Customer Reviews

Louis Armstrong Big Band 1930-32

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In August 2000 Louis Armstrong fans were treated to the Sony 4-CD box set The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings. The year 2000 must have placed Planet Earth close to Heaven, because now (December 2000) we are being treated to the JSP 2-CD set The (Louis Armstrong) Big Band Recordings 1930-1932. Of course, the Hot Five and Hot Seven were small jazz bands led by Louis. The new 2-CD set gives us a chance to hear some of the big bands Louis fronted just before the Big Band Era was about to take off.

The Hot Five and Hot Seven were strictly recording studio bands; they never appeared in public. During those years (1925 to 1929) Louis made his living by working as a sideman in big (theater) stage bands and big (ballroom) dance bands on the South side of Chicago. Before that time, Louis had worked as a sideman in Fletcher Henderson's big band in New York for one or two years in the early 1920s. By 1929 Louis was well known as the best jazz trumpeter in the world, and music managers and promoters wanted to present Louis to the public in front of a big band. Louis Armstrong never really recruited, rehearsed, or conducted big bands. He didn't like to do that. He wanted to concentrate on playing the trumpet, singing, and otherwise entertaining the people.

I believe the thrill of listening to big swing band music is due to the amalgamation of disciplined, trained, musicians playing written music scores and free-wheeling, high spirited, musicians playing the ad-libbed jazz solos. This 2-CD set presents Louis Armstrong with some of the big bands he fronted during the early 1930s. Music lovers get a chance to hear the greatest jazz trumpet player of all time, Louis Armstrong, playing and singing in front of good big bands. It does not matter that Louis Armstrong never really organized his own big band; but, instead, took over existing big bands, including the bands of Carrol Dickerson, Les Hite, and Luis Russell during his career. Music lovers got the opportunity of hearing Louis Armstrong sing and play jazz in the rather unique setting of big swing bands.

This 2-CD set presents 42 very good examples of Louis Armstrong singing (on 41) and playing jazz trumpet (on all 42) in front of some of those good big bands. Now, listen to what it sounds like in Heaven!

Wow - 42 tracks of Louis simply doing what he did best - blowing his horn and "singing up a great big storm" (as Frank Sinatra would later ad-lib on his tribute to Louis with "Hello Dolly"). There are so many wonderful songs on this set, where do I start?

Of course, one cannot overlook "Stardust", simply delectable, but look what else is here: "I Can't Believe that You're in Love with Me", "All of Me", "Body and Soul" (more magnificence), "You're Drivin' Me Crazy", "Shine", "Blue Again", "Dinah"...you get the idea! For those who want to dive into various stages of the great man's career, this is a heaping slice of the early 30's. Here we get an idea of the entertainer that Satch was becoming, a true crowd pleaser who clearly lived for the stage.

An important point is how the technique of recording had advanced from the 20's to the 30's, providing a far better fidelity than was available on the Hot Fives and Hot Sevens recordings that had come before. I've heard many complain that the earlier records sounded cheap and crude, but of course that couldn't be helped. You won't have that complaint here, though.

If you're one of those who is discovering the fabulous talent of Louis Armstrong, and want to go beyond "Greatest Hits" sets and repackages, give this set a shot. The price is in the same range as a typical Back Street Boys or Britney Spears outing, but will those performers sound as vital as this 70 years into the future?

You decide...!

What musician compares to Louis for sheer assertion of distinctive selfhood? In the jazz world, perhaps Bechet, Ellington, Dizzy and Miles. Beyond, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven ... We would all have our own list. And everyone has their favorite Louis Armstrong. For many people, the end of the Okeh era in 1930 - 1932 covered by these two discs displays Armstrong at his height.
You won't find, however, the great musical interactions of the Twenties, when Louis played with such New Orleans giants at Kid Ory and Johnny Dodds, or those musicians from elsewhere, just as forward looking as he was, such as Earl Hines or Don Redman. These sides on "The Big Band Recordings" give us bands which were not much more than a backdrop to Louis' Karajanish trumpet playing and Shakespearian vocalizing. Only the first ten or so 78's feature drummer & vibraphonist Lionel Hampton (who, legend has it, lied to Louis when he told him he knew how to play vibraphone - he'd only heard of the instrument)and the great trombone romantic Lawrence Brown, who would later become one of Ellington's greatest soloists (would you believe me if I said that at least one of his solos on these songs is ALMOST as good as Louis'?).
The great re-masterer John R. T. Davies has presented these sides in the only package currently available, to my knowledge, other than the "Chronogical Classics" sets for the corresponding years. Thought his product is certainly adequate for full enjoyment of the music, those listeners familiar with the clarity and presence of his Hot Five & Hot Seven re-issues, still unmatched by the recent Columbia remasterings, may be a bit disappointed by these pieces, which do not seem to have been taken from 78's of comparable mint quality. And perhaps none such are available. Listeners should be aware, too, that Mr. Davies does not use heavy noise reduction, so both the maximum of music and most of the surface noise remain. Otherwise, I would only wish that the 78 issue numbers had been provided, though in truth reliable documentation is easy to find in standard discographies of Armstrong such as "Boy from New Orleans".

I have just about every important recording Armstrong ever made and this selection of sides is the sweetest of them all. Man, it sets a mood that puts you on top of the world. Believe me. I love this stuff and this is cream.

After watching Ken Burns' JAZZ series on TV in January, I realized there was a whole side to Louis Armstrong that I didn't know about. The film clip of Armstrong playing the New Tiger Rag to the audience in Copenhagen, Denmark, ca. 1933, hit me with the force of a tidal wave. I decided I needed to hear more of him from this period. So, after careful shopping, I purchased the Big Band double-CD. It's difficult to describe the joy that courses through me everytime I hear this wonderful compilation. For example, I merely have to listen to his opening solo from the first track on the first CD, My Sweet, to once again bow my head in tribute to this true musical genius of the 20th century. I continue to look for more treasures from this era of Armstrong's career, when his playing and singing merged so effectively. 5 stars is not a high enough rating for this music.

This superbly mastered collection of post-Hot 5/7 Armstrong big band sides gather all his pre-RCA recordings from the early thirties into one neat two-disc CD. Every time I listen to these fabulous recordings I get a smile on my face. Has anyone ever put together a better vocal and instrumental performance than "Stardust"? Probably just something Louis tossed off on the spot....Whenever I listen to early Armstrong I try to put myself back in that era and think of what effect his performances must have had on musicians and fans alike. I love all kinds of jazz, and there have been many great musicians, but quite frankly no one even comes close to the genius of Louis Armstrong....

This is a compilation of some of Louis Armstrong's finest work. 42 great songs featuring Satchmo and his orchestra. This is a must-have CD for anyone who likes early Big Band and Louis Armstrong.
While these are Big Band recordings, the music is highlighted by Armstrong's solo stylings as one of the world's greatest trumpeters and as a singer. Here we see part of the genius of Armstrong, introducing the sound of an individual instrument with the orchestra as accompaniment.
The recordings (from 1930-1932) include such standards as "Body and Soul" and lesser-known songs like my favorite, "The Peanut Vendor." Listeners will marvel at the fun and exuberance of the recordings. Even numbers with a blues influence seem a celebration of life. You can practically hear the wonderful showmanship (not to mention the brilliant trumpet work) that typified Armstrong.
The sound quality is excellent (never a sure thing with music from this time period) and the liner notes helpful. It's important music from a historical context coming on the heels of Louis's work with the Hot Fives and Sevens and as a forerunner of what was to come from him and others in the decade. But most importantly it's damn fun music and a must for any jazz collector.

The good folks at JSP UK sold me a copy by post and I am glad they did finding it hard to locate a fresh copy of this material from 75 years ago.

The sound is mastered by the venerable John R.T. Davies for those familiar with The Complete Hot 5 and 7's that preceeded
these fine recordings.

Music like this needs no introduction, you either dig it or you don't but no jazz collection is complete without the Hot 5's and 7's and I would now add this one as well.
Maybe I am just an anachronism when it comes to my tastes but I do not think I am alone by saying this stuff changed musical history.I never tire of the music,I must be lucky.

I purchased the Ken Burns DEFINITIVE LOUIS ARMSTRONG CD after seeing the documentary. I enjoyed it so much I went for the JSP box set, HOT FIVES & SEVENS, some of the greatest recordings I have ever heard in my life. JSP has followed, in chronological order, with THE BIG BAND RECORDINGS, focusing on popular song. While these sides aren't as breath-taking as the HOT FIVES & SEVENS, Mr. Armstrong's horn and voice make these recordings a wonderful listening experience. Louis was an improvisational genius, which he could apply to his voice as well as his horn. Highly recommended.

The rap on these recordings are that none of the bands that Armstrong worked with from the Hot 7 in the late 20s until he formed his All-Stars after WWII were any good. They weren't, and certainly none were up to Louis's speed, but then only a handful of musicians have every walked the Earth were up to Louis's speed. For that you have to listen to Louis's 1920s recordings with Earl Hines on Piano, or his 1950s collaborations with Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington.

Yet, I can't think of any better music to listen to and enjoy than these sides. The triumph here is that Louis is the consomate soloist both as a singer and as trumpeter. He really is not an arranger leader like Ellington or Basie, nor a band singer. However, in these years because the working formula to play most engagements was to have a big band, Louis and his managers eschewed the small combos that brought his greatest success in the 1920s and later in the 1940s and 1950s.

What works here is the greatest single collection of performance of American popular song ever. The way Louis's vocals as well as his trumpet solos deal with the pop songs here are decisive for both Jazz and all modern popular music. Singing was simply not the same after Louis recorded all of these tunes. Even songs that would otherwise seem dated and corny "Sweet Hearts on Parade", for example sound exciting and moving and wonderful. Other songs like "I'm Confessin'" are simply masterpieces.
It is clear that if Louis never played the trumpet, he would have still been one of the greats of Jazz as a singer.

Of course, Louis swings out a lot, and now and then gets into the kind of spirited repartee with the band members that was no doubt enhanced by Louis's belief that remaining "enlightened" by extensive use of marajuana was the key to his success. (In the 1950s he was to add extensive use of a laxative he did promotions for to that list). In particular, listen to the moments when Louis yells to the band, "I'm ready, I'm ready, good God, I'm ready." "I'm ready" was Louis's signal to band members that he was sufficiently high to do his thing. Believe me, he was!