"West End Blues"
Listening Guide
Composer: Joe "King" Oliver
Composition: Louis Armstrong: "West End Blues"
Date: 1928
Genre: Early jazz or "Dixieland"
Form: 12-bar blues
Performing Forces: Early New Orleans Jazz Instrumentation: Louis Armstrong – trumpet and vocal; Fred Robinson – trombone; Jimmy Strong – clarinet; Earl Hines – piano; Mancy Cara – banjo; Zutty Singleton – drums
What we want you to remember about this composition:
- Much of the piece is improvised over a repeating 12-bar blues form
- It features Armstrong's virtuosity on trumpet as well as his unique interpretation of the melody on trumpet and on vocals
Other things to listen for:
- Each time the twelve bar form is repeated, it is called a "chorus"
- Each chorus is an opportunity for a new soloist or a new ensemble passage
- Armstrong's vocals are "scat singing," and incorporate syllables instead of text
- The piano, banjo, and drums are collectively called the "rhythm section"
Timing
Performing Forces, Melody, and Texture
Trumpet.
Improvised lines incorporate dramatic leaps, chromaticism, triplet figures, and elements of the blues.
Full band.
Trumpet plays the melody while clarinet and trombone improvise supporting parts.
Trombone with rhythm section.
Trombone plays the melody.
Clarinet and voice with rhythm section.
Call-and-response melody between clarinet and voice.
Rhythm section featuring piano.Improvised piano solo.