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Louis Armstrong: Take It, Satch!
by Jack Bowers
This compilation of vocals by the legendary Louis Armstrong spans the years 1929 (“Ain’t Misbehavin’”) to 1967 (“Cabaret”) and shows, more than anything else, that only the instrumental backing changed while Louis remained essentially the same from his earliest years to the end of his long and storied career. Considering the many sources from which the material came, the sound reproduction is quite remarkable, especially on “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” which sounds nothing like a recording that was made and released in ...
Continue ReadingLouis Armstrong: Louis Armstrong: The Ultimate Collection
by David Adler
The flood of Armstrong collections and boxed sets has only grown in the aftermath of Ken Burns’ Jazz documentary. If you’re in the market for one, Verve’s latest triple-disc release would have to rank as an exceptionally good value. With 21 tracks on the first two discs and 17 on the third, there’s no skimping at all. The packaging is attractive and durable, and the thick booklet contains photos, artwork, a biographical essay by Alun Morgan, and meticulous, track-by-track annotation. ...
Continue ReadingLouis Armstrong: Complete Hot Five & Hot Seven Recordings
by Mark Corroto
Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings are jazz’s Holy Grail, a venerable guide for anyone with the desire to explore the roots of this now century old art. These recordings made between 1925 and 1929 ushered out the era of acoustic recording where the soloist played into a huge cone and ushered in the electric method utilizing microphones. But these weren’t Armstrong’s first recordings. He had begun recording in 1923 as a sideman in King Oliver’s Creole Band, ...
Continue ReadingLouis Armstrong: The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings
by C. Michael Bailey
July 4, 2000, Little Rock, AR.
Perpetuating a Myth. It was recently determined that Louis Armstrong's birthday is August 4, 1901. Armstrong himself is on record as stating his birthday as July 4, 1900. That would make today the centenary of Armstrong's birth. It seems appropriate to accept this bit of improvisation on his birth, as Armstrong is a priceless American Treasure who is as much a part of the American fabric as Washington, Franklin, Roosevelt, and King. After all, ...
Continue ReadingLouis Armstrong: Satch Plays Fats / Ambassador Satch / Satchmo The Great
by C. Michael Bailey
Rumination. Gigabytes of criticism, consideration, and reconsideration have been expended on every note Louis Armstrong exhaled from his trumpet. I have nothing to add other than just the facts, ma'am. These three releases have be floated as a prelude to the release of the Complete Hot Fives and Sevens later this month. All of these discs have been remastered and contain both previously released and unreleased alternates in an effort the finally provide the listener as complete a chronicle of ...
Continue ReadingLouis Armstrong: Love Songs
by Jim Santella
Louis Armstrong’s career covered many separate chapters and cemented a solid influential framework around just about every jazzman that followed. Columbia’s ballad compilation features several facets of that career and captures “Pops" in his prime. Recorded from 1929-61 (most are from 1930 and 1955 sessions), the program teams Armstrong with Lawrence Brown, J.C. Higginbotham, and later with Velma Middleton, Carmen McRae, Barney Bigard, Trummy Young and others. Billy Kyle, Arvell Shaw and Barrett Deems constituted a superb rhythm section for ...
Continue ReadingLouis Armstrong and King Oliver: Creole Jazz
by Joel Roberts
The story goes that when young Louis Armstrong arrived in Chicago from New Orleans to join King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, he was so intimidated after hearing the group rehearse for the first time that he tried to flee town for fear that he couldn't hold his own with them. Just a few months later, Armstrong had so overcome his initial shyness and become such a dominant member of the band that for their first recording date, while his colleagues ...
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