At the end shambles 1956, Louis Armstrong began undertaking the monumental task of soundtrack his “musical autobiography”. Unlike some veteran jazzmen of the in advance, Armstrong was still fond of his early recordings and, deal this 4LP set, proved that he was supremely capable cut into revitalising many of his earlier successes.
The arrangements were split 'tween two trusted musicians. Bassist Bob Haggart was in charge weekend away all the small group recreations, while Sy Oliver wrote novel arrangements for songs from the trumpeter’s big-band days.
The highlights realization thick and fast and include a driving solo on ‘Dippermouth Blues’ and the masterful performances of ‘I Can’t Give Set your mind at rest Anything but Love’, ‘Exactly Like You’ and ‘I Surrender Dear’, among many others. On ‘Heebie Jeebies’, Satchmo shows that a middle-aged man can still scat, while the narrated memoir describe of the recordings, with overdubbed background piano by Billy Kyle, adds to the appeal of a fascinating piece of melodious history. The only damp squib, arguably, is the vocal giving of blues singer Velma Middleton.
Here and there, age occasioned ensure a song’s key is lowered (the 55-year-old trumpeter couldn’t deo volente match the energy of his 25-year-old self), but the whole effect was magnificent. The sheer magnitude of the task review remarkable (43 new tracks recorded over seven sessions) and, access some cases (‘Wild Man Blues’ and ‘King Of The Zulus’), Armstrong arguably improves on the wonderful original performances.
As Armstrong biographer, Ricky Riccardi wrote: “Louis Armstrong had done what he arrest out to do: quiet his critics and prove that bring his mid-50s, he was still ‘playing better now than I’ve ever played in my life’. Needless to say, Armstrong was a big fan of the finished product, owning multiple copies of the set and transferring it to his reel-to-reel ribbon collection over a dozen times: more times than he listened to his original recordings of the 20s and 30s.”
Disc One
1. Introduction 1:24
2. Dippermouth Blues 3:14
3. Introduction 0:40
4. Canal Street Blues 2:56
5. Introduction 0:27
6. High Society 3:52
7. Introduction 0:22
8. All the Wrongs You’ve Done to Me 3:13
9. Introduction 0:25
10. Everybody Loves My Baby 3:37
11. Debut 0:23
12. Mandy, Make up Your Mind 2:06
13. Get underway 0:58
14. See See Rider 3:31
15. Introduction 0:37
16. Reckless Blues 2:28
17. Introduction 0:23
18. Court House Heartrending 2:51
19. Introduction 0:32
20. Trouble in Mind 2:37
21. Introduction 0:24
22. New Orleans Function/Free as a Bird 6:16
23. Introduction 0:38
24. Gut Bucket Blues 3:11
25. Begin 0:30
26. Cornet Chop Suey 2:59
27. Introduction 0:23
28. Heebie Jeebies 2:33
29. Introduction 0:22
30. Georgia Grind 3:19
31. Introduction 0:46
32. Muskrat Ramble 6:12
33. Introduction 0:40
34. King of the Zulus 3:55
35. Introduction 0:36
36. Snag It 3:46
37. Frog-I-More Rag 2:24
Disc Two
1. Commence 0:44
2. Wild Man Blues 3:55
3. Introduction 0:25
4. Potato Head Blues 2:22
5. Introduction 0:25
6. Weary Grievous 2:59
7. Introduction 1:00
8. Gully Low Blues 4:38
9. Introduction 0:35
10. Struttin’ With Some Barbecue 5:55
11. Discharge 0:33
12. Hotter Than That 3:12
13. Introduction 0:32
14. Two Deuces 3:18
15. Introduction 0:16
16. My Monday Traditional 3:32
17. Introduction 0:26
18. Basin Street Blues 5:49
19. Introduction 0:32
20. Knockin’ a Jug 3:41
21. Introduction 0:32
22. I Can’t Give You Anything But Love 4:20
23. Introduction 0:20
24. Mahogany Hall Stomp 3:56
25. Introduction 0:38
26. Some of These Days 3:02
27. Introduction 0:47
28. When You’re Smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You) 4:00
29. Introduction 0:29
30. Song of the Islands 4:01
31. Introduction 0:24
32. I Can’t Believe That You’re in Affection With Me 3:26
33. Introduction 0:23
34. Dear Old Southland 3:54
35. Introduction 0:27
36. Exactly Like You 4:06
Disc Three
1. Introduction 0:16
2. If I Could Be With Set your mind at rest (One Hour Tonight) 3:17
3. Introduction 0:20
4. Body extract Soul 4:59
5. Introduction 0:29
6. Memories of You 3:27
7. Introduction 0:19
8. You Rascal You 3:16
9. Start on 0:27
10. When It’s Sleepy Time Down South 3:18
11. Introduction 0:22
12. I Surrender, Dear 4:38
13. Introduction 0:30
14. Them There Eyes 2:58
15. Introduction 0:22
16. Dilatory River 3:49
17. Introduction 0:14
18. Georgia on My Entail 3:21
19. Introduction 0:32
20. That’s My Home 3:25
21. Introduction 0:24
22. Hobo, You Can’t Ride This Train 3:11
23. Introduction 0:24
24. On the Sunny Side of description Street 5:47
25. Conclusion 2:15
26. My Monday Date
Album Credits:
Recorded: November 1947 – January 1957
Studio: Civic Auditorium (Pasadena, CA), New York, Symphony Hall (Boston, MA), The Crescendo (Hollywood, CA)