Yes Lillian Armstrong is revered by those who are aware of her as being an essential contributor to the growth of Jazz.


A quick aside on the subject of knowledge of european chord theory etc ...

this did not stop short of reading and imrovisational ability etc, but was also an essential factor for any brass section, whether marching or otherwise.

When these groups played, the horns functioned as contrapuntal choirs of instruments.

They would divide up the parts between them, and with a full understanding of counterpoint and polyphony and the principle (from Bach) of smooth harmonic lines with a minimum of movement, they would move through the chords.

Often, young musicians would be taken under the wing of older more experienced ones and they learned these principles on the job, however, the principles themselves are straight out of the bach 'rule' book.

The difference was that their parts weren't written out as they would have been in bachs time.

It is in this area that Jazz truly comes into its own and is defined as a unique and special artform. This was where improvisation was at its most expert as comping instruments improvised their accompaniment and unlike the soloist, there was no room for error or the nature and function of each chord would have been utterly undermined.

So while Bach wrote his chorals out and singers sang the lines through the chords, brass sections would find their way through the lines based on what they knew the chords to be. This remains true today in Jazz just as it did back then.

To do it you have to know your stuff - there is no two ways about it.

This is why Jazz music, when written, except in special cases, will give you the melody and chord symbols.

This format of written music is known as that 'fake' sheet. Often books of Jazz music are called 'fake books'.

This is because it was up to the musicians to colour it in/fill in the gaps themselves. In other words they 'faked' the music.

Knowing how to find, choose and spontaneously play sympathetic harmonic counterpoint based on such limited information is a very specific skill.

It is in this context that you can see how the marriage of european and african traditions is not just skin deep but runs right to the heart of jazz. you can also see that, like a mixed race child, the two ingredients do not make up a combination, with some aspects white and some black, but rather they have created a singular entity that is unique and exists in its own right with its own characteristics and its own identity.