West End Blues

West End Blues is a multi-strain 12 bar blues composition by Joe "King" Oliver. It is most commonly performed as an instrumental, although it has lyrics added by Clarence Williams.

The Armstrong Recording

By far the most famous recording of "West End Blues" is the 3-minute-plus, 78 RPM record recording made by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five in 1928, considered one of the masterpieces of early jazz.

Related Topics:
78 RPM record - Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five - 1928 - Jazz

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Louis Armstrong plays trumpet (and does some relaxed scat singing) backed by a band whose most talented member was the pianist Earl Hines. In an eight-bar trumpet solo near the end of the record, Armstrong played a solo of such overarching beauty of structure and feeling, that the performance became an instant classic, and to this day is considered one of the finest recordings in jazz history.

Related Topics:
Louis Armstrong - Trumpet - Scat singing - Earl Hines

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Other portions of this record that are also outstanding are the brilliant trumpet introduction by Armstrong that begins the song, the wordless 'scat' singing chorus by Armstrong where he accompanies and varies a melody played by the clarinetist, and a brilliant piano solo by Hines. The number is closed by a deft woodblock click by drummer Zutty Singleton.

Related Topics:
Piano - Drum - Zutty Singleton

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The recording can be found in many collections of the Hot Five and Hot Seven records of Armstrong on compact disc, as well as on the internet, and on LP and 78 analogue discs.

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"West End Blues" has been recorded many times since, usually owing much to the Armstrong version. Jazz writer and historian William Russell has commented that other jazz trumpeters would be better off avoiding the too frequent imitations of Armstrong's introduction on the number; while the most virtuosic may have the technical ability to duplicate Armstrong's notes, they still suffer in comparison to Armstrong's feeling and originality.

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