Jazz / Dixieland, Classic Jazz, New Orleans Jazz, Traditional Pop
Louis Armstrong - Trumpet, Vocals
"Big" Mike McKendrick Guitar, Banjo
Albert Nicholas Sax (Alto)
Albert Washington, Jr. Clarinet, Sax (Tenor)
Arvell Shaw Bass
Barrett Deems Drums
Bill Oldham Bass
Bill Perkins Guitar, Banjo
Billy Kyle Piano
Bob Haggart Bass
Bob Stephens Producer
Bobby Hackett Cornet
Bobby Holmes Sax (Alto), Clarinet
Budd Johnson Sax (Tenor), Clarinet
Castor McCord Sax (Tenor), Clarinet
Charlie Alexander Piano
Charlie Holmes Sax (Alto)
Charlie Jones Sax (Tenor), Clarinet
Danny Barcelona Drums
Dick Carey Piano
Ed Anderson Trumpet
Eddie Condon Banjo
Edmond Hall Clarinet
Ellis Whiutlock Trumpet
George Avakian Producer
George James Clarinet, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Alto)
George Oldham Sax (Alto), Clarinet
George Orendorff Trumpet
Harold Scott Trumpet
Henry Hicks Trombone
Henry Prince Piano
Howard Fritzson Design Direction
J.C. Higginbotham Trombone
Jack Teagarden Vocals, Trombone
Joe Bailey Tuba, Bass
John Lindsay Bass
Justin Ring Producer
Keg Johnson Trombone
Les Hite Sax (Baritone), Sax (Alto)
Lester Boone Sax (Alto), Clarinet
Lionel Hampton Vibraphone, Drums
Liz Reilly Photo Research
Lonnie Johnson Guitar
Luis Russell Piano
Luther Graven Trombone
Marvin Johnson Sax (Alto)
Mort Herbert Bass
Nathan Sedlander Product Manager
Patti Matheny A&R
Paul Barbarin Drums
Peanuts Hucko Clarinet
Pops Foster Bass
Preston Jackson Trombone
R.J. Jones Producer
Richard Seidel Compilation Producer
Scoville Johnson Sax (Alto), Clarinet
Sid Catlett Drums
Steven Berkowitz A&R
Susanne Cerha Design Assistant, Design
Teddy Hill Sax (Tenor)
Teddy Wilson Piano
Theodore McCord Sax (Alto)
Tommy Rockwell Producer
Triana DOrazio Packaging Manager
Trummy Young Vocals
Tubby Hall Drums
Will Friedwald Liner Notes
Woody Pornpitaksuk Mastering
Yank Porter Drums
Zilner Randolph Arranger, Trumpet
While Louis Armstrong didn't invent jazz, he certainly shaped it in his own image, personalizing it, popularizing it, and giving it a template to follow into the modern age. He did this with his trumpet skills, obviously, joyously swinging and playing his way around melodies in breathtaking improvisations, but he also did it with his singing, which used a horn man's lexicon to slide, slur, and bend melodies into delightfully new and surprisingly natural shapes until it isn't difficult to say that American popular singing begins with Louis Armstrong. The 14 songs presented here, recorded in the wide span between 1929 and 1958, simply prove the point. Armstrong lifted songs like "On the Sunny Side of the Street" (featured here in a 1956 live version from Chicago), "Stardust," and "Ain't Misbehavin'" (drawn from a 1947 performance at New York's Town Hall) from their Tin Pan Alley roots into the annals of classic American song, and he set the standard for how to sing and occupy a song on a personal level, literally inventing modern pop singing. It wasn't a matter of following a melody as written. Any reasonably able singer could do that. Armstrong, again using improvisational tools no doubt learned from his horn playing, bent the melody to other purposes, shortening it, lengthening it, syncopating it, and circling it until it shone far past its original shape, yet retained that shape as well, and this innovative, playful approach to singing has been aped by thousands of singers since until it is impossible to imagine modern pop or jazz singing without Armstrong's considerable influence. Listen to how he makes Hoagy Carmichael's "Lazy River" (the version presented here is from 1931) take unexpected turns and shifts, bending and rolling onward the way a real river would, never static or still but full of endless little variations in motion, always in sight of its original shape, but also changing down the length of its melody until it is possible to equate Armstrong's singing with a long, gliding, and improvised trumpet solo, the whole thing done with such warmth and joy that it uplifts even as much as it redefines and restructures. That's singing. That's jazz. That's Louis Armstrong. Oh, and he plays some pretty cool trumpet on these sides, too. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide |
