Louis Armstrong film captures gifts

Trumpeter Louis Armstrong is universally considered to be the great progenitor of jazz. Stepping out of the collective sound of King Oliver’s New Orleans-style ensemble, he established the importance of the soloist, was one of the creators of the notion of improvising new melodies on existing chord changes and virtually invented the elements of jazz singing.

Since his death in 1971, a flow of books and recordings has provided ample evidence of Armstrong’s remarkable artistry, as well as his sophisticated worldview.

A year before his death, Armstrong sat down with George Wein, founder of the Newport Jazz Festival and the busiest jazz entrepreneur of the last half century, for a series of filmed interviews associated with an appearance at the 1970 Newport festival. Material from those interviews, as well as Armstrong’s rehearsals and concert appearance, have been assembled into a documentary titled “On the Sunny Side of the Street: Louis Armstrong’s Final Chorus.” On Thursday, the film was screened at UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall, the second viewing since it was shown at Columbia University at the Armstrong centennial.

It’s a fascinating visual and aural document, in part because of the close-up interview segments, in part for the images of Armstrong in jocular interaction with such artists as Bobby Hackett, Mahalia Jackson and Tyree Glenn, as well as for a loving simulation of Armstrong by Dizzy Gillespie.

Although he appears to be in good health, Armstrong had been advised by his physician to avoid playing the trumpet. But there was no such restriction on singing, and the film is dotted with mesmerizing segments in which he swings his way through many of his popular vocal numbers: “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South,” “Hello, Dolly,” “What a Wonderful World” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

Equally fascinating, his interview passages include Armstrong’s spontaneous insights into life and music: his sense of obligation to his audiences, his deep awareness of and connection with his New Orleans roots. The portrait that emerges is that of an entertaining but complex individual, a sheer natural talent with a clear intellectual awareness of the nature of his art, a true American original.