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Hot Seven
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
The Hot Seven was a studio group of trumpeter Louis Armstrong that recorded for the Okeh label in Chicago in 1927. It was an extension of his Hot Five, the band with which he had been recording under his own name since 1925. The core remained largely the same, with Johnny Dodds on clarinet, Lil Hardin Armstrong on piano and Johnny St. Cyr on banjo, among others. Trombonist Kid Ory was in New York at the time and was probably replaced by John Thomas for part of the recordings. A tuba and drums were added, so that the rhythm section sounded fuller.
Music and breakthrough
The best-known recording of the Hot Seven is Potato Head Blues (1927). In it Armstrong plays a solo over short, interrupted chords from the band, so that his trumpet repeatedly stands alone in the space. Other tracks from these sessions are Wild Man Blues and Willie the Weeper.
Influence
Together with the Hot Five, the Hot Seven recordings are a turning point in jazz. In the older New Orleans style, trumpet, clarinet and trombone improvised at the same time. On these records the soloist takes the lead, and Armstrong showed how much space a single musician could fill. That shift paved the way for the jazz of the 1930s and later, in which the solo was central.
Listening
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- Mixtape 1: The Origins of Pop MusicNL Reader
- After Hours: Session 1NL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- Chicago jazz Genre
Between 1925 and 1928 Armstrong made studio recordings with his Hot Five and Hot Seven in which the solo became more important than the ensemble playing.