Customer Reviews

Louis Armstrong Vol IV with Earl Hines

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This was the first CD that opened me up to the genius of early Satch. I later got the full set of Hot Fives and Sevens (British Import version), which includes all of the cuts on this CD. I still love this one though, and although the overall sound quality of the Brit set is better, West End Blues is a little better on this CD. The best single CD collection of early Satch I know of.

For those who watched Episode 3 of Ken Burns "Jazz," had their jaws drop to the floor when they heard "West End Blues," and said "Woowee, I gotta get that!" -- this is the one. Burns waited nearly five hours before playing an entire song without voiceovers, but he picked a great one to give the full treatment to. Supposedly, Burns' film was intended to bring more people to jazz. The sales figures on this record in the next 24-48 hours will be a leading indicator of whether the film will have that effect.

Armstrong and Hines push each other to unbelievable heights on these historic recordings. This is considered by many to be the best of the early Louis Armstrong CDs. Even more importantly, this represents a an achievement of a lifetime for both of these great, great artists.

Of all the "old" Louis recordings this one stands out for me. The playing is so tight and the quality of the sound is incredible considering the primitive recording techniques of the time. Check out Basin Street Blues with Hines playing the Celeste and harmonizing with Louis. My favorite track (for today at least) is Symphonic Raps with the double Tuba stops after each chorus. I can only try to imagine what a live performance by these guys must have been like. Belongs in the collection of every Louis Armstrong lover.

Louis Armstrong was the most important musician of the 20th Century and this is his most important record. The more you know about jazz the more likely you are to agree with me. This album represents one of the greatest quantum leaps in the history of art. It may sound dated now, but at the time it was revolutionary. In many ways, it still is. When we think of Louis we think of this jolly old man playing Vegas. Listen to him when he was still young, hot and influential.

If some curious alien woman from visited earth and asked "what is jazz?" I would have 2 answers. The first was Louis' direct response to that question: "Lady, if you've got to ask, you ain't never gonna know." The second would be to play this.

These sessions from 80 years ago have been on so many favorites lists that I'm afraid people shy away from this music, just because someone told them they are supposed to like it. If you think anything from 1928 is inherently "moldy fig", if you feel this music has been institutionalized to death, think that Armstrong was an Uncle Tom, think that "Dixieland jazz" is music for shallow old fart tourists, or, especially, if you've never heard these tracks, clear your mind, try to take the perspective of a curious visitor from another planet, kick back with whatever flows best through your bloodstream, and ENJOY!

No track is long enough to bore you, and this collection will blow you away once you let it. If you want this for easy listening background music, it can do that, too. The chord changes won't startle your grandmother (unlike lots of my other favorite music) and your parents won't tell you to turn down the volume either.

My favorite tracks include "West End Blues" with a very tricky but logical trumpet intro, "Chicago Breakdown" with a very disciplined band with solo breaks aplenty, "Tight Like That", the half-spoken vocal in "That's When I'll Come Back to You", "Muggles" (which was 1920s slang for marijuana), and especially the duet "Weather
Bird" which has 2 twenty-somethings breaking established roles for their instruments and pushing each other to fantastic heights. These sessions show these musical rule-breakers already mature and having fun realizing what they just invented.

Both Armstrong and Hines had lengthy careers and went on to record performances which showcased their wizardry more than this. (Try to find Hines' "Quintessential" solo piano date, or Louis singing Pharoah Sanders' "The Creator Has A Master Plan", both from 1970. Your later Armstrong favorites may differ from mine). Both soloists also became self-parodies at times (Hines played "Boogie Woogie on the St. Louis Blues" too many times, and Armstrong spent decades taking requests for "When The Saints Go Marching In". I regret to say that we've heard from the likes of Gary Giddins, Ken Burns and Wynton Marsalis how great this stuff is for so long that we might need the prespective of the alien lady to discover or rediscover this.

This is as close to perfect as jazz comes. Even though this music is over 70 years old, it sounds fresher than most of the music coming out today...

the point to Jazz is collective improvisation which requires an intricate sense of teamwork;Satch already had his first summit with Sidney Bechet in Clarence Williams'Blue Fives (and the Red Onion Jazz Babies) in 1924-1925;Satch's earlier stint with the superb King Oliver Creole jazz Band was an apprenticeship.But here this CD finds Satch entering 1928 with the full glory of the Hot 5s and Hot 7s under his belt,and his partner here is the classy and exceptionally gifted pianist Earl 'Fatha' Hines.The chemistry between these two artists is amazing it borders on ESP in all honesty,-from the intricate layers of 'Symphonic Raps' to the classic scat singing of 'Sugar Foot Strut' all the way to the remarkable interplay of 'Two Deuces' these sides are as essential to any list of jazz as are the Original Dixieland Jazz Band and King Olivers Creole Jazz Band,-Jazz here is growing up fast-not the schmaltzy Big Band syrup but a truly ingenious brew all its own magic.These sides are available today in boxed sets elsewhere but the digital restorations here while a tad muddy are nonetheless perfectly acceptable.If you dont want to spring $ for the boxed sets then buy this one,you'll float on a cloud!

This is really an excellent disc featuring combos of 5 or 7 players. Good early jazz.

This is as close to perfect as jazz comes. Even though this music is over 70 years old, it sounds fresher than most of the music coming out today...