Images of Jazz

Jazz has always been one of those genres of music that I can honestly say I've always enjoyed. Understood, however, is a completely different thing. I cannot say that I truly know jazz. Whenever asked about my taste in music, particularly when it comes to jazz, I will say that I appreciate the music as much as anyone can who does not fully understand what it is their listening to. I'm upfront about this, but mostly so that I don't find myself in some kind of musical terminology-throwing contest of which I would surely lose. I hesitate to discuss this type of music (as is obvious by my late blog posting) because I'm simply not sure what to say about it.

That brings me to the point of this blog entry today: to discuss the two different versions of "West End Blues," by Louis Armstrong and Nicholas Payton. I shouldn't be so hard on myself, I suppose, when it comes to my lack of understanding of jazz. It is music, afterall, and I do love music. So I'll simply describe both pieces as I heard them and share the images that came to mind as I listened:

Louis Armstrong's version (or was this the original, I'll assume?) reminded me of a lazy summer day, rocking chair slowing creaking back and forth, the neighborhood children running around with dirt on their knees chasing after the ice truck. I say this as if it was some distant memory of mine. I was born in 1979. It is not. Regardless, the unmistakable scratchy record playing sound would bring most back to a distant time, whether we were there or not. I enjoyed its mellow, feel-good time, and its classic jazz melody. In this piece, it seemed as though the trumpet and piano, along with the other horns, took turns contributing to the overall piece, like sophisticated children practicing what their parents taught them about sharing. I smiled as I listened.

Nicholas Payton's version was a stark contrast to Armstrong's. Right away, I was jolted from that front porch rocking chair into a busy city street in New York or perhaps New Orleans. The energy of the piece made me feel like it was meant to accompany someone who had somewhere important to go, important people to see and meet. The confidence of this person bubbled over into the streets where his heels clicked along in an upbeat and hurried fashion. The trumpet in this piece seemed more throaty and agressive (if this could describe the sound) and was far more in control of the music than Armstrong's piece. This little trumpet never learned to share, perhaps. It definitely owns the song. It also feels like the players are standing before the listeners saying, "This will move you, will shake you, will make you get up off your feet and dance!"

I can't pick a favorite between the two because they both are so strikingly different. I'm not even sure I would have recognized that they were both "West End Blues" if they hadn't been paired together for this particular assignment. Regardless, my opinions of this piece are limited to what I believe the music is saying, the images in conjures up, and of course how well it moves a "non-jazz-knowing" person. Maybe I'll become an expert one day and have a far more sophisticated appreciation for these two songs.