Duration: 1:02:47
Shelf mark: C90/39/01
Subjects: Lyttelton, Humphrey, 1921. Jazz - Great Britain.
Recording date: 1984-03
Recording locations: British Library Sound Archive, South Kensington, London, UK
Interviewees: Lyttelton, Humphrey, 1921- (speaker, male)
Interviewers: Stapely, Lawrence (speaker, male)
Abstract:
Early influences - Louis Armstrong and Nat Gonella. Importance of jazz on record to British musicians and listeners. Introduction of the LP; advantage of longer playing time. Duke Ellington composing specifically for records, as well as for the dance hall. Johnny Hodges, Eldridge, Hawkins and the discipline of the 3 minute disc. (6:40) Armstrong's Hot Five and attitude to studio recording. Louis Armstrong and his intuitive technique. Lester Young with Count Basie and the notion of jazz as "art", rather than just entertainment.. (Track 3: 5:50) Notion of 'freedom'. Role of recording in the development of jazz. 'Entertainment' vs. 'Communication'. Archie Shepp, free jazz and the black civil rights movement. (Track 4) The 'intellectualisation' of jazz and musical analysis. Intuitive approach of Art Tatum. (Track 4: 2:30) Rock music and the recording studio. Lyttelton's own approach to the studio over the years. The role of the producer. The freedom brought by tape editing and the ethics/disadvantages of it. (Track 5: 3:30) Multi-tracking. Jazz as the expression of the individual. Fusion. Weather Report's group approach and focus on 'sound', rather than on expression of the individual performer. (Track 7: 1:20) The future of jazz. The role of the great and the dead vs. the living. John Coltrane. (Track 8: 1:50) Notion of jazz as 'black music' and its exploitation by white society. The Rolling Stones and rock's exploitation of the blues originators. (Track 8: 7:30) Need for jazz archivists and the Jazz Centre Society. Jazz archives in the USA. End
Description:
Recording notes: Jazz trumpeter, bandleader, broadcaster, Humphrey Lyttelton, interviewed by Lawrence Stapely, March 1984.
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