Louis Armstrong in His Own Words: Selected Writings by Louis Armstrong; ThomasBrothers; The Louis Armstrong Companion: Eight Decades of Commentary by Joshua BerrettReview by: Brian HarkerNotes, Second Series, Vol. 57, No. 4 (Jun., 2001), pp. 912-914Published by: Music Library AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/901004 .

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NOTES, June 2001 NOTES, June 2001

enigmatic reference, which she develops toward a wholly new understanding of the composer's musical structures-an idea that can be connected to those presented by Haas.

As in all similar collections, some articles are better than others. Richard Taruskin opens the collection in his characteristic style, providing intellectual entertainment that several slight printing hiccups, like the repetition of one footnote number (pp. 16-17) and the omission of another (pp. 18-19) cannot spoil. Fay's report is typically erudite, detailing Shostakovich's connections with LASM and Boris Asafiev. Her work, which is of great importance for Shostakovich scholars, has since been docu- mented in her recently published biogra- phy Shostakovich: A Life (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universitv Press, 2000), a work that Marina Ritzareva referred to as "the urtext for Shostakovich studies" in a paper presented at the Shostakovich sym- posium ("Shostakovich Twenty-Five Years On") held in Glasgow in October 2000. In her article "Shostakovich as Reflected in His Letters to Ivan Sollertinsky," Luldmila Mikheyeva-Sollertinskaya follows her habit (and that of other Russian scholars) of giv- ing out some information from her source while keeping the rest for dire times; sitting on the basket of golden eggs and releasing bits and pieces (some formerly published) to the press from time to time is perhaps fi- nancially clever but does not add much to her reputation as a Shostakovich scholar. The articles by Olga Komok and Nelly Kravetz contribute information hitherto unknown to the English reader and are useful for building a comprehensive histori- cal picture of the composer and his music. For example, Kravetz's apparently anecdo- tal (yet engrossing) discourse about Shosta- kovich's alleged affair with Elmira Nazirova has relevance for understanding not only his Tenth Symphony but, more broadly, his approach to music as a personal expressive device.

Although this collection would have been more valuable had it been published four or five years ago, it is still a worthwhile contribution to the Shostakovich scholar- ship of today.

ESTI SHEINBERG University of Edinburgh

enigmatic reference, which she develops toward a wholly new understanding of the composer's musical structures-an idea that can be connected to those presented by Haas.

As in all similar collections, some articles are better than others. Richard Taruskin opens the collection in his characteristic style, providing intellectual entertainment that several slight printing hiccups, like the repetition of one footnote number (pp. 16-17) and the omission of another (pp. 18-19) cannot spoil. Fay's report is typically erudite, detailing Shostakovich's connections with LASM and Boris Asafiev. Her work, which is of great importance for Shostakovich scholars, has since been docu- mented in her recently published biogra- phy Shostakovich: A Life (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universitv Press, 2000), a work that Marina Ritzareva referred to as "the urtext for Shostakovich studies" in a paper presented at the Shostakovich sym- posium ("Shostakovich Twenty-Five Years On") held in Glasgow in October 2000. In her article "Shostakovich as Reflected in His Letters to Ivan Sollertinsky," Luldmila Mikheyeva-Sollertinskaya follows her habit (and that of other Russian scholars) of giv- ing out some information from her source while keeping the rest for dire times; sitting on the basket of golden eggs and releasing bits and pieces (some formerly published) to the press from time to time is perhaps fi- nancially clever but does not add much to her reputation as a Shostakovich scholar. The articles by Olga Komok and Nelly Kravetz contribute information hitherto unknown to the English reader and are useful for building a comprehensive histori- cal picture of the composer and his music. For example, Kravetz's apparently anecdo- tal (yet engrossing) discourse about Shosta- kovich's alleged affair with Elmira Nazirova has relevance for understanding not only his Tenth Symphony but, more broadly, his approach to music as a personal expressive device.

Although this collection would have been more valuable had it been published four or five years ago, it is still a worthwhile contribution to the Shostakovich scholar- ship of today.

ESTI SHEINBERG University of Edinburgh

Louis Armstrong in His Own Words: Selected Writings. By Louis Arm-

strong. Edited by Thomas Brothers. Oxford and New York: Oxford Uni-

versity Press, 1999. [xxvii, 255 p. ISBN 0-19-511958-4. $22.]

The Louis Armstrong Companion: Eight Decades of Commentary. Edited

by Joshua Berrett. New York: Schirmer Books, 1999. [xvi, 299 p. ISBN 0-02- 864669-X. $15 (pbk.).]

After a life dominated by journalistic cov- erage, jazz trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) has more recently won the attention of scholars. The interest began with the 1988 publication of Gary Giddins's biography, Satchmo (New York: Doubleday; reprint, New York: Da Capo Press, 1998). Though directed at a popular audience, the book aroused scholarly inter- est with its revelation of Armstrong's actual birthdate. Even more surprising, Giddins presented lengthy excerpts of previously unknown autobiographical writings. The writings, it turned out, formed part of Armstrong's estate, which became a public matter upon the death of his fourth wife, Lucille, in 1983. The executors entrusted Armstrong's property to Queens College in New York, which founded the Louis Arm- strong Archives to house and administer Armstrong's personal collections. Since opening in 1994, the archives have drawn a steady flow of researchers to examine Arm- strong's beguiling writings and memora- bilia. The anthologies by Thomas Brothers andJoshua Berrett are among the firstfruits of these visits.

In retrospect, the discovery of new Arm- strong writings should not be surprising: Armstrong showed a lifelong passion for writing unmatched by most jazz musicians. The books by Brothers and Berrett take their place alongside older Armstrong col- lections, including two autobiographies, Swing That Music (London: Longmans, Green, 1936; reprint, New York: Da Capo Press, 1993) and Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans (New York: Prentice Hall, 1954; reprint, New York: Da Capo Press, 1986). Whereas the latter were more or less pretti- fied by editors, Brothers and Berrett have let Armstrong speak freely, without a filter.

Louis Armstrong in His Own Words: Selected Writings. By Louis Arm-

strong. Edited by Thomas Brothers. Oxford and New York: Oxford Uni-

versity Press, 1999. [xxvii, 255 p. ISBN 0-19-511958-4. $22.]

The Louis Armstrong Companion: Eight Decades of Commentary. Edited

by Joshua Berrett. New York: Schirmer Books, 1999. [xvi, 299 p. ISBN 0-02- 864669-X. $15 (pbk.).]

After a life dominated by journalistic cov- erage, jazz trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) has more recently won the attention of scholars. The interest began with the 1988 publication of Gary Giddins's biography, Satchmo (New York: Doubleday; reprint, New York: Da Capo Press, 1998). Though directed at a popular audience, the book aroused scholarly inter- est with its revelation of Armstrong's actual birthdate. Even more surprising, Giddins presented lengthy excerpts of previously unknown autobiographical writings. The writings, it turned out, formed part of Armstrong's estate, which became a public matter upon the death of his fourth wife, Lucille, in 1983. The executors entrusted Armstrong's property to Queens College in New York, which founded the Louis Arm- strong Archives to house and administer Armstrong's personal collections. Since opening in 1994, the archives have drawn a steady flow of researchers to examine Arm- strong's beguiling writings and memora- bilia. The anthologies by Thomas Brothers andJoshua Berrett are among the firstfruits of these visits.

In retrospect, the discovery of new Arm- strong writings should not be surprising: Armstrong showed a lifelong passion for writing unmatched by most jazz musicians. The books by Brothers and Berrett take their place alongside older Armstrong col- lections, including two autobiographies, Swing That Music (London: Longmans, Green, 1936; reprint, New York: Da Capo Press, 1993) and Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans (New York: Prentice Hall, 1954; reprint, New York: Da Capo Press, 1986). Whereas the latter were more or less pretti- fied by editors, Brothers and Berrett have let Armstrong speak freely, without a filter.

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Book Reviews

Louis Armstrong in His Own Words sets particularly high standards of editorial judgment and fidelity. The book contains nineteen items, all written by Armstrong and all previously inaccessible except through research libraries or photocopies from decades-old periodicals. Brothers has made his selections wisely, starting with the indispensable "Louis Armstrong + the Jewish Family in New Orleans, La., the Year of 1907." Other essential entries include source material for the first Armstrong bi- ography (the "Goffin Notebooks") and the incomplete sequels to Armstrong's sec- ond autobiography ("The Armstrong Story" and "The Satchmo Story"). To contextual- ize the writings, Brothers provides useful ancillary materials: an appendix of well- informed commentary on each of the en- tries, a bibliography of sixty-five extant writ- ings by Armstrong, and an annotated index compiled by Charles Kinzer.

Brothers takes a scrupulous approach to editorial policy. He preserves Armstrong's idiosyncratic uses of capitalization and punctuation, which he views as inflections of Armstrong's prose similar to the expres- sive devices of his trumpet playing. Brothers argues convincingly that such un- orthodox writing style is neither meaning- less nor consistently ironic (as some have proposed), but rather a way of conveying a specifically vocal emphasis. Indeed, one can almost hear Armstrong speak the fol- lowing sentence from a letter he wrote to his manager Joe Glaser in 1955: "I-Just, Love, Your, Checks, in, My POCKETS- "OH" They look so pretty, until, I hate like hell to cash them" (p. 163). Since Brothers normalizes spelling, spacing, and other mi- nor aspects, this book should not be seen as a critical text. Rather, it strikes a compro- mise between two somewhat contradictory goals: "To make Armstrong's writings acces- sible to the general reader and to preserve the unique features of his style" (p. xxv).

Despite some redundancy of material, The Louis Armstrong Companion comple- ments Brothers's collection. Not limited to writings by Armstrong, Berrett's volume includes such important items as tran- scribed excerpts from Satchmo and Me, an LP memoir (Riverside RLP 12-120, 1959) by Armstrong's second wife, Lillian Hardin; notes on the bebop controversy of

the late forties; interviews with members of Armstrong's last band, the All Stars; and essays by distinguished critics Hugues Panassie and Dan Morgenstern. Other selections-such as Armstrong's diet sheet ("Lose Weight the Satchmo Way") and a history of the Louis Armstrong postage stamp-seem less valuable.

As editor, Berrett shows affection and respect for his subject; still, his handling could be more assured. He chose not to keep Armstrong's unusual punctuation, a decision that does not seem unreasonable (though I wish he had provided an editor- ial rationale). But he sometimes intrudes on the writings of others, especially in his unnecessary use of "sic" (e.g., pp. 4, 9, 35). He omits important details, neglecting to note, for instance, that his first entry, "The New Orleans Jewish Faniily," is only a por- tion of the original document. And he seems unfamiliar with Armstrong's literary voice. Berrett uncritically accepts that Armstrong wrote the following excerpt at- tributed to him by editors of the British magazine Rhythm: "I determined from the start to cultivate an original style, and while I tried hard not to force it, I tried out all sorts of ideas, discarding some, practicing others, until I reached, not perfection, since that is unattainable for the true musi- cian, but the best that was in me" (p. 48). Apart from the uncharacteristic tone, this statement betrays Western preoccupations (with originality, experimentation, perfec- tion, self-actualization) that rarely surface in Armstrong's authentic writings. Indeed, the two volumes at hand reveal by contrast how much Armstrong was a product of turn-of-the-century African American ideol- ogy, especially that of Booker T. Washing- ton. Like Washington, Armstrong was an accommodationist, determined to play- and win-by the rules of the white majority. In 1957, he engaged in a rare act of protest, loudly cancelling his Soviet tour for the State Department when Dwight D. Eisen- hower hesitated to enforce desegregation in Little Rock. A decade later, however, he seemed embittered by the racial turbulence of the sixties, particularly the divisions and strife within the black community. In "Louis Armstrong + the Jewish Family" (1969- 70), Armstrong implicitly urges his fellow African Americans away from political

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NOTES, June 2001 NOTES, June 2001

activism and, in Brothers's summary, "to- ward values of thrift, family and group loyalty, honesty, and good work habits" (Brothers, p. 3). Here Armstrong is preach- ing the gospel of Washington, an up-by- the-bootstraps philosophy he seems to have absorbed deeply as a young man.

The Washington connection also helps to explain the most striking omission in the new autobiographical writings: Armstrong fails even to mention the Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings that undergird his reputa- tion as a founder of jazz. (His treatment of them in 'Jazz on a High Note" [1951] came in response to a specific request from the editors of Esquire.) He discusses his tenures with King Oliver, Fletcher Henderson, Erskine Tate's "symphony orchestra," and Carroll Dickerson. Why not the Hot Five? Armstrong makes his perspective clear in a 1941 response to critic Leonard Feather's query about the most important events in jazz history: "[W]ell the first one was when Pops [i.e., Joe Glaser] booked me for my first commercial program over the-N.B.C. ... Then too-those pictures-'Pennies From Heaven' 'Artists 'N' Models'- 'Everyday is a Holiday'-and that fine 'Going Places'" (Brothers, p. 147). Arm- strong was proudest of his public advances in the entertainment industry, especially when he broke color barriers in radio and film. Toward his more esoteric contribu- tions to the language of jazz he apparently remained indifferent or oblivious. In this sense, Armstrong followed a professional course advocated by Washington, a course targeting socioeconomic triumph rather than political power or artistic achieve- ment.

Armstrong is often viewed as a man of contradictions: authentic yet mercenary, wise yet naive, race-proud yet eager to please. We have long needed an intellec- tual context in which to sort out the many parodoxes of his life. With the publication of his unexpurgated ruminations on a wide array of topics, the process of defining that context can now begin in earnest.

activism and, in Brothers's summary, "to- ward values of thrift, family and group loyalty, honesty, and good work habits" (Brothers, p. 3). Here Armstrong is preach- ing the gospel of Washington, an up-by- the-bootstraps philosophy he seems to have absorbed deeply as a young man.

The Washington connection also helps to explain the most striking omission in the new autobiographical writings: Armstrong fails even to mention the Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings that undergird his reputa- tion as a founder of jazz. (His treatment of them in 'Jazz on a High Note" [1951] came in response to a specific request from the editors of Esquire.) He discusses his tenures with King Oliver, Fletcher Henderson, Erskine Tate's "symphony orchestra," and Carroll Dickerson. Why not the Hot Five? Armstrong makes his perspective clear in a 1941 response to critic Leonard Feather's query about the most important events in jazz history: "[W]ell the first one was when Pops [i.e., Joe Glaser] booked me for my first commercial program over the-N.B.C. ... Then too-those pictures-'Pennies From Heaven' 'Artists 'N' Models'- 'Everyday is a Holiday'-and that fine 'Going Places'" (Brothers, p. 147). Arm- strong was proudest of his public advances in the entertainment industry, especially when he broke color barriers in radio and film. Toward his more esoteric contribu- tions to the language of jazz he apparently remained indifferent or oblivious. In this sense, Armstrong followed a professional course advocated by Washington, a course targeting socioeconomic triumph rather than political power or artistic achieve- ment.

Armstrong is often viewed as a man of contradictions: authentic yet mercenary, wise yet naive, race-proud yet eager to please. We have long needed an intellec- tual context in which to sort out the many parodoxes of his life. With the publication of his unexpurgated ruminations on a wide array of topics, the process of defining that context can now begin in earnest.

BRIAN HARKER

Brigham Young University BRIAN HARKER

Brigham Young University

Writing Jazz. Edited by David Meltzer. San Francisco: Mercury House, 1999. [xix, 315 p. ISBN 1-56279-096-X. $16.95 (pbk.).]

David Meltzer's anthology Writing Jazz is decidedly not just another collection of jazz articles. Meltzer has hit upon a scheme that is sure to stimulate interest and, most likely, controversy as well. The plan is simple: pre- sent a collection of writings by white authors (Reading Jazz, ed. Meltzer [San Francisco: Mercury House, 1993]) along with a companion volume of writings by black authors (Writing Jazz). Lest the divi- sion seem superficial or pointless, Meltzer provides a conceptual framework, implicit in the titles themselves. Reading Jazz reveals "the cultural colonization and reinvention of jazz as a white discourse," while "T1riting Jazz represents African-American percep- tions of jazz as a subject and practice" (p. xi).

Writing Jazz claims to be "the first com- prehensive historical anthology of writings on jazz by African-American musicians, critics, writers, and poets" (dust jacket). Excerpts by more than one hundred con- tributors are organized into six chapters in loose chronological order. The chapters are framed by a "Pre-Text" and "Sub-Text" in which Meltzer interjects his own polemics in his rambling and poetic prose style. An extensive bibliography and an in- dex of the anthologized material prove to be helpful additions to the volume.

Meltzer believes that jazz exemplifies racial division in the United States: "the line is drawn in the sand between white and black; implanted implacably as the Great Wall, divided, apart, where whites and blacks face each other tiptoeing to the ledge of a deep Grand Canyon whose bot- tom can't be fathomed. Only the musics arise" (p. xix). But writings by musicians themselves paint a different picture. Pianist Willie ("the Lion") Smith writes that "music does not stem from any single race, creed, or locality. It comes from a mixture of all these things" (p. 7). Saxophonist Sidney Bechet says that "no music is my music. It's everybody's who can feel it. You're here ... well, if there's music, you feel it-then it's yours too" (p. 125). Duke Ellington speaks of George Gershwin's work as moving in "the same general direction" as his own

Writing Jazz. Edited by David Meltzer. San Francisco: Mercury House, 1999. [xix, 315 p. ISBN 1-56279-096-X. $16.95 (pbk.).]

David Meltzer's anthology Writing Jazz is decidedly not just another collection of jazz articles. Meltzer has hit upon a scheme that is sure to stimulate interest and, most likely, controversy as well. The plan is simple: pre- sent a collection of writings by white authors (Reading Jazz, ed. Meltzer [San Francisco: Mercury House, 1993]) along with a companion volume of writings by black authors (Writing Jazz). Lest the divi- sion seem superficial or pointless, Meltzer provides a conceptual framework, implicit in the titles themselves. Reading Jazz reveals "the cultural colonization and reinvention of jazz as a white discourse," while "T1riting Jazz represents African-American percep- tions of jazz as a subject and practice" (p. xi).

Writing Jazz claims to be "the first com- prehensive historical anthology of writings on jazz by African-American musicians, critics, writers, and poets" (dust jacket). Excerpts by more than one hundred con- tributors are organized into six chapters in loose chronological order. The chapters are framed by a "Pre-Text" and "Sub-Text" in which Meltzer interjects his own polemics in his rambling and poetic prose style. An extensive bibliography and an in- dex of the anthologized material prove to be helpful additions to the volume.

Meltzer believes that jazz exemplifies racial division in the United States: "the line is drawn in the sand between white and black; implanted implacably as the Great Wall, divided, apart, where whites and blacks face each other tiptoeing to the ledge of a deep Grand Canyon whose bot- tom can't be fathomed. Only the musics arise" (p. xix). But writings by musicians themselves paint a different picture. Pianist Willie ("the Lion") Smith writes that "music does not stem from any single race, creed, or locality. It comes from a mixture of all these things" (p. 7). Saxophonist Sidney Bechet says that "no music is my music. It's everybody's who can feel it. You're here ... well, if there's music, you feel it-then it's yours too" (p. 125). Duke Ellington speaks of George Gershwin's work as moving in "the same general direction" as his own

914 914

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