Washington (ts), Charlie Alexander (p), Mike McKendrick (g), John Lindsay (b), Tubby Hall (d).
OKeh recording session - Chicago, IL November 3, 1931
LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Zilner Randolph (tp, talk), Preston Jackson (tb), Lester Boone (as), George James (as, cl, ss), Albert Washington (ts), Charlie Alexander (p), Mike McKendrick (g, talk), John Lindsay (b), Tubby Hall (d)
OKeh recording session - Chicago, IL November 6, 1931
YouTube links:
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