Day 17
TODAY'S SONG:
"Snowball" by Louis Armstrong
Sometime
prior to high school, I slowly started to get into jazz. I'm
actually not sure how or why, but I remember thinking Louis Armstrong
had a very unusual and beautiful voice. My mom took a trip to New
Orleans and came back with a couple CDs for me, including a Louis
Armstrong greatest hits; a great primer for anyone who's never
understood jazz, but is ready to take that leap.
I
joined the BMG record club in 1996 or 1997, getting' all my 15 CDs
for a penny each or whatever. I'd get the monthly catalogs tailored
to my tastes, so there was the Alternative Rock section and the Jazz
and Classical sections. This was indeed a great way to learn about
big names in jazz. There were always Miles Davis and John Coltrane
CDs. Without ever hearing a note, I knew those guys must be pretty
good.
“Snowball”
is from “The Complete RCA Victor Recordings,” a 4-CD set. That's
pretty overwhelming. I used to put them in at random while I was
falling asleep. I love how Louis occasionally cracks up while
recording the vocal tracks. Or how he giggles at the conclusion of a
verse, like it's the first time he's ever thought about the words
that he's singing.
When
I first started to write music, I used to listen to jazz in the
background, hoping that I would just suck it all up and learn how to
play it by ear. That never happened. Turns out, jazz is harder to
play than folk and rock'n'roll. I was always a little envious of my
music school guitarist friends who were in the jazz program. But the
truth is guitar is the worst instrument in jazz. Well, flute would
give it a run for its money, but there are only about three or four
jazz guitarists who I really love. Django Reinhardt being my
favorite guitarist of all time. And Charlie Christian. And…well, it's a
short list.
A
few more things Louis Armstrong reminds me of: Playing tennis with
my friend Dylan; going to some fancy dinner with my friend Tim in the
Summer with “Hello Dolly” and “Blueberry Hill” stuck in my
head; buying the LP Hello Dolly
with Kayleigh last month when my dad got us a working record player
for Christmas; listening to “What a Wonderful World,” over and
over again, and believing it.
Here's my song that is very loosely based on these memories:
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