APPARTS Primary Source Analysis

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APPARTS Primary Source Analysis

Name: Helen Kohnke

Source: “West End Blues”

Author:

o  Louis Armstrong and his “hot five”

Place and Time:

o  June 11, 1928

Prior Knowledge:

o  In the 1920’s, leisure and entertainment starting becoming a big deal. New forms of entertainment made life exciting. For example, popular entertainment included the radio, movies, phonograph, and even music. One Genre that become a new boom in the 1920’s was jazz. It all came from Louis Armstrong who starting playing instruments like the trumpet and cabernet at age 7. Growing up in a poor, rundown neighborhood in New Olreans, Armstrong thrived because he was able to express his cultural background and way of life through this form of music. Armstrong was inspired by music around him. He starting performing himself and was even noticed by a well known trumpet player named Joe “king” Oliver who helped him jump start his career. Becoming a huge hit, jazz spread from New Orleans across the country and even to Europe. What contributed to the spread of jazz out of New Orleans and into places like Chicago and New York were new systems of distribution, marketing, and communications (like the telephone, radio, phonograph, etc). Also the great black migration, caused African – Americans like Louis Armstrong to begin moving from rural to urban areas because of segregation in the south and more job opportunities in the north. With this migration, Louis Armstrong was able to bring his musical talents else where, to major city’s like Chicago and New York, earning him lots of public attention.

Audience:

o  The general public

Reason:

o  “West End Blues” was created in 1928 when Armstrong was peaking with success. Traveling from Chicago to New York and back, Armstrong was creating music that influenced other blacks, southerners, and anyone around him. West End blues is a piece that relates to New Orleans (Armstrong’s hometown). It refers to the area of Lake Pontchartrain where lots of dance, music, swimming, eating would go on. Being away from New Orleans, Armstrong expressed his love for the city in his music. “West End blues” is a relaxed-sounding piece that became an instant classic for jazz in the 1920’s because it was so greatly composed.

The Main Idea:

o  The source conveys the moods that jazz brought to its listeners. The solo trumpet intro builds into a relaxing, romantic, New Orleans feel. Emotions are expressed in the piano and trumpet with the way they sound and flow about the song. The trumpet sounds as if it is wailing or crying towards the end of the piece. This represents Louis Armstrong’s yearning desire for New Orleans while he is away from home. The music represents a slow, lazy, and relaxed New Orleans mood.

Significance:

o  This song “West End Blues” as a microcosm helps us understand the big picture of the 1920’s. The shift that Louis Armstrong made, being a black southerner, allowed him to use his difficult past (attending jail, being poor, having to support his family) and express himself in his own style. He went from being just a boy who played with instruments around his neighborhood to a successful popular musical icon. In a bigger sense, this shift shows how the period of the 1920’s was filled with opportunities for those who brought entertainment to the people, regardless of their background. Not to mention that fact that the style of jazz comes from African culture (improvisational, rhythmic), shows us that American heritage did not only come from Europe but also from Africa. Jazz expressed a new morality that was brought to the nation post World War I because it demonstrated the attitudes that people had at the time. Jazz shows the easy going and free approach to music with its improvisational styles and emotion. Some People related to this music, while other didn’t. Some viewed the music as nonsense, babble and even thought it brought a bad influence to the attitudes of Americans. In relation to the big picture, Post war, Americans were wanting to enjoy themselves and be free (rejecting the traditional structured way of life), while others rejected this new morality and agreed with the traditional way of life (just like those who rejected this new form of music). In general, expression is the main idea that “West End Blues” conveys. It shows how everyday Americans (just like Louis Armstrong) were expressing their attitudes with new forms of entertainments like jazz, and how the people were responding to it.

Works cited

The American Journey. Teaching and Learning classroom edition. Eds. Goldfield, Abbot, Anderson, Argersinger, Barney, Weir. Pearson education. New jersey, 2007.

Southern Music Network. Louis Armstong.http://www.southernmusic.net/louisarmstrong.htm

Wikipedia. West end Blues.Wikimedia foundation. 5 May 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_End_Blues