Shadow and Act | Characters

Louis Armstrong
Although no essay in Shadow and Act focuses on Louis Armstrong (1900–1971) alone, Ellison makes reference to him many times throughout the collection, both as a blues master and as a distinctive type of musical performer. In several instances, but most explicitly in ‘‘On Bird, Bird-Watching, and Jazz,’’ Ellison makes the point that although Armstrong’s theatrical, joking, and self-deprecating style is clown-like, it is ‘‘basically a make-believe role of clown.’’ Although other jazzmen, such as Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, sought...

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