Classic Live Louis

I ran across a quote recently from British poet Philip Larkin regarding jazz legend Louis Armstrong. "It is already accepted - or if it isn't, it soon will be - that Louis Armstrong was an enormously important cultural figure in our century, more important than Picasso in my opinion, but certainly quite comparable." Books and studies about Armstrong and his work continue to be written, but a new DVD in the library's collection allows us, 38 years after the musician's death, to look back on some great live performances and to see for ourselves what effect his presence and his music had on his contemporaries. Louis Armstrong: Great Performances of the '30s, '40s, '50s and '60s contains seventeen clips of Armstrong in performance and allows modern viewers a chance to see, and not just read about, this important figure. Another quote graces the back of the DVD package, this one from Tony Bennett: "What did we contribute to the world? We contributed Louis Armstrong. This is America's classical music."

New Music Bios

This week's seen the arrival of three music biographies that emphasize the incredible range of American popular music. First is Man Of Constant Sorrow - My Life and Times, by singer, banjoist and bluegrass pioneer Ralph Stanley. Stanley's life largely parallels the history of country music and is full of great stories about the places he's been and the people he's known. Of particular interest is the chapter on the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? in which Stanley marvels about the sudden popularity of "Man of Constant Sorrow," a song he'd been singing for sixty years.
Next up is Moon River and Me - A Memoir, by pop icon Andy Williams. Williams reminisces about his days in the Williams Brothers, his long running TV show, and his friendship with Robert F. Kennedy. Show business stories, scenes from Williams' family life and anecdotes about the famous and infamous make for a very readable life.

With over a hundred pages of notes at its end, Thelonious Monk : The Life and Times of an American Original, by Robin D.G. Kelley, is by far the most serious, or academic, of the three titles. It is also the only one not an autobiography so it is less reliant on memory and anecdote than on research and analysis. Kelley's in-depth look at Monk's place in American music and culture attempts to move beyond the usual stories of the musician's supposed eccentricities to reveal a complex and important figure in twentieth century music.

Beatles Remastered

Beatles music is a constant favorite at the library, with many of the cds having gone out hundreds of times. The well-worn cds have recently been replaced by shiny new copies of the Remastered Series. The cds look great, with more up-to-date and eco-friendly packaging, and most agree that the sound is better. How much better is still being debated, but Edna Gunderson, in USA Today, writes that "Abbey Road engineers tweaked the 20th century's most cherished songbook with surgical care, limiting reliance on "limiting," which makes music seem louder while quashing dynamic range. Results vary from subtle to dramatic, and the mono-stereo debate will find eternal life in the blogosphere (especially regarding Sgt. Pepper), yet the enhancements overall are undeniable." For a fresh take on some very beloved popular music, borrow one of the new cds and hear the difference for yourself.

Thomas Wright Waller

Known to the world as "Fats" Waller, the pianist, singer and bon vivant was born in New York City in 1904, started piano at age 6, and remained one of the country's most popular entertainers until his death in 1943. Many of his best known recordings were made with his "Rhythm," a sextet he performed with for almost ten years. Those recordings, along with some solo piano works, appear on the collection The Very Best Of Fats Waller, on the Collector's Choice label. The disc features swinging solo piano pieces like "Ain't Misbehavin,'" along with hot instrumentals and the songs which Waller often adorned with humorous asides and his trademark vocal mannerisms. This set includes "I'm Just Crazy 'Bout My Baby (And My Baby's Crazy 'Bout Me)," "Honeysuckle Rose," "All That Meat and No Potatoes," and "The Joint Is Jumpin'." Waller was known to enjoy life to its fullest and that sensibility suffuses his work with vitality, a sense of fun, and some seriously good music.

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Wacky, wonderful 60s

Greatest hits compilations are very popular at the library, as are collections of songs from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, surfin' songs, goth classics, disco hits and country favorites. No matter your generation or musical taste, you can probably find some oldies or favorites from your younger days. Into this rich mix come four cds from Collectables Records, Top Hits Of The 60s. Each of the four has a different subtitle (Groovy Hits, Coolest Hits, etc.) that has nothing to do with the hodgepodge of mainstream radio hits and oddball novelty songs included on the discs. This set makes no attempt to tell a coherent story of significant 60s pop music and is really much better off for it. Instead, the listener realizes how common it was for the 60s' top 10 to include not only songs by the British Invasion bands and the Motown stars, but weird spoken-word records, odd country crossovers, and Spaghetti Western soundtracks.

Interesting enough to find older pop stylists like Andy Williams and Steve Lawrence on the charts next to soul singers like Jerry Butler and country singers like Marty Robbins, but what to make of Lorne Greene (from TV's Bonanza) and his dramatic recitation of "Ringo," a melodramatic gunfighter ballad? Or "The Stripper," David Rose's bump and grind big band hit from 1962? Also included, and mixed in among mainstream hits by the Delphonics, The Temptations, The Byrds, The Supremes and the Lovin' Spoonful, are the delightfully weird "In The Year 2525," "The Ballad Of The Green Berets," "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly," "Big Bad John," and "Sink The Bismarck."

Not everything notable here is an oddity, though, and several obscure hits make the disc a must for obsessive collectors: "Our Day Will Come," by Ruby and the Romantics can be hard to find, and I can't remember the last time I heard "Let Me In," by The Sensations. I'd never heard Skeeter Davis' hit version of "The End Of The World," either, having associated the song with Herman's Hermits' version. In all, Top Hits Of The 60s is a fun compilation that reminds today's listener how eclectic, fun, and downright weird 60s radio could be.

Puerta Plata - Mujer De Cabaret

There's really no reason for me to love this music so much - I don't speak Spanish, I'm not steeped in the traditions of Son, I've never been to Puerto Rico, but this is the kind of sound that's easy for any music lover to understand, a warm, burnished voice, strongly rhythmic guitar, and subtle, complex Afro-Cuban percussion - turn this on and let it flow around you like a tropical breeze. For a more coherent description, I'll defer to this reviewer from Afropop.org: Speaking broadly, son originated in eastern Cuba when a generous dose of African rhythm and drumming was introduced to the popular Havana sound of the day. Son went everywhere, fathering new musical genres in Central and West Africa, and paving the way for mambo, salsa, timba, and more. Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic nurtured its own son tradition, one intertwined with local bolero, guaracha, and early merengue. In the first half of the 20th century, these sounds intermingled in Santiago's La Joya district, a decadent, dangerous milieu in short, a perfect breeding ground for red hot local music. Since the fall of the dictator Trujilo in 1961, merengue and bachata have emerged as the DR's predominant music styles. But the old soneros have played on, and based on the recordings on this CD, they preserve one of the most impressive guitar styles in the Caribbean. The star of this CD is actually a singer, Puerto Plata, a veteran of the old La Joya scene. José Manuel Cobles a.k.a. Puerto Plata sings in a husky tenor, capable both of great tenderness and also bravado. He performs here with two separate groups, each sporting an extraordinary lead guitarist. The dry, staccato snap of Edilo Paredes digging into his gut strings with lightning speed and razor precision is this CD's greatest revelation. Paredes' stylish riffing is the thread that binds the first six tracks here, and it is never short of bracing. Parades is beloved and prolific traditional guitarist in the DR. For this session, he revisits his roots with passion and verve. - Banning Eyre