Hotter Than That

PH · 05-10-2006, 09:14 AM

The thread Manny started about listening to jazz pre-1950 got me thinking about Louis Armstrong and his Hot Fives and Hot Sevens recordings.

The way he plays on these cuts is astounding, especially considering that we are talking about the middle to late 1920s. On almost all of these cuts Pops leaves his bandmates in the dust. He is a quantum leap ahead of them in terms of harmonic language, rhythmic language, virtuosity, invention, drama, and virtually every other aspect of artistry.

The above is particularly astounding when you understand that the Hot Five was a "super group". This was not Pops' working band. The other players were all heavyweight well-known jazz stars and leaders in their own right...especially Kid Ory and the Dodds brothers. On virtually every cut Louis makes these contemporary heavyweight players sound like they are playing checkers while he is playing chess. Only the game board is similar.

So many things from Armstrong in the 1920s are not merely good, but magnificent. In the other thread people are raving about Cornet Chop Suey. Many knowledgable people would tell you that West End Blues is the greatest jazz solo of all time. Personally, I love Struttin' With Some Barbecue and the duet cuts with Earl Hines (Weather Bird and For No Reason At All in C) just as much. However...

Recently I have been blown away by a cut called Hotter than That. This is one of Armstrong's first great recordings where he both plays and sings improvised solos on an extraordinarily high level. You will hear great players and teachers frequently talk about trying to make your playing like singing. Hotter than That is probably the best example I can think of from all of recorded jazz to illustrate how this works.

He sings and plays with exactly the same rhythmic sense. He uses the same harmonic language. You can see that he hears and executes the music in exactly the same way whether singing or playing. His approach to vibrato, articulation/pronunciation, intonation, inflection, phrasing...EVERYTHING is identical.

What a great lesson this is for all of us in any style of music.

Check it out and tell us what you hear.

ZeuSter · 05-10-2006, 09:38 AM

The Hot Fives and Hot Sevens were amazing recordings.
Louis was about 25 or 26 years old when they were made .
I have the recordings and a volume of transcriptions that contains
most of those solos.
Hotter Than That
Struttin With Some BBQ
Potato Head Blues
Cornet Chop Suey
and many others...
all of the solos are wonderful to practice , practicing these solos also helps one's lead playing
from a standpoint of phrasing and endurance.

Eclipsehornplayer · 05-10-2006, 11:37 AM

I'm a big Louis Armstrong fan so I'll have to look these recordings up if I can find them.

They sound just fascinating.

trjeam · 05-12-2006, 05:31 PM

thanks for that Mr. Harbison! I'm also a Armstrong fan. I'll have to look that tune up.

Tootsall · 05-12-2006, 09:22 PM

I know I keep harping on the NAXOS label, but they've released one with the original 1925-1930 recordings. Look for NAXOS 8.120541 on their Jazz Legends sub-label. Title is "Louis Armstrong" (Heebie Jeebies)

Attention Manny: This one's for you!

Titles include:
Cornet Chop Suey
West End Blues
Heebie Jeebies
Potato Head Blues
No (No, Papa, No)
Gut Bucket Blues
Knockin' A Jug
Weather Bird
Save It Pretty Mama
Fireworks
A Monday Date
Struttin' With Some Barbecue
Squeeze Me
Willie the Weeper
Sweethearts On Parade
Muggles
Hear Me Talkin' To Ya?

The beauty of Naxos? Their prices! They generally run around $10!...CANADIAN!

(OOPS... I just noticed this printed at the bottom of the play list on their website: "Not available in the United States due to possible copyright restrictions")

http://www.naxos.com/mainsite/defaul...poser=&Artist=

So..... if you live outside the US, then I highly recommend it. And if you live IN the U.S. I still recommend it but you gotta find a way to get your hands on it. ;)

Edit again! Checked Naxos' distributors and nobody is carrying it "down there". Couldn't find it in UK neither.

trpt2345 · 05-22-2006, 08:15 PM

My one published paper used a transcription from Hotter Than That. The scat solo is remarkable, something like 17 or 18 measures of consecutive dotted quarter notes. The only Louis solos I learned were from the Hot Fives and Sevens, Struttin With Some Barbecue (awesome!), Weather Bird, West End and Basin street, another one where he both scats and plays a trumpet solo. They are in fact identical. That music is in my bones, part of my trumpet DNA. If you really analyze some of those you can see how nearly the whole history of jazz is an unfolding of ideas from Louis, in the same way western philosophy can be said to be a series of footnotes to Plato.

Michael McLaughlin

"The difference between me and a madman is that I am not mad." Salvador Dali

Solar Bell · 05-23-2006, 08:08 AM

OK boys and girls!

Here is a transcription of Louis' HOTTER THAN THAT.

Enjoy!

http://pubcs.free.fr/jg/LArmstrong%2...han%20That.pdf

-cw-

trpt2345 · 05-23-2006, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schilke b6

OK boys and girls!

Here is a transcription of Louis' HOTTER THAN THAT.

Enjoy!

http://pubcs.free.fr/jg/LArmstrong%2...han%20That.pdf

-cw-

Hey thanks, that's what I'll be practicing tonight!

Michael McLaughlin

"At the bottom of every well-founded belief there lies a belief that is not founded at all."" Ludwig Wittgenstein

05-10-2006, 09:14 AM	#1 (permalink)
PH Mezzo Piano User Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Bloomington, Indiana Posts: 582	Hotter Than That The thread Manny started about listening to jazz pre-1950 got me thinking about Louis Armstrong and his Hot Fives and Hot Sevens recordings. The way he plays on these cuts is astounding, especially considering that we are talking about the middle to late 1920s. On almost all of these cuts Pops leaves his bandmates in the dust. He is a quantum leap ahead of them in terms of harmonic language, rhythmic language, virtuosity, invention, drama, and virtually every other aspect of artistry. The above is particularly astounding when you understand that the Hot Five was a "super group". This was not Pops' working band. The other players were all heavyweight well-known jazz stars and leaders in their own right...especially Kid Ory and the Dodds brothers. On virtually every cut Louis makes these contemporary heavyweight players sound like they are playing checkers while he is playing chess. Only the game board is similar. So many things from Armstrong in the 1920s are not merely good, but magnificent. In the other thread people are raving about Cornet Chop Suey. Many knowledgable people would tell you that West End Blues is the greatest jazz solo of all time. Personally, I love Struttin' With Some Barbecue and the duet cuts with Earl Hines (Weather Bird and For No Reason At All in C) just as much. However... Recently I have been blown away by a cut called Hotter than That. This is one of Armstrong's first great recordings where he both plays and sings improvised solos on an extraordinarily high level. You will hear great players and teachers frequently talk about trying to make your playing like singing. Hotter than That is probably the best example I can think of from all of recorded jazz to illustrate how this works. He sings and plays with exactly the same rhythmic sense. He uses the same harmonic language. You can see that he hears and executes the music in exactly the same way whether singing or playing. His approach to vibrato, articulation/pronunciation, intonation, inflection, phrasing...EVERYTHING is identical. What a great lesson this is for all of us in any style of music. Check it out and tell us what you hear.

05-10-2006, 11:37 AM	#3 (permalink)
Eclipsehornplayer Forte User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Flat Rock, Michigan Posts: 2,395	I'm a big Louis Armstrong fan so I'll have to look these recordings up if I can find them. They sound just fascinating. __________________ Eclipse MHY Bb Trumpet with interchangable leadpipes Bach 229 25A C Trumpet Getzen Capri Bb Cornet GR & Monette mouthpieces

05-12-2006, 05:31 PM	#4 (permalink)
trjeam Pianissimo User Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Maryland Posts: 104	thanks for that Mr. Harbison! I'm also a Armstrong fan. I'll have to look that tune up. __________________ Jorge Ayala http://www.soundclick.com/jorgeayala http://allabouttrumpet.blogspot.com

05-22-2006, 08:15 PM	#6 (permalink)
trpt2345 Mezzo Forte User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 747	My one published paper used a transcription from Hotter Than That. The scat solo is remarkable, something like 17 or 18 measures of consecutive dotted quarter notes. The only Louis solos I learned were from the Hot Fives and Sevens, Struttin With Some Barbecue (awesome!), Weather Bird, West End and Basin street, another one where he both scats and plays a trumpet solo. They are in fact identical. That music is in my bones, part of my trumpet DNA. If you really analyze some of those you can see how nearly the whole history of jazz is an unfolding of ideas from Louis, in the same way western philosophy can be said to be a series of footnotes to Plato. Michael McLaughlin "The difference between me and a madman is that I am not mad." Salvador Dali __________________ Chicago MM

05-23-2006, 08:08 AM	#7 (permalink)
Solar Bell Moderator Fortissimo User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Metro Detroit Posts: 3,920	OK boys and girls! Here is a transcription of Louis' HOTTER THAN THAT. Enjoy! http://pubcs.free.fr/jg/LArmstrong%2...han%20That.pdf -cw- __________________ Chuck Willard *The Willard of Oz* "Don't be afraid to see what you see." Ronald Reagan

05-10-2006, 09:38 AM	#2 (permalink)
ZeuSter Pianissimo User Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 98	The Hot Fives and Hot Sevens were amazing recordings. Louis was about 25 or 26 years old when they were made . I have the recordings and a volume of transcriptions that contains most of those solos. Hotter Than That Struttin With Some BBQ Potato Head Blues Cornet Chop Suey and many others... all of the solos are wonderful to practice , practicing these solos also helps one's lead playing from a standpoint of phrasing and endurance.

05-12-2006, 09:22 PM	#5 (permalink)
Tootsall Fortissimo User Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Yee HAW! Posts: 4,641	I know I keep harping on the NAXOS label, but they've released one with the original 1925-1930 recordings. Look for NAXOS 8.120541 on their Jazz Legends sub-label. Title is "Louis Armstrong" (Heebie Jeebies) Attention Manny: This one's for you! Titles include: Cornet Chop Suey West End Blues Heebie Jeebies Potato Head Blues No (No, Papa, No) Gut Bucket Blues Knockin' A Jug Weather Bird Save It Pretty Mama Fireworks A Monday Date Struttin' With Some Barbecue Squeeze Me Willie the Weeper Sweethearts On Parade Muggles Hear Me Talkin' To Ya? The beauty of Naxos? Their prices! They generally run around $10!...CANADIAN! (OOPS... I just noticed this printed at the bottom of the play list on their website: "Not available in the United States due to possible copyright restrictions") http://www.naxos.com/mainsite/defaul...poser=&Artist= So..... if you live outside the US, then I highly recommend it. And if you live IN the U.S. I still recommend it but you gotta find a way to get your hands on it. ;) Edit again! Checked Naxos' distributors and nobody is carrying it "down there". Couldn't find it in UK neither.

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