It's a "Who Dat" Kind of World Now!

We took it kind of easy today, being, after all, that it was Super Sunday.

Also, we had to give ourselves a "head-slap", for missing, earlier this past week, noting our 5th Anniversary of writing The Garlic, as well as hitting our 3,400th post.

Ahhh, but that be nothin'.

The big news today (aside from Wannabe Teabagger Den Mother, Sarah Palin, and her magical set of hands), is that the New Orleans Saints beat (whipped - outscoring the Colts 31-7 over the last three quarters) the Indianapolis Colts tonight, 31-17, ending a 42-year drought for the historically beleaguered franchise.



They can leave the "Aint's" behind, and shuffle up into Payton Manning's face, bellowing, joyously "Who Dat!".

As we posted earlier, to Facebook and Twitter, "A lot of Super Bowl workers getting big OT Pay tonight - Having to pack away all those "Peyton Manning Best Ever" crates ..."

Dave Weigal ReTweeted that "Haitians about to get a shipment of Colts Super Bowl Champion T-Shirts."

Manning, heh, heh, threw the game-killing interception, trailing, at the time, by only 7-points, and on a march downfield, as Tracy Porter returned the pic 75-yards for a touchdown, sealing the deal.

And, Saints QB Drew Brees was named MVP of the game.



The most clutch play ever, perhaps, in a Super Bowl, however, goes to Saints Coach Sean Payton, for making the call to go with an On-Side kick, for the Second Half kick-off, recovered by the Saints, and they just stole, from that point on, all the momentum away from the Colts.

A little partying, maybe, huh?

Barry Crimmins announced that "FEMA commences emergency airlift of crucial beer, wine and liquor supplies to French Quarter."

So with that, we will reprise something we used, just a few weeks ago, to celebrate the Saints ...


Louis Armstrong - When The Saints Go Marching In

Have Yourself a Satchmo Christmas!

With our schedule thrown out-of-whack, for the past month+, we got off to a late start (yesterday), indulging you in some of the best Christmas Jazz out on the World Wide Web.




So, today, we give you a tripleheader of some gems.


In the world of music, there's only been two human beings that can take any song, any genre, and make it their own. You, undoubtedly, no matter who did the original, how many stars covered it, always go back to this person's rendition.

Ray Charles, certainly, is one such artist.

The other is today's feature, Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, swingin', as only he can, on some Christmas spirit.

Enjoy!

'Zat You, Santa Claus?

Christmas In New Orleans

Christmas Night In Harlem - Louis Armstrong (1955).wmv

Happy B'Day Satchmo!

While some, today, will be celebrating the birthday of our current President (to which Greg Mitchell had a good Tweet - "sincerely hope there is NO birthday bash for Obama at Madison Sq Garden tonite with a blonde, busty movie star introducing him."), we here at The Garlic, choose to go with one that's bigger.



On August 4, 1901, a child was born, who would grow to become one of the best, and most celebrated, artist in history of the planet.

Today is the birthday of Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong.

From Wikipedia;

Renowned for his charismatic stage presence and deep, instantly recognizable voice almost as much as for his trumpet-playing, Armstrong's influence extended well beyond jazz, and by the end of his career in the '60s, he was widely regarded as a profound influence on popular music in general: critic Steve Leggett describes Armstrong as "perhaps the most important American musician of the 20th century."[4] Flea once proclaimed that "Louis Armstrong was probably the greatest musician that ever lived...one note implies that if he wanted to he could play ten billion notes, but just one simple note is a beautiful thing." [5]

Rather than prattle on, much better to listen to "Pops".

This one is a favorite;

Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington - Azalea

Azalea (1990 Digital Remaster) - Duke Ellington & Louis Armstrong

You should also hear these two;

Stardust Louis Armstrong



Duke Ellington & Louis Armstrong - C Jam Blues




Links

Redhot Jazz: Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong

Louis Armstrong House Museum

The Louis Armstrong Discography

Good (Belated) Post Alert: The Day Louis Armstrong Made Noise

Good (Belated) Post Alert: The Day Louis Armstrong Made Noise

Sorry, Garlic Fans, as I had meant to post this last week.

In the middle and heat of the Jena Six, we had a great story on Satchmo, and how 50-years ago, he took a stand in support of the Little Rock Nine.

While not out in the forefront of protest, in the way Folk and Rock have captured the headlines, Jazz hasn't had it's head-in-the-sand.

You can go back to Charlie Parker, and his tune "Now's The Time", protesting for desegregation and Brown v. Board of Education.

And there's John Coltrane's mournful lament with "Alabama", after the 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham that killed the four little girls.

Fables of Faubus weighed on on the same Little Rock situation, with his "Fables of Faubus", lampooning the Governor and Segregationist Orville Faubus and there's the jumping, jamming anti-war protest from Les McCann with his "Compared To What".

But back in 1957, Louis Armstrong made news, in of all places, Grand Forks, North Dakota, with the aid of a young journalism student.

Armstrong's appearance in Grand Forks came two-weeks after the Little Rock Nine were banned from attending Central High School.

Journalism student Larry Lubenow was sent over to get an interview, if he could and after getting access to Armstrong, Lubenow was in for the scoop of his life;

"But soon he brought up Little Rock, and he could not believe what he heard. “It’s getting almost so bad a colored man hasn’t got any country,” a furious Mr. Armstrong told him. President Eisenhower, he charged, was “two faced,” and had “no guts.” For Governor Faubus, he used a double-barreled hyphenated expletive, utterly unfit for print. The two settled on something safer: “uneducated plow boy.” The euphemism, Mr. Lubenow says, was far more his than Mr. Armstrong’s."

His editors didn't believe him, so Lubenow went back to see if he could get the verification they sought.

"Then Mr. Lubenow showed Mr. Armstrong what he’d written. “Don’t take nothing out of that story,” Mr. Armstrong declared. “That’s just what I said, and still say.” He then wrote “solid” on the bottom of the yellow copy paper, and signed his name."

And the rest is history, with Armstrong contacting President Eisenhower;

"But it didn’t really matter. On Sept. 24, President Eisenhower sent 1,200 paratroopers from the 101st Airborne into Little Rock, and the next day soldiers escorted the nine students into Central High School. Mr. Armstrong exulted. “If you decide to walk into the schools with the little colored kids, take me along, Daddy,” he wired the president. “God bless you.”

Check it out, it's a good read.

David Margolick: The Day Louis Armstrong Made Noise

Bonus Satchmo Links

The Official Site of the Louis Armstrong House

Time 100/Stanley Crouch - Louis Armstrong: With dazzling virtuosity on the trumpet and an innovative singing style, Satchmo was the fountainhead of a thoroughly original American sound

Louis Armstrong on Wikipedia

Louis Armstrong Music

Another gorgeous clip from Ken Burns' landmark series, JAZZ. Louis Armstrong's West End Blues, possibly the most perfect three minutes of music ever recorded, and set to a montage of contemporary images.

Louis Armstrong - Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen (1962)

Louis Armstrong - C'est si bon (1962)

The best version of Stardust I've ever heard -thanks Pops

Louis Armstrong in Germany - Mack the Knife


Louis Armstrong & Jack Teagarden - Rockin' Chair @ Newport Jazz Festival 1958