Customer Reviews

Louis Armstrong and Paul Whiteman: Two Kings of Jazz

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Hey, look, I'm for the Post-Canonical approach to criticism and history as much as the next guy...MORE than the next guy. But this book is over the top. It is certainly well researched. But all of its scholarship only serves to conflate and confuse Cultural History and Musical History...not to speak of the beating it gives to poor Aesthetics. It talks about "relegating Whiteman to the position of a marginal figure". Well, Joshua, in terms of Cultural History, Whiteman is not a marginal figure. But musically he is!!! I'm sorry, but that's true!!! Bix is amazing and a genius, Challis' arrangements are incredible, even if often really, really dated. Trumbauer is certainly worth studying and and listening to, even if he's ultimately quite disappointing. Some of the things Whiteman commissioned (besides Rhapsody in Blue) are interesting and worth knowing. But none of this comes close to making a case for studying Whiteman as a parallel figure to Armstrong! Armstrong's MUSIC requires patience. I don't think it necessarily reveals itself IMMEDIATELY to the modern listener. But still!!! Once you get it, it requires no special pleading, no historical excuses. And this is just not not true of Whiteman. Some of the records are really special, and I do appreciate Berrett's analysis of the famous recording of Washboard Blues. There are a few of these moments, both in the book and in Whiteman's career, and certainly there needs to be recognition of such moments. Gunther Schuller certainly went a long way in his writings on Whiteman in his book Early Jazz. And I also agree that Armstrong's career situates itself within the general history of American Popular Music, and not in some rarefied realm of Afro - American Demotic Art Music. And that the more writing that explores that, the better. But Berrett's thinking is so messy and so unclear. He makes Richard Sudhalter look like a great Philosopher/Historian like George Steiner !!! At least you always know that Sudhalter's passions, even if lopsided, come out of a genuine and informed LOVE for the music he writes about. Here, I'm not always sure...And one more thing: this is the Worst - Edited Book I've seen in a long time!!!! Whole passages return, over and over, like some kind of incantation. It is so padded that it's unbelievable. Forget about Post-Modern critics - let's train some editors!

There are many histories of jazz -- some purely factual, some scholarly as well as thoughtful, original, and insightful. Joshua Berrett, for whom jazz is obviously an integral part of life, writes the latter kind of history. His book is informative, intelligent,with knowledge and love of his subject. Mr. Berrett writes beautifully, which I found helpful in absorbing his subject. This book is one of the great and memorable studies of the roots and meaning of jazz. If you have any feeling for jazz, this is the book for you.
Bruce W. Marcus

"Louis Armstrong & Paul Whiteman: Two Kings Of Jazz" is a carefully researched and artfully reported description of the lives and careers of two 20th Century music legends whose public stories are well-known. Here, as he presents the parallel histories of Satchmo and Whiteman, Prof. Berrett reports and analyzes some of the less-familiar private incidents and events that color their personal stories. Everything reported here, however juicy and including some less-than-respectable anecdotes, is well-documented and authenticated with comprehensive notes.

Did you know, for example, that Bing Crosby's recording of "Star Dust," widely believed to be backed by the Whiteman Orchestra, was recorded on 19 August 1931 at a point where he was no longer with Whiteman? Crosby had left Whiteman and the orchestra about 16 months earlier following mounting tensions between them. Berrett documents several reasons for the rupture, all of them touching on Crosby's alcoholism. For one thing, it was said that Crosby owed a bootlegger money for a quart of "day-old pop-skull" and Whiteman, having to foot the bill, deducted the amount from Crosby's salary. There were allegations that Whiteman humiliated Crosby in front of the band, accusing Crosby of stealing Whiteman's own liquor. No wonder Crosby quit!

Did you know, for example, that Satchmo recorded "Rockin' Chair" 29 times between 1929 and 1971, most frequently with his . . . "gin-swilling partner in musical crime and favorite male vocal foil. . ." trombonist Jack Teagarden. Teagarden, Berrett reminds us, was a vibrant presence, a ready mix of music and high spirits, who was also significant to the career of Paul Whiteman between 1933 and 1938. And this is the heart of Berrett's report, a steady stream of parallel personalities and events that mirrors and colors the musical history of both Whiteman and Armstrong.

Musicians and historians, not to mention fans of Satchmo and Whiteman, as well as jazz lovers of any ilk, will treasure this volume. I did.

Banjo Bernie

Joshua Berrett has presented a brilliant analysis in a new and thoughtful way. Without undercutting Louis Armstrong's place as a giant and perhaps America's greatest musical genius, he also presents Whiteman's importance in jazz history. Berrett presents a fantastic and insightful social and cultural analysis of why the musical establishment deems it necessary to place Whiteman in such a low and undeserving position in American music history.
Jeffrey Nussbaum
President, Historic Brass Society