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Which Jazz box set are you grooving to right now?


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Fletcher Henderson - The Fletcher Henderson Story/A Study in Frustration (Columbia); disc two

The lp version was the second jazz box I obtained after this:

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Then the Ellington and Holiday boxes followed. Damn!

The Thesaurus has some very interesting (and enjoyable) music on it.

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Louis Armstrong - The Okeh, Columbia & RCA Victor Recordings 1925-1933. Yeah, the Hot Fives & Sevens are badly botched here, but this is practically the only complete issue of the 1929-1932 Okeh big-band sides. Those sides, and the 1932-33 Victor big-band sides (also included here), are absolutely essential - in terms of Louis' playing, the best of them are as good or better than the Hot Fives, although they're very different. Disc eight this morning, with the previously-hard-to-find "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams," Stardust," and "Lord, You Made the Night Too Long," a personal favorite.

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Louis Armstrong - The Okeh, Columbia & RCA Victor Recordings 1925-1933. Yeah, the Hot Fives & Sevens are badly botched here, but this is practically the only complete issue of the 1929-1932 Okeh big-band sides. Those sides, and the 1932-33 Victor big-band sides (also included here), are absolutely essential - in terms of Louis' playing, the best of them are as good or better than the Hot Fives, although they're very different. Disc eight this morning, with the previously-hard-to-find "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams," Stardust," and "Lord, You Made the Night Too Long," a personal favorite.

Parts of discs nine and ten tonight - the early Victor recordings.

Whew! As much as I love the Hot Fives and Sevens, I think that this is my favorite Armstrong. The best tracks, like "That's My Home" (especially the alternate take), "When It's Sleepytime Down South," and "I've Got the World on a String," are unlike anything else in jazz. They have a sweep, a lyrical majesty, an eloquence, that Louis only reached (to this extent, at least) during this 1932-33 period. The impact and effect remind me more of Beethoven than of other jazz. And that's with pedestrian arrangements and lackluster bands.

It's been too long since I've listened to this stuff. The best tracks are breathtaking.

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Later - I have always thought that Armstrong's playing is so magnificent on the alternate take of "That's My Home" that it puzzled me why it wasn't the master take. Well, I wasn't listening very well - the only other soloist is tenor saxophonist Skippy Williams, and he is pretty far off-mic on the alternate. That must be why that take wasn't used - but damn! That's some amazing improvising by Mr. Armstrong. It brings a lump to my throat every time.

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