“A friend dropped in on him after a gig and asked what was new. "Nothin' new," he said. "White folks still ahead.” MusicJazzRace RelationsLouis Armstrong Book:Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong Source: Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong
“I was interested in Armstrong to begin with because he is the most important figure in Jazz in the 20th Century. There's simply no question about it. I mean, if you're going to compare him to somebody, it's Shakespeare in terms of centrality of the tradition, in being at the beginning of it.” MeanImportantTermTraditionJazzCompare20th Century Author:Terry Teachout
“I had a checklist in my mind of the things that make a biography practical. Is the source material centralized? Is it easy to find? Are there new primary sources that no one has ever had access to? Are all the sources in English? If they're not, are they in a language that you speak? And I realized that not only is Armstrong the most important figure of Jazz in the 20th Century, but he's a perfect subject for a biography for all of these reasons. I had always loved his music and I had been fascinated in him as a personality. And that's really the key to writing a biography.” WritingMindImportantReasonSpeakLanguageEasyPerfectPersonalityJazzI Realized20th CenturyPrimary Source Author:Terry Teachout
“The average age of the Jazz audience is increasing rapidly. Rapidly enough to suggest that there is no replacement among young people. Young people aren't starting to listen to Jazz and carrying it along in their lives with them. Jazz is becoming more like Classical music in terms of its relationship to the audience. And just a Classical music is grappling with the problem of audience development, so is Jazz grappling with this problem. I believe, deeply that Jazz is still a very vital music that has much to say to ordinary people. But it has to be systematic about getting out the message.” PeopleBelieveEnoughProblemAgeI BelieveTermAudienceMusic IsJazzOrdinary PeopleClassical Music Author:Terry Teachout
