Riffing
We chanced upon the unusual quote in this week’s puzzle while reading Ralph Ellison’s classic 1952 novel Invisible Man for a literature class we are taking. The passage as a whole – which was of course too long to use in the acrostic – links Louis Armstrong and his music with the novel’s theme of invisibility in a somewhat enigmatic way:
“Sometimes … I listen to Louis [Armstrong] while I have my favorite dessert of vanilla ice cream and sloe gin. I pour the red liquid over the white mound … as Louis bends that military instrument into a beam of lyrical sound. Perhaps I like Louis Armstrong because he’s made poetry out of being invisible. I think it must be because he’s unaware that he is invisible.”
Aside from this passage, the novel doesn’t actually have much to do with Louis Armstrong or with jazz more generally, but we decided to build the acrostic around the quote and see how many jazz-related allusions we could cram into it.
In embarking on this riff off Invisible Man, we knew that not all fans of jazz are also fans of Louis Armstrong. We recognize that, late in his career, Armstrong may have strayed from his roots as one of the first great jazz soloists in favor of pursuing broader audiences, including through his appearance with Barbra Streisand in the 1969 film version of Hello, Dolly! (as referenced in Answer E).
Still, we confess to loving “What a Wonderful World” – one of his last and biggest hits, which brings back sweet memories of our younger days. To hear him playing Dixieland, check out this recording of “Basin Street Blues,” to which we alluded in Answer S:
How many other jazz references did you catch?
I had a good time with this acrostic, solving it quickly after figuring out the theme. In the previous acrostic, I learned what a “portmanteau” was, after hearing the word but not knowing what it meant. I was puzzled about “Satchmo” after getting it quickly from other clues, as I didn’t understand it as a portmanteau. I looked it up, and voila! Of course. Clue W threw me off, as I kept visualizing a machine of some sort. That’s part of the charm of these puzzles. Thank you, and keep it up.
Delicious Acrostic. My familiarity with Fats Waller’s music paid off in Clue V.
I was surprised to read that there are jazz fans who aren’t also fans of Louis Armstrong. He was truly one of the giants in jazz over a span of more than four decades. He had an enormous discography as a trumpeter and singer with big bands and small groups, but if I had to choose a favorite, it would be the duets he recorded with Ella Fitzgerald. (“Cheek to Cheek: The Complete Duet Recordings” is part of my collection). You might not think Ella’s polished, silky-smooth singing would work with Armstrong’s gravelly voice, but they go together like peanut butter and jelly (or chocolate).
To all jazz fans and any others, I recommend watching Ken Burns’ “Jazz” if you haven’t seen it. I first read “Invisible Man” in junior high school at the recommendation of my English teacher who was African American. Her class changed my life. I’ll be forever grateful. So this puzzle hit home in many ways.
As a Jazz fan and a former English major, I found this acrostic irresistible. It was slow going for a bit as I only ha a couple of answers to clues A through Q. But when I hit R I knew all the rest, which gave me a giant foothold and the puzzle unfolded nicely after that. Louis Armstrong, beyond being a trumpet virtuoso, laid the foundation for all of post Dixieland jazz. Not only did he largely invent small combo jazz with solos, he also revolutionized jazz singing and the art of scatting. For anyone interested, give a listen to his Hot Fives and Sevens recordings: especially Potato Head Blues and West End Blues. I was happy to see Armstrong’s fellow jazz titan Duke Ellington make an appearance too.
The fact that the quote was from Ralph Ellison was the cherry on top of the vanilla ice cream and sloe gin sundae.
Another really good one. Makes me want to re-read Invisible Man, which I haven’t looked at for decades.
Jazz-related clues I could see: A, E, J (one of Hoagy Carmichael’s great compositions. More jazz-related songs included Georgia on my Mind, Up a Lazy River, Heart and Soul and Rockin’ Chair, which was famously recorded by —- Louis Armstrong), Q, S, U, V, and X.
Clue S unlocked the puzzle early for me. If you knew where Storyville was, S and X were gimmes, as was the general theme.
Great fun, as always!
Thanks, everyone, for your rich suggestions for watching and listening to more jazz! Great catches by Greg; I guess we also consider “audition” (Answer W.) to belong to the musical theme, though it’s certainly not jazz-specific. Enjoy your sundaes (and Sundays), everyone!
Does Place Vendôme really “abut” the Tuileries?
(Not during the year I live in Paris, it didn’t.)