DUKE ELLINGTON-Extract from unfinished book “A Jazz Supreme.”

DUKE ELLINGTON-Extract from unfinished book “A Jazz Supreme.”

Duke Ellington’s Hot Five band was put together to record in a makeshift recording studio, OKeh in Chicago. The Hot Five had a classic line-up: Lil Hardin on piano; Johnny Dodds on clarinet; Kid Ory on trombone; Johnny St.Cyr on banjo and history was about to be made. As Ted Gioia describes, Armstrong’s playing just got better and better as 1926 went on as he displayed “increasing fluency in the upper register of the horn, and exerting more control over his tone and phrasing.” So, the Hot Five became The Hot Seven with the addition of Baby Dodds on drums and Pete Briggs on tuba and the group began to swing harder and embark on a new conception of jazz, with soloists in the spotlight. Much memorable music was produced during this time: Johnny Dodds had grown with Armstrong, soloing confidently on Alligator Crawl and trading lengthy solos with Armstrong on Wild Man Blues; Armstrong excels on Potato Head Blues, tone, phrasing, tempo all spot on. Then Earl Hines, a master of ragtime, stride piano and blues, many of the melting pot that was jazz, came in to replace Lil Hardin on piano. The rhythmic, percussive quality of his piano playing was particularly impressive. Ted Gioia says, “Hine’s hands would nervously fly across the keyboard, letting loose with a jagged, off-balance phrase, a flurry of notes, as agitated as a swarm of honeybees forced from their hive.”  Hines joined Armstrong in June, 1928 when the Hot Seven had been pared to a Hot Five once again. Much fine music was recorded during this period, notable among them I Can’t Give You Anything but Love; Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea; Stardust and West End Blues. Armstrong toured Europe in 1932, relishing in his role as entertainer as well as musician and singer. Armstrong would also record many, many versions of the same song, Basin Street Blues and St. Louis Blues being the most notable examples. And finally, who could forget Steely Dan’s version of ‘East St. Louis Toodle-Oo’? C’est fantastique. There are two versions on VJM Timespan: The Living History of Jazz LP.