In terms of his mentor Joe “King” Oliver, Louis Armstrong defined creative excellence:
Joe Oliver has always been my inspiration and my idol. No trumpet player ever had the fire that Oliver had. Man, he really could punch a number. Some might have had a better tone, but I’ve never seen nothing have the fire, and no one created as much as Joe.
The way I see it, the greatest musical creations came from his horn - and I’ve heard a lot of them play. I think he was better than Bolden, better than Bunk Johnson. Buddy blew too hard - he actually did blow his brains out. Even Bunk didn’t offer nothing but tone. He didn’t have the get-up-and-go that Oliver did; he didn’t create a phrase that stays with you. But Joe Oliver created things. . . . (Quoted from The Life of the Creative Spirit, p. 267.)
For a brief biography of Joe Oliver, click here. For the same of Louis Armstrong, click here.
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