Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington were (and are) two of the main stems of jazz. Any way you look at it, just about everything that's ever happened in this music leads directly -- or indirectly -- back to them. Both men were born on the cusp of the 19th and 20th centuries, and each became established as a leader during the middle '20s. Although their paths had crossed from time to time over the years, nobody in the entertainment industry had ever managed to get Armstrong and Ellington into a    [ read more ]

CD $11.38

The most important musician of the century past has had a trumpet-load of retrospectives appear since the 100th anniversary of his birth in 2001, and few are more brisk, enjoyable, shot full of goofy energy, and essential than the remastered reissue of The Best of Louis Armstrong: The Hot Five and Seven Recordings box set. The box is four CDs of remastered, priceless 1925-1927 Chicago work when Armstrong cemented his reputation as a player, singer, and most of all, innovator without equal. Now it's oc   [ read more ]

CD $11.38

One of a handful of absolutely essential jazz collections, and at a bargain price too. With this four-disc set of Armstrong's bedrock Hot Fives & Sevens sides, JSP throws down the gauntlet for labels reissuing early jazz (hats off especially to John R.T. Davies for his superb remastering work). Covering the years 1925-1929, the 90 tracks include the complete Hot Fives & Sevens recordings (save for alternate takes) with Johnny Dodds, Lil Hardin Armstrong, Kid Ory, {$Johnny St. C   [ read more ]

CD $27.53

Satchmo Serenades was originally comprised of sessions recorded between 1949 and 1951; the Verve By Request CD reissue in 2000 expands the album by ten tracks, all recorded between 1952 and 1953. These sessions were in the same spirit as the original album, featuring many of the same players and arrangers (particularly Sy Oliver), so it's easy to see why these were added to the program, and the transition from the original album to the bonus tracks is seamless. This incarnation of {^Satchmo Serenad   [ read more ]

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CD $13.28

As Louis Armstrong traversed the globe, bringing jazz to every corner of it, live recordings became the norm. This reissue brings together 1955 concert recordings with the All-Stars from Milan and Amsterdam, buffeted with three previously unreleased bonus studio tracks recorded in New York and Hollywood. Both Satchmo and the All-Stars are in top-notch form here, playing with a real spirit of abandon. Another real good one to add to the collection. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide

SUPER-AUDIO CD $18.02

Actually recorded several years before Vol. 1, this somewhat loose concert finds trombonist Jack Teagarden co-starring with Louis Armstrong on several of the selections and the Les Brown orchestra backing Satch on the final three numbers. Not essential but Armstrong fans will not be disappointed. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

CD $13.28

Actually recorded several years before Vol. 1, this somewhat loose concert finds trombonist Jack Teagarden co-starring with Louis Armstrong on several of the selections and the Les Brown orchestra backing Satch on the final three numbers. Not essential but Armstrong fans will not be disappointed. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

CD $13.28

Although this CD reissue by Louis Armstrong is promoted as a jazz release, the jazz content of the music within this compilation of religious songs is rather minimal. The corny Sy Oliver arrangements and the dreadful backing choir repeatedly prove to be very distracting; the few times that Armstrong and his band are able to cut loose, they are almost always still stuck with the annoying choir in the background. Armstrong's vocals are frequently amusing, especially "Shadrack" and {&"Jona   [ read more ]

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Louis Armstrong's next-to-last recording (his final one was a few months later singing country songs in front of a Nashville rhythm section) has its touching moments. Backed by a large orchestra, Armstrong (who was too ill to play trumpet) sings some unlikely material including "The Creator Has A Master Plan" (which also features Leon Thomas' yodelling), "We Shall Overcome," "Everybody's Talkin'" and "Give Peace A Chance." The highpoints occur during "Mood Indigo," "Boy From New Orleans" (during   [ read more ]

CD $13.28

Before his appearance at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, Louis Armstrong learned that the promoters planned to shunt aside his regular band in favor of a group of his historical associates. Never a pushover and always protective of his sidemen, Armstrong threw a major temper tantrum that resulted in his regular show going on as usual. No hint of the turmoil can be heard during this swinging concert appearance, which features the trumpeter, trombonist Trummy Young, and clarinetist Edmund Hall rom   [ read more ]

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Louis Armstrong's commercial resurgence with the song "Hello, Dolly!" -- a number one hit that unseated the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" from the top spot -- came as such a surprise that Kapp Records hastened to produce an album to go along with it. The resulting long-player, appropriately titled Hello, Dolly!, also went to number one and produced a second hit, the inferior "I Still Get Jealous." As you might predict, almost all of the songs are drawn from Broadway shows, and a couple (   [ read more ]

CD $14.23