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Louis Armstrong gets his big break as the Harlem Renaissance comes to an end. Jazz composer and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis tells Donald Macleod how the movement changed music.

The northern Manhattan neighbourhood of Harlem was meant to be an upper-class white neighbourhood, but rapid overdevelopment led to empty buildings and desperate landlords seeking to fill them. In the early 1900s, in what became known as the Great Migration, African Americans from the south moved north to New York in droves, searching for work after the war, and hoping to escape the racial violence tearing through America. Harlem became a centre for Black culture, drawing in poets like Langston Hughes, thinkers like W. E. B. Du Bois and musicians. These musicians pioneered new forms of jazz and blues, subverted the expectations of Black performers and broke through into the mainstream. This week, Donald Macleod is joined by jazz trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis, as he traces the rise and fall of the Harlem Renaissance, transporting us from rent parties to nightclubs to Broadway, as we hear a joyful, soulful explosion of sound.

In 1924, a twenty-three-year-old Louis Armstrong arrived in New York with no classical training, hoping to make a career as a trumpeter. His playful style and charismatic ad libs made him stand out in the orchestra; soon he had a residency at Connie’s Club and Fats Waller was recruiting him to liven up his musical. But as Armstrong was getting his big break, Harlem was crumbling under the Great Depression. Louis had to make a decision: stay in Harlem where he made his name, or move back to the South…

Sugar Foot Stomp
Fletcher Henderson, Composer and Piano
Louis Armstrong, Composer and Trumpet
Elmer Chambers and Joe Smith, Trumpet
Charlie Dixon, Banjo
Ralph Escudero, Bass
Buster Bailey and Don Redman, Clarinet
Kaiser Marshall, Drums
Coleman Hawkins, Saxophone
Charlie Green, Trombone

Naughty Man
Don Redman, Composer
Fletcher Henderson, Piano
Louis Armstrong, Elmer Chambers and Howard Scott, Trumpet
Charlie Dixon, Banjo
Ralph Escudero, Bass
Buster Bailey, Don Redman and Coleman Hawkins, Clarinet
Kaiser Marshall, Drums
Coleman Hawkins, Don Redman and Buster Bailey, Saxophone
Charlie Green, Trombone

West End Blues
King Oliver, Composer
Louis Armstrong, Trumpet and vocal
Mandy Carr, Banjo
Zutty Singleton, Drums
Earl Hines, Piano
Jimmy Strong, Clarinet
Fred Robinson, Trombone

Muskrat Ramble
Kid Ory, Composer
Louis Armstrong, Trumpet
Johnny St Cyr, Banjo
Lil Armstrong, Piano
Johnny Dodds, Clarinet
Kid Ory, Trombone

St Louis Blues
W. C. Handy, Composer
Louis Armstrong, Cornet
Bessie Smith, Vocal
Fred Longshaw, Harmonium

Sobbin’ Hearted Blues
Mary H. Bradford, George Davis and R. C. Layer, Composers
Louis Armstrong, Cornet
Bessie Smith, Vocal
Fred Longshaw, Piano

Ain’t Misbehavin’
Fats Waller and Harry Brooks, Composers
Andy Razaf, Lyrics
Louis Armstrong, Trumpet and vocal
Fred Robinson, Trombone
Homer Hobson, Trumpet
Jimmy Strong, Tenor saxophone and clarinet
Crawford Wethington and Bert Curry, Alto saxophone
Carroll Dickerson, Violin
Gene Anderson, Piano
Zutty Singleton, Drums
Mancy Carr, Banjo

Black and Blue
Fats Waller, Composer
Louis Armstrong, Trumpet and vocal
Arvell Shaw, Bass
Barney Bigard, Clarinet
Barrett Deems, Drums
Billy Kyle, Piano
Trummy Young, Trombone

Hotter Than That
Lil Hardin Armstrong, Composer and Piano
Louis Armstrong, Cornet, trumpet and vocal
Lonnie Johnson, Guitar
Johnny St. Cyr, Banjo
Johnny Dodds, Clarinet
Kid Ory, Trombone

Laughin’ Louie
Clarence Gaskill, Composer
Louis Armstrong, Trumpet and vocal
Scoville Browne, Clarinet
Bill Oldham, Bass
Mike McKendrick, Banjo
Charlie Beal, Piano
Albert Johnson, Tenor saxophone
Albert Johnson and George Oldham, Clarinet
George Oldham and Scoville Browne, Alto saxophone
Keg Johnson, Trombone
Zilner Randolph and Elmer Whitlock, Trumpet
Sid Catlett, Drums

Stardust
Hoagy Carmichael, Composer
Louis Armstrong, Trumpet and vocal
Lionel Hampton, Vibraphone
Harold Scott and George Orendorff, Trumpet
Charlie Jones, Tenor saxophone and clarinet
Marvin Johnson, Alto saxophone
Joe Bailey, Bass
Henry Prince, Piano
Lionel Hampton, Drums
Bill Perkins, Banjo
Les Hite, Baritone saxophone and alto
Luther Graven, Trombone

I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues
Harold Arlen, Composer
Louis Armstrong, Trumpet and vocal

When the Saints Go Marching In
James M. Black and Katherine E. Purvis, Composer
Louis Armstrong, Trumpet and vocal
Alfred Di Lernia, Banjo
Buddy Catlett, Bass
Buster Bailey, Clarinet
Danny Barcelona, Drums
Marty Napoleon, Piano
Tyree Glenn, Trombone

Produced in Cardiff by Alice McKee

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