David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Eternity Band at Birdland

David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Eternity Band
Birdland Theater
New York, NY
December 24, 2024

Christmas came a day early in the cozy confines of downstairs' Birdland Theater on 44th Street just west of 8th Avenue. The holiday-bedecked elves in David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Eternity Band provided the kind of Yuletide cheer that had a packed crowd of early era jazz fans loving every minute. Santa Ost-wald kept the joint jumpin,' aided by fellow bandleader Vince Giordano, assaying a sideman chart for the evening's set of sleigh bell songs and Satchmo specials.

This has been a banner couple of years for Louis Armstrong, with a big Broadway musical celebrating his life just a few blocks north at the old Studio 54 following up last year's Apple TV documentary about the trumpet master featuring rapper Nas and Wynton Marsalis. At Birdland, the father of jazz gets an especially impressive tribute, compliments of Ostwald and his crackerjack musicians who showered some of his favorites with a boisterous elan. All that and "Jingle Bells," too.

Besides the redoubtable Giordano on banjo and tenor guitar, Ostwald's Eternity Band features trumpeter Joe Boga and trombonist Jim Fryer, the later doubling on baritone horn a/k/a euphonium. Will Anderson—one of the virtuosic Anderson brothers, Juilliard grads who do or will hold down most every reed chair in town—covers the clarinet and alto charts. Ostwald on tuba and drummer Alex Raderman lay down a sparkling beat to drive the music forward.

Kicking things off with the Armstrong favorite "Sleepytime Down South," Ostwald and the band charged right into "(Back Home Again in) Indiana," with Giordano providing the vintage banjo licks and hearty vocals. Anderson's sweet clarinet traded measures with Boga channeling Satchmo himself. Fryer used his plunger mute to coax a soulful sound from his instrument. Even Raderman got in on the action with a punching drum solo, all of it built around the tuba foundation Ostwald laid down with aplomb.

Next up, the Duke Ellington ballad "Creole Love Call" colored the room blue with Boga nursing his mute to get every last drop of soul out of the piece. "Santa Claus is Coming To Town" got a rollicking recitation with a jolly vocal by Fryer, who would go on to sing a number of the evening's holiday chestnuts. Dorothy Fields and Jimmy Mc Hugh's composition "Digga Digga Do"—an Ellington standard—gave Giordano a chance to flex his pipes and play a nifty banjo solo, while Anderson supplied a sweet showcase of his own on the clarinet. Switching to alto, Will soared on a smoothly sentimental "White Christmas," a highlight of the evening.

Back to the Great American Songbook went the Eternity Band with one of Armstrong's most beloved hits "A Kiss to Build a Dream On." Fryer got thru the vocal, slipping into a little Satchmo-ese sandwiched between sections of Boga's poignant horn solo. "Jingle Bells" found Vince scatting in "Elvish Presley" mode, wrapping up the proceedings with Armstrong's "Swing That Music," a tune Satch recorded with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra. Once again, Anderson soloed like a force of nature, working up and down his instrument while the band glided along.

You can catch Ostwald's ensemble most any Wednesday at Birdland for the foreseeable future; check out days and times at www.birdlandjazz.com/calendar. The music swings, the food is tasty and the drinks will keep you sloshing along in happy oblivion. Let's hope Ostwald stays on that bandstand for an eternity.