Customer Reviews

This Is Jazz 1

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The sound quality is pretty fair for such an old set of recordings, and the CD as a whole is fun. I was recently given an article from a magazine that offered its opinion on the best five Jazz CDs with which to begin a Jazz collection. This was one of them. As they said, this is "Jazz to make you smile." The list also included Benny Goodman's "Live at Carnegie Hall," Coleman Hawkins "Bogy and Soul," Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" (excellent, of course), and Billie Holiday, "The Complete Decca Recordings."

I do not know how many Louis Armstrong anthologies there are, but one thing I know for certain is that this is one of the best, if not the best, anthology of Satchmo's songs.
There is an extraordinary recording of West End Blues and of Potato Head Blues, a super-famous recording of Hoagy Carmichael's Stardust, there is a very interesting version of When you're smiling, but above all there is Armstrong's masterful performance on Basin Street.
Satchmo's performance is literally breath-taking: his voice and his trumpet have never bee better and they go straight to the heart.
This collection is great not only for those who like to learn something about jazz. This is a record that everybody should listen to. This is some of the best jazz ever played.

I do not know how many Luois Armstrong anthologies there are, but one thing I know for certain is that this is one of the best, if not the best, anthology of Satchmo's songs.
There is an extraordinary recording of West End Blues, a super-famous recording of Stardust, there is a very interesting version of When you're smiling, but above all there is Armstrong's masterful performance on Basin Street.
Satchmo's performance is literally breath-taking: his voice and his trumpet have never bee better and they go straight to the heart.
This collection is great not only for those who like to learn something about jazz. This is a record that everybody should listen to. This is some of the best jazz ever played.