In this blog post I am going to be looking at and analysing a track by famous New Orleans jazz musician, Louis Armstrong. The song is called “West End Blues” and was recorded by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five in 1928. It was originally composed by Joe “King” Oliver and is largely performed as an instrumental, although lyrics were later added by American jazz pianist, Clarence Williams. This song is a twelve bar blues.
The version in which Louis Armstrong and The Hot Five recorded was instrumental with scat singing implemented as a solo. The instruments used on this recording are:
- Drums
- Trombone
- Trumpet
- Clarinet
- Piano
- Scat (Voice)
The structure of the song is also as follows:
- Trumpet Solo Cadenza
- Chorus/Hook 1 – Main Theme portrayed on via Trumpet
- Chorus/Hook 2 – Trombone Improv
- Chorus/Hook 3 – Clarinet Improv and Scat Solo
- Chorus/Hook 4 – Piano Solo
- Chorus/Hook 5 – Trumpet Improv
- Coda
The tune abruptly begins monophonically with a trumpet solo which follows into a Gm Pentatonic Scale cadenza. It uses semi-quaver triplets giving a swing feel whilst hinting at a military sounding rhythm. There are also recognisable call and response elements implemented in the rhythm and melodic phrases. Louis continues hinting these military style elements throughout the beginning section using strong use of triplet rather than straight time. He ends the cadenza on an augmented chord which is followed by a G chord, which is where the beginning of the twelve bar blues starts in this tune.
The main theme/hook of this song covers twelve bars and is played by Louis Armstrong, the trumpeter. It’s played in Eb Major and would look like this in chart form:
The composition has been given a swing feeling which is portrayed via the clarinet and trumpet. In my opinion, I believe this has been done to give the piece more texture so it doesn’t fall into another stereotypical, stale twelve bar blues track. It works to it’s advantage and gives it a bit of spice. The track is a mix of jazz and blues, using heavy jazz elements such as phrasing and melodies, implemented with classic jazz technique. But it’s also mixed which the emotion that blues can portray. It works very well mashed together. The clarinet harmonises with the trumpet in the main theme mainly by holding long notes implemented with slides. The trombone and clarinet also hold notes such as F# and hold it in crotchets throughout the bars. The trombone takes a solo afterwards with repeated phrases surrounded by improvisation. The clarinet takes a solo once the trombone has finished, which is accompanied by Louis Armstrong scat singing. Call and response phrases begin happening where Louis calls to the clarinet and the clarinet responds with smooth, melodic phrasing. Louis’ voice has a distinct raw tone to it, but a few smooth notes do appear which complement each other greatly.
Following this, the pianist takes a solo which is supported by the trombone and clarinet. The pianist uses long, smooth phrases throughout his solo which gradually get more dynamic and punchier. Eventually, the pianist starts arpeggiating through one phrase which gets bigger until it reaches the end of the twelve bars, at which point another trumpet solo kicks in. Louis begins by playing a long note before playing some triplets and returning to the beginning note. It’s at this point where the band begin to play out after building the dynamic through the soloing, after everything falls dynamically, the piano plays out the song and finishes the track on a final Bb.
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