I Remember Jazz by Rose Al;

Author:Rose, Al;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: LSU Press
Published: 1987-08-14T04:00:00+00:00

Louis Armstrong

In 1966, Life magazine published a large cover story about Satch. Richard Meryman put the piece together, but it consisted almost entirely of Louis’ tape-recorded reminiscences about his career, plus a large number of old photographs, many of which I was able to supply. The editors sent the piece to me for comments before publishing it, and I was very glad they did. Louis frequently had the most colorful and detailed recollections of things that never happened, and their publication could have easily led to unnecessary embarrassment for him. Several months later I happened to be in Macon, Georgia, at the same time Louis and his All-Stars were doing a concert there. I went backstage to see him. Properly, there was an efficient screening process for people wanting to see Louis. It began with Ira Mangel, his band manager. You had to ask for Ira, and if you didn’t know that name you just didn’t get to see Satch.

“I hope you didn’t mind, Louis,” I said, “that I made so many changes in the story in Life. Some of those things are wrong and you wouldn’t want them printed.”

Louis said, “People ask me about things happened fifty years ago. I can’t remember what happened yesterday.” Then he asked, “What did I tell him wrong?”

“That stuff about playing in Storyville. You never played in Story-ville,” I said.

“Sure I played in Storyville,” he insisted. “I played in Henry Ponce’s saloon.”

I shook my head. “That I know, but Ponce’s saloon wasn’t in Storyville.” I continued, “Do you know where the district actually was?”

“Do I know where it was? Sure, I know where it was! I grew up in the district! Perdido Street, South Rampart Street—all in there!”

I sat shaking my head.

“Why you shakin’ yo’ head? Dat’s the district!”

I explained to him where the district actually was and that the neighborhood of his youth wasn’t it. He seemed shocked to learn this information. Then he said, “I depend on guys like you to know that kinda stuff. Jeez. I wonder how many people I told dat I was a kid in Storyville?”

Tyree Glenn came into the dressing room and Louis said, “Al jus’ told me that where I grew up—what I been tellin’ reporters an’ magazine people for forty years—well, that ain’t Storyville at all.”

Tyree said, “Everybody tells me you’re ignorant and I tell ’em you ain’t—but I guess I’ll have to stop that.”

It wasn’t too long after that the band came to play in New Orleans at the Municipal Auditorium. I didn’t plan to attend because it bothered me to hear how the music had deteriorated, to see Louis relying on all his novelty devices and singing so much. I knew it was difficult for him to play the horn, certainly not on the level that had earned him his fame in the jazz world. I just sent him a note of greeting. I did receive an invitation to a party at the Royal Orleans. It was being given for him at the Royal Orleans Hotel, but I didn’t plan to go.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.