Saturday, February 15, 2014

Satchmo Redux

Louis Armstrong – Master of Modernism – Thomas Brothers (Norton Books)

Author and music professor Thomas Brothers picks up where he left off with his first exploration of the coronet master in Louis Armstrong’s New Orleans by detailing Armstrong’s arrival in Chicago and his career moving forward from the point in Louis Armstrong – Master of Modernism.
Brothers paints an intimate portrait not only of Armstrong and his music, but of the era when he became a legendary performer and star. Following his trek north from New Orleans, Chicago proved to be not only a safe haven from the racial tensions and bigotry of the era, but also a catalyst in inspiring one of Armstrong’s most creative outbursts, set against the back drop of the Depression.


Brothers follows Armstrong through everything from his time on the road to his creative and innovative side and even into his personal life, often weaving in detail and observations culled from many of Armstrong’s friends and musical contemporaries. He delivers a true sense of the time with a historians practiced tone.
It is from that racially charged landscape that Armstrong emerged as not only one of our greatest musical innovators, but also one of the best known, most prolific performers. Brothers tells this amazing story by compiling a miraculous amount of detail from a tremendous range of source material to offer up new insight into oft-told story.

 

 

No comments: