Louis Armstrong: Master Of Jazz: Live In Chicago

Alex Henderson

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Published: May 1, 1998

When many jazz musicians were hurting commercially in the early 1960s and found themselves playing to increasingly small audiences, Louis Armstrong could still fill up an auditorium or concert hall. The charismatic trumpeter/singer had nothing left to prove at that point, but he still gave 200% on stage and went that extra mile for audiences. Satch is in excellent form on this live Dixieland/swing performance, which Mobile Fidelity has reissued as a great-sounding gold audiophile CD. Joined by trombonist Trummy Young, clarinetist Joe Darensbourg, pianist Billy Kyle, bassist Billy Cronk and drummer Danny Barcelona, Armstrong treats listeners to pop hits like "Mack The Knife," "Blueberry Hill" and "La Vie En Rose" along with such familiar classics as "Tiger Rag," "When The Saints Go Marching In," "Basin Street Blues" and "The Bucket's Got A Hole In It."

One could argue that Armstrong was the hardest working man in show business before Soul Godfather James Brown, and he's certainly hard at work on Master Of Jazz.

Reprinted with the permission of Myrna Daniels and L.A. Jazz Scene , the largest jazz publication in Southern California.

Record Label: Mobile Fidelity
Style: Straight-ahead/Mainstream