this is an album that captures a specific moment in time of one of the greatest musicians of the twentieth century, and held in particular affection by Armstrong himself.
Verve / BBC
Louis Armstrong (trumpet, vocals); Tyree Glenn (trombone, vocals); Joe Muranyi (clarinet); Marty Napoleon (piano); Buddy Catlett (bass); Danny Barcelona (drums)
Recorded July 2, 1968
These recordings were made for the BBC programme ‘Show of the Week’ featuring Armstrong, and appear to have been very dear to the trumpeter. The punishing work schedule Armstrong insisted on keeping was to take its toll, and the following year he experienced serious health issues that kept him from performing for nearly two years.
Even while recuperating from two extended stays in hospital, the trumpeter was working at home on tapes from his archive on a set of Tandberg reel-to-reel tape decks installed by his wife Lucille at home in his ‘den’. Louis would spend countless hours with the machines and his precious reel-to-reel tapes and was especially excited to discover the recording made for the BBC, and although not released in his lifetime Armstrong had marked the box containing the tapes with the message “For The Fans”.
Now released on CD by Verve Records and the BBC we can all now enjoy the music, and catch a little of the energy that Louis brought to his live shows. There is nothing revelatory about the performances, but the music does serve as a reminder what a great musician and entertainer Armstrong was, keeping jazz alive in the eyes of the general public who might otherwise not have bothered listening to the genre at all.
It is curmudgeonly to suggest that the music is played down for mass consumption, but to many Louis Armstrong was first and foremost an entertainer rather than the great jazz innovator and soloist of the early days of the music. By the same token, the music does not match up to the RCA Victor recordings of the early 1960s, but there is still much here to enjoy.
The programme contains material that Louis must have played thousands of times, but there is a feeling that Armstrong is taking particular pleasure in this concert performance, and this carries through to the All-Stars who play magnificently.
Louis may not play as much trumpet as he had a few years earlier, but when he does he plays with that ever-present passion that is characteristic with a strong and full toned trumpet. His trumpet lead on ‘Ole Miss’ dominates the ensemble in a piece that also features fine solos from Joe Muranyi on clarinet and trombonist Tyree Glenn, and his opening trumpet statement on the theme of ‘Mack the Knife’ is vintage Louis.
Opening as he had since the 1930s with ‘When It’s Sleepy Down South’ and closing with ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’, Armstrong is impeccable on the former, may be somewhat predictable but it is incredible how Louis retains his enthusiasm for his material. He romps through a wonderful ‘Indiana’ and ‘A Kiss To Build A Dream On’ is a delightful ballad that Louis seems to enjoy playing as much as the audience did listening, and although he plays no trumpet on ‘Blueberry Hill’ his vocals are such that it really doesn’t matter. Mention should go to Muranyi here as well for his tasteful clarinet.
Not everything was quite as it should be, as even in 1968 Hoagy Carmichael’s ‘Rockin’ Chair’ was a composition for its time and perhaps best left there, as the song relied on the stereotypes of minstrelsy, citing “Aunt Harriet” from the anti-Uncle Tom song ‘Aunt Harriet Becha Stowe’ written in 1853. By 1968 Carmichael’s lyrics already sound dated, and more than fifty-six years later sound decidedly uncomfortable.
Overall, this is an album that captures a specific moment in time of one of the greatest musicians of the twentieth century, and held in particular affection by Armstrong himself. More than just a historical document, with Louis’s singing ‘The Bare Necessities’ and ‘It’s A Wonderful World’ this is a recording that will delight Armstrong fans everywhere.
