I Can’t Give You Anything but Love
A principios de 1929 Louis Armstrong se trasladó a Nueva York a instancias de los ejecutivos de Okeh, que querían grabarlo con la orquesta del Savoy Ballroom dirigida por el pianista y compositor Luis Rusell, una de las mejores de la ciudad. Además, Okeh Records empezó a permitirle grabar canciones populares, como «I Can’t Give You Anything But Love» y «Body and Soul». Después Armstrong encontró trabajo en el Connie’s Inn en Harlem, un lugar donde se celebraban elaborados espectáculos. También tocó en la orquesta del foso del musical Hot Chocolates, una revista negra escrita por el poeta, compositor y letrista Andy Razaf y el pianista Fats Waller.
In early 1929 Louis Armstrong moved to New York at the request of the Okeh executives, who wanted to record him with the Savoy Ballroom orchestra directed by pianist and composer Luis Rusell, one of the best in the city. Also, Okeh Records started allowing him to record popular songs, like “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love”, which you can find below. Afterwards Armstrong found work at the Connie’s Inn in Harlem, a venue for elaborately staged floor shows. He also played in the pit orchestra for the musical Hot Chocolates, an all-black revue written by poet, songwriter and song lyricist Andy Razaf and pianist Fats Waller.
Logos de Okeh Records
Un día Armstrong cantó y tocó «Ain’t Misbehavin’» de Waller y Harry Brooks con letra de Razaf desde el foso durante el descanso, y las críticas sobre su interpretación aparecidas en el New York Times fueron tan favorables que su nombre se incluyó al programa del espectáculo y empezó a actuar sobre el escenario. Al cabo de tres meses grabó la canción con alteraciones en la melodía original y esta became his biggest selling record to date, touching audiences outside the jazz world, teniendo también bastante éxito con otras grabaciones vocales.
One day Armstrong sang and played “Ain’t Misbehavin’” by Waller and Harry Brooks with lyrics by Razaf from the pit as a between-act number, and the reviews about his performance in the New York Times were so favorable that his name was included in the show’s program and he began to act on stage. Three months later he recorded the song tweaking the original melody with the Carroll Dickerson Orchestra and this became his biggest selling record to date, touching audiences outside the jazz world; please, find it below. He also had quite a lot of success with other vocal recordings.
Dibujo de Louis Armstrong
Primero exponía la melodía de las piezas con la trompeta, luego las cantaba y finalmente tocaba un solo de trompeta. Una de sus versiones más famosas fue la que hizo de «Stardust» de Hoagy Carmichael en 1931, en la que muestra su sonido y estilo vocal únicos, y subraya la esencia emocional de la canción simplificando su melodía. Otro ejemplo de su enfoque innovador de la melodía y el fraseo lo podemos encontrar en su radical reelaboración del estándar de jazz y pop «Lazy River» de Carmichael y Sidney Arodin, en el que introduce un pasaje de su canto scat. Tal y como había sucedido antes con la forma de tocar la trompeta y otros instrumentos, sus innovaciones vocales tuvo efectos duraderos en posteriores cantantes de jazz, como Billie Holiday y Ella Fitzgerald, y de música popular, como Bing Crosby y Frank Sinatra.
First Armstrong would expose the melody of the pieces with the trumpet, then he would sing them and finally he would play a trumpet solo. One of his most famous versions was the one he did of “Stardust” by Hoagy Carmichael in 1931, in which he shows his unique vocal sound and style, and underlines the emotional essence of the song by simplifying its melody. Another example of his groundbreaking approach to melody and phrasing can be found in his radical re-working of the jazz and pop standard “Lazy River” by Carmichael and Sidney Arodin, in which he introduces a passage of his scat singing. Please, find both below. As had happened before with the way of playing trumpet and other instruments, his vocal innovations had lasting effects on later jazz singers, such as Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, and popular music vocalists, like Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.
Frank Sinatra
Translated with the help of DeepL
Ain’t Misbehavin’
Stardust
Lazy River
