Furthest From "Weather Bird" So Far...

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I've taught jazz history classes where I've made use of the Armstrong yardstick. It's a straightforward thing involving no more than comparing and contrasting two m: Louis Armstrong performances from the 1920s, the latter of which is always "Weather Bird," a duet featuring Armstrong and m: Earl Hines, on piano. So pitting, say, "Skip the Gutter," from June of 1928, against the Armstrong-Hines version reveals an extraordinarily accelerated rate of musical development in both players, especially as a mere six months separate the two performances...

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