“I talked with Louis Armstrong one night in Basin Street and mentioned his record of ‘When You’re Smilin” which I had early loved and too soon lost. ‘I was working in the house band at the Paramount when I was young,’ Armstrong said. ‘And the lead trumpet stood up and played that song, and I just copied what he did note for note. I never found out his name but there was kicks in him. There’s kicks everywhere.'”
Murray Kempton, Rebellions, Perversities, and Main Events
Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City
An ArtsJournal Blog