My graduation as a professional

Abstract

When I started playing music my knowledge of jazz was mostly of the New Orleans area—what I saw, what I heard, what I came in contact with and participated in. Of course there was plenty of action: dozens of bands, hundreds of musicians, and what I heard on records and what I read in the one music journal. Now of course there was much talk of Chicago, because so many musicians went there seeking fame and fortune. And my greatest inspiration was the regular flow of Armstrong records on Okeh, each to me and the other young musicians a masterpiece in jazz playing. All the alert jazz musicians and local music lovers waited anxiously for each of Louis Armstrong’s latest releases, as there was much to learn from these classics. I went to Dave Karnosky’s South Rampart Street record store and listened to records and checked on when Louis’s next great record would be released and arrive in New Orleans. I was impressed by Johnny St Cyr’s great banjo playing on many of Louis’s recordings, especially The Heebie Jeebies.