Date:	01-Feb-2001 12:10:44
From:	Simon Summers (sgsum@aol.com)
	I first saw Louis in a London, England concert in 1958. I was 16!! I had got permission to have the day off from my boarding school which was in Brighton about 50 miles away. At the start of the concert Louis played Sleepy Time Down South from behind the theatre curtains and I got a lump in my throat! The curtains then opened and the concert was fantastic. I think the band was Trummy Young, Ed Hall, Billy Kyle, Arvel Shaw and Barret Deems plus vocalist Velma Middleton who did the splits on one of her routines.The concert so good that there were several encores which caused me to miss my train back to school and I was late back and was gated. (Not allowed off the premises) for the rest of term but was it worth it!!

 

Date:	01-Feb-2001 14:57:46
From:	motheralj (edwin@iswt.com)
	I too saw Louis Armstrong in the 50's in Memphis,Tn.... the first time in about 1951..it was a concert in a large skating rink....the main floor was then segregated with the black audience taking up the close-up seats; and we whites behind some kind of chicken wire in the back...(talk about reverse discrimination at that time)... the music was great and at the age of 16 i loved all of it. at intermission they allowed us to travel up thru the crowd to get an autograph and talk to Louis Armstrong...we did and he was so nice to us very green kids....he wished us good luck and enjoy the rest of the show. we saw Louis about every 2 years till about 1960...the last time we saw him he performed in las vegas for a new years week...my wife asked him for another autograph and he told us to sit down in the curved booth and asked our names and had we seen him before....so kind...other black musicians from the other band performing (can't remember maybe Duke or Count) and they look at us like who are these people?? Louis introduced us as John and JoAnn..others came bye and took our pictures...i would love to have a copy of this booth scene. the early group i believe had barney bigard,trummy young, arvil shaw, billy kyle,and barrett deems and velma middleton..i would have loved to have heard jack teagarden in a slightly earlier group.

 

Date:	01-Mar-2001 17:38:56
From:	Axel Melhardt (jazzland@chello.at)
	It was 1956 - Louis Armstrong was performing in Vienna, Austria, and I was 13 years old. I collected all the money I could find in my pockets (70 Austrian shillings) - a lot of money for me in those days - but the cheapest ticket was AS 80.-. So I never saw Louis in person and it was only a very little help that Arvell Shaw and Barrett Deems, who were members of the Armstrong All Stars in 1956, told me, when they visited my club JAZZLAND in the 90-ies, that they would have given me the necessary AS 10.- which I needed for seeing my idol - Axel Melhardt - Jazzland - Vienna

 

Date:	16-Mar-2001 10:15:15
From:	Bernard Mills (Bunmills@aol.com)
	Early 1950s at the De Monfort Hall in Leicester...something I shall never forget..the line up was pretty well the same as that for his 'All Stars' band which cut many recordings including 'Satchmo at Pasadena' without, as I remember Barney Bigard on Clarinet. Among the support was Vic Lewis and his Band. We were sitting at the side of the auditorium by some Exit doors...while one of the supports were on stage the door opened and who stood there in total darkness but Satchelmouth himself He looked towards us beamed his 'Louis Smile' all glistening teeth, put his finger to his lips,. took out his oversize hankie and mopped his face. I remember Velma Middleton and her duet with Louis....'Baby its cold outside'...I'm afraid I don't remember much more about the night..I was so overcome seeing the great man close to...I was in my early twenties and a confirmed Jazz purist...but Louis could do nothing wrong for me he could extemporise anything...together with JellyRoll Morton and King Oliver......the greatest true Jazzman ever.....Ps I've got all the Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings....unfortunately on tape and not on the beloved 78s...Sorry if I bored you...stay tight...PPs anybody know anything about Turk Murphy and the Tierra Buena Jazz Band circa 1950??????

 

Date:	04-May-2001 14:56:02
From:	jordan
	hey Louis Armstrong fans, Did you know that 3 of Louis' most classic albums have been reissued and remastered on vinyl. The way it was meant to be heard. Totally clean and beautiful. The reissues include the classics such as:"LouisUnder the Stars", "I've Got the World on A String", "Satchmo plays King Oliver" . I highly recommend looking into this at: themusic.com/louisarmstrong

 

Date:	12-Jun-2001 03:59:35
From:	HANS WESTERBERG (hans.westerberg@kolumbus.fi)
	I heard Louis Armstrong and his All Stars live for the first time on October 10, 1949 here in Helsinki,Finland. I was 17 then and the band (Satchmo,Jack Teagarden,Earl Hines etc.) made such an impact on me that it's now one of my finest memories after 58 years as a jazz fan, having started to admire big bands in 1943.

 

Date:	13-Aug-2001 05:56:01
From:	Lloyd George
	I saw Louis and the Allstars at Festival Hall in Melbourne in 1963. Band was Trummy Young, Joe Darensbourg, Billy Kyle, Arvell Shaw (I think) and Danny Barcelona with singer Jewel Brown.I think Louis made his last visit to Australia the following year. . . to Sydney only. I remember the impact of his opening trumpet solo on "Indiana", thereafter he sang and played wonderfully, although his trumpet solos were generally brief and the program was mainly old favorites. . . "Blueberry Hill", "Basin St Blues" etc. I have heard some great trumpet players since, but he was unique. . . no one made such a sound!

 

Date:	22-Aug-2001 21:53:31
From:	Al Williams
	I saw Satchmo in 1956 at Massey Hall in Toronto. In addition to Louis Armstrong and His All Stars there were five other top groups featured. My most vivid recollection is of the finale when Woody Herman and his Third Herd joined Louis and his group on stage for a stirring rendition of "When The Saints Go Marching In". It was difficult for the audience to stop applauding and let the musicians depart. Louis was the consumate performer whether blowing the horn or performing the numbers that he was so closely associated with. There was no doubt that evening that he was perceived as the predominant performer of all the greats that were there. His ability to connect on a human level with everyone in the audience was unbelievable.