The memory of things gone is important to a jazz musician. Things like old folks singing in the moonlight in the back yard on a hot night or something said long ago.
Louis ArmstrongRead
It's America's classical music ... this becomes our tradition ... the bottom line of any country in the world is what did we contribute to the world? ... we contributed Louis Armstrong
Interpretation
Louis Armstrong highlights the importance of American jazz as a cultural contribution to the world.
This quote reflects Louis Armstrong's pride in jazz music as a significant part of American heritage. He emphasizes that each nation should consider its contributions to global culture, asserting that America’s gift, particularly through the artistry of jazz and influence of musicians like himself, enriches the world and creates a lasting tradition that represents the country’s identity.
In practice
In a speech about the influence of American culture, one might reference this quote to emphasize the power of music.
The memory of things gone is important to a jazz musician. Things like old folks singing in the moonlight in the back yard on a hot night or something said long ago.
Making money ain't nothing exciting to me. You might be able to buy a little better booze than the wino on the corner. But you get sick just like the next cat and when you die you're just as graveyard dead as he is.
Very few of the men whose names have become great in the early pioneering of jazz and of swing were trained in music at all. They were born musicians: they felt their music and played by ear and memory. That was the way it was with the great Dixieland Five.
My whole life, my whole soul, my whole spirit is to blow that horn.
I've Got the World on a String.
When I was young and very green, I worte that tune, Sister Kate, and someone said that's fine, let me publish it for you. I'll give you fifty dollars. I didn't know nothing about papers, and business, and I sold it outright.
Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams. All of them are different styles, but those are the songs that make the times. They're the songs that last through time.
I always say that the problem with jazz accessibility is not the content of the music, it's people's ability to access it.
People in bands don't have the kind of conversations people might think they have. The best things about being in a band are the things that are unsaid.
I'll always love rap, no matter what's going on.
There's a lot of really inspiring music coming around the bend - we tend to believe that to sound classic or timeless is to sound vintage or retro. It's a little bit dangerous, because you'll really miss a chance to make your mark as a generation.
Noise has taken the place of punk rock. People who play noise have no real aspirations to being part of the mainstream culture. Punk has been co-opted, and this subterranean noise music and the avant-garde folk scene have replaced it
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