As part of our focus on Jazz this month on GFM, I want to take as many opportunities as I can to post seminal recordings and artists, with a bit of context. This recording by Louis Armstrong showcases his incredibly virtuosity as a musician.
In 1928 “West End Blues” was popular music and the reason that I emphasize that is because often when we listen to older recordings it is without the realization that they gave off the same feeling to someone else as we feel when we hear our favorite jam in our contemporary space. Louis Armstrong is the tributary from which all modern recording artists flow from and “West End Blues” was a major part of creating that phenomenon.
Ivan Orr is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, performer, and writer. A native of Charlottesville, Virginia Ivan was involved with the forming and nascent days of The Music Resource Center as its first Program Director. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Music, Ivan currently resides in Richmond, VA where he maintains an active performance and production schedule while serving as the Music Editor for Grown Folks Music, a position he has held since 2010.
