Louis Armstrong and Paul Whiteman : Two Kings of Jazz

by Joshua Berrett

• ISBN13: 9780300103847
• ISBN10: 0300103840
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2004-10-11
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

InLouis Armstrong and Paul Whitemanthejazz scholar Joshua Berrett offers a provocative revision of the history of early jazz by focusing on two of its most notable practitionersWhiteman, legendary in his day, and Armstrong, a legend ever since. Paul Whiteman's fame was unmatched throughout the twenties. Bix Beiderbecke, Bing Crosby, and Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey honed their craft on his bandstand. Celebrated as the "King of Jazz" in 1930 in a Universal Studios feature film, Whiteman's imperium has declined considerably since. The legend of Louis Armstrong, in contrast, grows ever more lustrous: for decades it has been Armstrong, not Whiteman, who has worn the king's crown. This dual biography explores these diverging legacies in the context of race, commerce, and the history of early jazz. Early jazz, Berrett argues, was not a story of black innovators and white usurpers. In this book, a much richer, more complicated story emergesa story of cross-influences, sidemen, sundry movers and shakers who were all part of a collective experience that transcended the category of race. In the world of early jazz, Berrett contends, kingdoms had no borders.

Author Biography

Joshua Berrett is the author of The Louis Armstrong Companion: Eight Decades of Commentary and co-author of The Musical World of J.J. Johnson. His articles have been published in Journal of Jazz Studies, The Musical Quarterly, American Music and The Black Perspective in Music. He is professor of music at Mercy College.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	xi
Beginnings	1	(36)
Civilization on Trial	37	(31)
Some Liked It Hot	68	(31)
Uneasy Lies the Head	99	(49)
Shared Memory	148	(48)
Out Chorus	196	(17)
Notes	213	(18)
General Index	231	(8)
Index of Musical Titles	239