Louis Armstrong - Potato Head Blues

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfGZB78R7uw?wmode=transparent]

via youtube.com

"one of the most astonishing accomplishments in all of twentieth century music."

potatoheadblues.pdf

Skid-Dat-De-Dat / Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qo2uhNRJok]

"Skit-Dat-De-Dat is a very good and interesting study of 6-8-10 bar phrases of contrasts with 2 bar fill-ins by pianist, in between, for player to take breath before each new and good attack. This solo starts by long whole notes, with a gradual change to the rhythmical pattersn which delight player and listener."

Skit-Dat-De-Dat_Transcription.pdf

According to Joe Oliver and Kid Ory, the very earliest improvisations were slow evolutions, small changes on each chorus moving progressively farther from the tune both rhythmically and melodically.

John Cage Centennial

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcHnL7aS64Y?wmode=transparent]

via youtube.com

Happy Birthday John Cage, 100 years young, and still not a day goes by when I do not reminisce on your accepting laughter. Some days all it takes is the sound of street traffic.

Musicians Wage War Against Robots

via Paleofuture

"The true function of the machine is to increase the value of the product fed into it -- not to debase it. Therefore mechanical music, as a substitute for Living Music, is a spurious form of progress -- Like a loom converting good wool into shoddy."

"Trampling Art for Profit" -- alas, if only we'd listened! Click the Paleofuture link there for more thoughts on the essential role of human contact in the "social intercourse" of music, a parade of ads put forth by the 1930's AFM Music Defense League's $50,000 newspaper campaign to demand using humans, not machines, to play our music. Ditto on the sweaters too.