Louis Armstrong Hotter Than That Analysis

When first listening to Louis Armstrong’s “Hotter Than That” I didn’t really enjoy the song it seemed like a simple jazz song that would play as a background song for some type of summer scene in an old movie. Then when Louis Armstrong begins to bring in the vocals with the background guitar the song drew me in. Right after the vocals end the whole song seems to shift and the trumpet, piano and the rest of the band gain a second wind where the song because more up-tempo and more lively. Louis Armstrong seems to play his trumpet in a very rhythmic fashion were he maintains to same rate throughout the song only to speed up at certain times throughout the song. Also his vocals seem to mimic his trumpet playing.
When listening to Bix Beiderbecke’s
“Singin’ The Blues” I was bored throughout the song. It seemed like a very organized and plain song to me. It reminded me of the music that I would hear when I get put on hold while waiting for a company representative to pick up. The overall mood of the song was relaxing in a simple and safe way. Bix’s solo was only part of the song that gave any life to the song while the rest of it seemed safe and organized.
When comparing both songs I preferred Louis Armstrong’s “Hotter than that” due to the upbeat feel of the song and how it just had a more creative and experimental feeling to it. Not that Bix Beiderbecke’s “Singin’ The Blues” is a bad song just that it was lower tone compared to “Hotter than that”. Also I like how that in “Hotter than that” seemed to change throughout the song and just seemed overall more creative and lively. “Hotter than that” was obviously influence by the American experience and African musical ideas which resulted in the upbeat and unstructured creative feel of the song. While Bix’s “Singin the Blues” was more European inspired making the song more traditional and organized.