Louis Armstrong CD recommendations

[danny la rouge]

listening to a 1950s folkways jazz anthology tonight (which has liner notes you'd kill for danny), and this tune cropped up. lovely. louis is also all over the fletcher henderson tracks, which i've never heard before...

That album sounds as if it'd be fantastic! I have a 3-CD Fletcher Henderson boxed set called Study in Frustration. It's well worth having, if you're a CD collector. Obviously, it's full of Louis, too. (As well as Red Allen, Roy Eldridge, Benny Carter, Chu Berry, and Coleman Hawkins, amongst others! Even Sun Ra had a Henderson apprenticeship, although he doesn't appear on the set I mentioned).

There's Folkways set out recently on CD called the Smithsonian Jazz Collection (I think), which Alyn Shipton helped to put together (British jazz bassist, writer and broadcaster), which I'd love to have. The liner notes are apparently superb. However, it's about £100, and given that I'll already have the vast majority of the tracks, I don't think I can justify it in my current financial circumstances.

 

[killer b]

Its a ten volume anthology of 20s & 30s stuff Danny, picked it up in mint condition from the cancer shop for 20 quid. Full of totally incredible jazz & blues I never heard before. It was compiled by Frederic Ramsey junior if that means anything to you - his liner notes include a beautiful essay on the music covered by each volume, along with extensive personell info.

 

[danny la rouge]

Its a ten volume anthology of 20s & 30s stuff Danny, picked it up in mint condition from the cancer shop for 20 quid. Full of totally incredible jazz & blues I never heard before. It was compiled by Frederic Ramsey junior if that means anything to you - his liner notes include a beautiful essay on the music covered by each volume, along with extensive personell info.

Of course. Famous compiler of the "Jazz" series of 78" albums (presented in leafed pocket sleeves, before the days of long players). Sounds like you have an LP re-issue of those. That's an incredible find. He also wrote some seminal Jazz profiles and histories, including the famous book Jazzmen.

 

[danny la rouge]

Here's his obit:

http://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/22/o...ey-a-writer-historian-and-jazz-expert-80.html

 

[killer b]

i was majorly chuffed to find 'em. original 50s pressings too.

awesome covers as well...

 

[seeformiles]

I've got a few compilations but my fave is "Satchmo at Symphony Hall" which I've got on original vinyl double album (first disc has sides 1 and 4, second disc 2 and 3, so you could play it on a drop down record player!) - great accompaniment to a late night smoke!

 

[cesare]

I've been eyeing up the forthcoming "Okeh, Columbia & RCA Victor Recordings - 1925-1933". Its release is ideally timed for a Christmas gift for my beloved to give me, and is a lot more reasonably priced than the Ambassador of Jazz boxed set that came out on Decca a year or so ago. (Although I do still covet that).

However, as ever, I'd be duplicating stuff I already have on CD (not to mention vinyl). But then, sound quality comes into play. Not all transfers are equal. For example, many of the tracks I have on the "King Louis" boxed set from Proper are also on the "Hot Fives and Sevens" box from JSP (I have both). The latter has the Fives and Sevens, plus later material. And the former includes earlier material. But although the Fives and Sevens sides are the same material, the sound quality on the JSP box is far superior. (Amazing, given the ages of the recordings).

<snip>

Just bumping this to say thanks for the recommendation. I got it for button for Christmas and he seemed very happy with it. Maybe he'll post in more detail, but cheers Danny.

 

[Left]

Nice thread, don't know how I missed it before, I've been looking for stuff beyond the Hot Fives & Sevens (most of the stuff I find seems to be syrupy vocal stuff). Plenty of stuff to add to the wish list now.