Louis Armstrong recommendation needed

[itforsenior]

I need a Louis Armstrong CD in my collection. Studio not live. Not many vocals, great though they are. I like All Stars groups from Teagarden to Trummy Young. Any suggestions please?

[jazzbo]

Lately I've been listening over and over to this one:

Very satisfying. Nice stereo sound as well.

This is my absolute "go to" All Stars disc, I can't get enough of this one. The first All Stars I ever owned on LP, and have two cd and one SACD editions as well.

This one just has a great joyous groove to it, a working band having fun in the studio.

[itforsenior]

Thanks for promt reply Jazzbo, I did have a look at Album of the Week and the Handy looks to be the go to Album.

[gmonahan]

Thanks for promt reply Jazzbo, I did have a look at Album of the Week and the Handy looks to be the go to Album.

Welcome to the Board! The "Handy" album is wonderful. Another one in a similar vein is "Satch Plays Fats," which is my favorite Armstrong album from the 50s with the All-Stars. "New Orleans Nights" on Decca has Teagarden, who sadly did not stay into the Columbia era. Happy listening! It's hard to go wrong with Satch.

gregmo

[JSngry]

Yes, Handy, Fats, and don't forget the album with Duke. You'll not avoid the vocals, but the tempos seem to be taking into account that Pops (can I call him that?) had been laying of the axe for a short time. The result is some glorious phraseology, even by his standards.

And Zone? Yes. BIG Zone.

Trumpet? What trumpet? Vocal? What vocal? LYRICS? What lyrics? It's all one big Louis Zone, and that's a Zone with which I don't quibble.

And in a special Welcome To The Board present, here's one that I've heard all my life (possibly literally) and one that I didn't realize had gotten so rare until I went to replace it.

[JSngry]

Took a while to find this one, but Welcome To The Board present Part Two.

Both from the mono version of The Glenn Miller Story OST (although neither are actually part of the OST, hey, what a wonderful world!). apparently Decca called for a re-recording in stereo when the OST came out in stereo, and these mono versions pretty much went away until the Mosaic Decca set. Or something like that. For all I know, they might be common as hell now, but if not, here you go!

All I can tell you is that when my folks put on that LP (and they very often did) these two cuts (one at the end of each side) were like...whoa..just what is THIS? And that's from when I can remember, like, age 3. How long before that, who knows? You don't put those type ideas in a kid's head from Day One (more or less) and not have there be consequences.

Just sayin'...

[Soulstation1]

http://youtu.be/hWRFKQoOGyI

Ella & Louis

Nuff said

Edited September 7, 2013 by Soulstation1

[jazzbo]

Curious about why not "live." Some of the live is the best.

[Soulstation1]

*** must be on holiday......

Or he's totally slippin'

Edited September 7, 2013 by Soulstation1

[jcam_44]

I've recently been on a Louis binge. I prefer live dates though. Just got the Complete Town Hall Concert in the mail today. My fav studio is probably Satchamo Plays King Oliver, re-released at Doctor Jazz. I have it on cd and vinyl. Excellent album. Aside from what has already been mentioned the California Concerts set is a gem.

[Clunky]

I'm struggling to think of an album that has few vocals from the All-Stars era. Plays Handy is better than "Satch Plays Fats" - although I've only heard the latter in its initial CD incarnation which IIRC has some part-alternate takes in place of spliced master takes. Makes the whole think seem under rehearsed .

[king ubu]

Love "Plays Handy" ... yes, Mr. Sangrey, "Azalea" :tup - that's desert island stuff, a sublime moment!

[JSngry]

The Mono BSB on 78: Better sound, but the side ends right where the drums kick in.

[Larry Kart]

Not what the original poster asked for, but this magnificent Armstrong recording ought to be heard:

The final chorus often brings tears to my eyes.

[RiRiIII]

Love "Plays Handy" ... yes, Mr. Sangrey, "Azalea" :tup - that's desert island stuff, a sublime moment!

Escecially on SACD!

[jazzbo]

I agree. Love that SACD.

[king ubu]

The one with all twenty takes of "Azalea"? Or W.C. Handy? Not that it matters, since I don't have an SACD player, but ...

[itforsenior]

Curious about why not "live." Some of the live is the best.

I find the balance is often poor on live tracks but it must be vastly more encouraging for the musicians.

[John Litweiler]

That's a wonderful version of "struttin' w/Some Barbeque." Here's another from the same Armstrong era - great swing, great trumpet:

[jazzbo]

Curious about why not "live." Some of the live is the best.

I find the balance is often poor on live tracks but it must be vastly more encouraging for the musicians.

That can be true, but for me if the music is strong, balance issues take a back seat. The Monterey cd that I mention in my first post is very well-recorded.

Edited September 8, 2013 by jazzbo

[Larry Kart]

That's a wonderful version of "struttin' w/Some Barbeque." Here's another from the same Armstrong era - great swing, great trumpet:

I love the way early on in the solo he almost seems to be carving the notes out from some semi-resistant medium.