With the exception of Ives, Gershwin, and Cage, European composers seemed  to dominate this course, since Europe had more time to construct its own musical identities. But I was particularly excited for this weekend’s assignment, since jazz is a classic “American” genre, and key figures in this movement such as Louis Armstrong evoke a great degree of nationalist pride among Americans.

“Potato Head Blues” seems to be an inappropriate title for Louis Armstrong’s composition. I thought that it was too fast to be considered a “blues” yet simultaneously too slow to be considered a “bebop.” Armstrong found somewhat of a middle ground between the two, as he incorporates fast melodic solos juxtaposed with slower elements.

“Potato Head Blues” begins with two counter melodies. One is notably faster than the other, and it almost feels like an unending melody, never taking a short pause to signal an end to the listener. There appears to be another trumpet serving as a “bass line” for these two counter melodies. Following the introduction is further development, which transitions into the trumpet clarinet duet. The clarinet solo in particular builds up a great degree of tension. Here, we lose meter and expectations. It almost seems improvisatory, similar to the harpsichord solo that we heard in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto. However, unlike the harpsichord solo, this tension almost seemed exciting, and the release of tension was exalting.

I really liked how Armstrong added contrast to this piece. In addition to the introductory counter melodies, he juxtaposed really long notes with very short ones. Furthermore, at the end of his trumpet clarinet duet, he includes a short banjo solo at 1:46, which added dimension and suspense to the piece.

At 2:34, we finally get a return to the full jazz ensemble, and the ending is absolutely exalting. The riffs that we heard in the introduction and the solos are presented once again and although there appears to be counter melodies once again, it sounds cohesive and unifying.