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The sound of 1920s New Orleans jazz is perhaps best epitomized by the swinging ensemble and hot solo improvizations of King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. In this track, a standard 12-bar blues in structure, the band plays closely, with various instruments weaving around the twin cornet melody. A wailing two-chorus solo from clarinettist Johnny Dodds is followed by a slightly more tentative solo by a still-learning Louis Armstrong. Next up is Oliver himself, who sails in with one of the most well-known and widely copied solos in the history of jazz. In many ways this solo, which gradually builds in intensity over three choruses, sums up the essence of jazz music. It is based around only six notes and is melodically very simple, yet Oliver infuses it with such intense feeling and with so many inflections and variations in timbre (assisted by his use of the plunger mute) that it becomes a jazz masterpiece. Oliver's notes are also played completely independent of the beat of the band, syncopated or otherwise. The solo is followed by a short silence, broken by bassist Bill Johnson shouting the now legendary phrase 'Oh play that thing!', before the final, climactic chorus bursts in. Links http://www.redhotjazz.com http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2298/is_n3_v12/ai_15821543 http://www.satchography.com/sessions1/s230405.html http://www.starrgennett.org/ http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000005R5L/qid=1109004595/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-7233626-0189451
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