Jazz Articles about Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong: Louis 'Country and Western' Armstrong

by Trevor MacLaren
November 6, 2003

Louis Armstrong Louis “Country & Western" Armstrong Avco Embassy 1970

Many jazzites make the mistake of dismissing country and Americana as simpleton music made by and for simpletons. Fortunately there have been musicians in both jazz and country who have embraced each other's genres to create some beautiful and eclectic American music. Two of the most notable jazz musicians to enjoy country were none other than Charlie Parker and Louis Armstrong.

According ...

Louis Armstrong: The Complete Hot Five & Hot Seven Recordings, Volumes 1, 2 & 3

by Jim Santella
July 25, 2003

Recorded for the Okeh label between 1925 and 1928 in Chicago, these three albums (86999, 87010 & 87011) contain historic material that offers plenty of insight into all the jazz that was to follow in its footsteps. Columbia has preserved the sound, so that we get nothin’ but good music and no distractions. Their decision to release the material in three separate CDs, after winning a Grammy Award in 2000 as part of a box set, works well for the ...

Louis Armstrong: Love Songs

by AAJ Staff
January 25, 2003

The first thing to notice about this lovingly-crafted collection is its clarity. So much so, that listeners might be send fumbling for the liner notes to see that these tracks originally appeared not in the digital era, but deep in the analog and pre-analog days. Though some of these sides date back to the Depression, even the victrola-mono tunes seem more charmingly retro than archaic.

Next is that tone-- both on the horn and on the mike. ...

Louis Armstrong: Satch Blows The Blues

by Jim Santella
July 1, 2002

Beginning with “West End Blues” and proceeding in chronological order from that 1928 Hot Five session to “Yellow Dog Blues” in a 1955 session with all-star lineup, Satch Blows The Blues features an arbitrary selection of songs in which Louis Armstrong sings and plays the blues. The period 1932-54 and beyond is omitted in favor of a unified format in which many of Armstrong’s finest recordings appear together. These are memorable occasions. Emotion pours from every corner, and Armstrong always ...

Louis Armstrong: Satch Blows The Blues

by Charlie B. Dahan
May 23, 2002

Soon after Louis Armstrong left King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band and just before he began to record under his own name, he accompanied many of the great blues singers of the 1920’s. Armstrong can be heard on numerous sessions with singers such as Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. Armstrong had the touch and the feel needed for the blues due to his upbringing in the musical melting pot of New Orleans, the fact that much of jazz is rooted in ...

Louis Armstrong: The Best of the Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings

by Charlie B. Dahan
May 22, 2002

Last year bore witness to one of the most exciting box-sets in a long time when Sony Legacy released “The Complete Louis Armstrong and the Hot 5 and Hot 7 Recordings.” This box commemorated the 100th birthday of one of the world’s greatest musicians, artists and innovators in the early period of his career. For those that couldn’t afford the fifty dollar price tag, Sony Legacy hasn’t forgotten about you either, as they have compiled a ‘Best of’ for the ...

Louis Armstrong: Take It, Satch!

by Jack Bowers
November 1, 2001

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 ...