Review, buy Early Jazz: King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band 1923-1924, Complete Recorded Works 1926-1930, The Original Guitar Wizard, Porgy And Bess, Gentle Hawk, The Bix Beiderbecke Story: 4cd Set, The Sidney Bechet Story, The Best of the Black and White Minstrels, Original Mr Jelly Lord 1923-41, Tommy Dorsey and His Greatest Band, Jazz Greats, Johnny Hodges With Billy Strayhorn And The Orchestra, Back to Back: Duke Ellington & Johnny Hodges Play the Blues/Remastered, The Bebop Years, Side By Side, The Five Pennies [Us Import], Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy, I Can't Get Started, Jazz in Paris - Louis Armstrong and Friends, Blues & Ballads

Tracks King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band 1923-1924

I ain't Gonna Tell Nobody
Where did you go last night?
Workin' Man Blues
Krooked Blues
Camp Meeting Blues
The Southern Stomps
Mabel's Dream
Snake Rag
Zulu's Ball
Riverside Blues
Just Gone
Froggie Moore
Mabel's Dream
Dipper Mouth Blues
Dipper Mouth Blues
Working man Blues
High Society Rag
Sweet Baby Doll
Weather Bird Rag
Tom Cat
Mandy Lee Blues
New Orleans Stomp
The Southern Stomps
Jazzin Babies Blues
I'm going away to wear you off my mind
Tears
Chattanooga Stomp
Sweet Lovin' Man
Kiss Me Sweet
Mabel's Dream
Alligator Hop
London Cafe Blues
Snake Rag
Sobbin' Blues
Construction Gang
Riverside Blues
Chimes Blues
Room Rent Blues
Canal Street Blues
King Porter Stomp
Buddy's Habits

Tracks Complete Recorded Works 1926-1930

Pearls
Deep Creek
Original Jelly Roll Blues
Load Of Coal
Wild Man Blues
Doctor Jazz
Oil Well
Red Hot Pepper
Jungle Blues
Sidewalk Blues
Low Gravy
Strokin' Away
Try Me Out
Mississippi Mildred
Smilin' The Blues Away
Smoke House Blues
Primrose Stomp
Wolverine Blues
Hyena Stomp
Seattle Hunch
Hyena Stomp
Little Lawrence
Pep
Original Jelly Roll Blues
Beale Street Blues
Harmony Blues
Black Bottom Stomp
Sweet Peter
Gambling Jack
Shoe Shiner's Drag
Sweet Anita Mine
Grandpa's Spells
Beale Street Blues
Courthouse Bump
Blue Blood Blues
Pretty Lil
Jersey Joe
Boogaboo
Grandpa's Spells
Fickle Day Creep
Burnin' The Iceberg
Sweet Aneta Mine
Tank Town Bump
Mushmouth Shuffle
New Orleans Bump
Dead Man Blues
Steamboat Stomp
Jungle Blues
Oil Well
Freakish
New Orleans Bump
Kansas City Stomps
Pretty Lil
Georgia Swing
My Little Dixie Home
Crazy Chords
Chant
Jersey Joe
Load Of Coal
I'm Looking For A Little Bluebird
Mr. Jelly Lord
Cannon Ball Blues
Sidewalk Blues
Seattle Hunch
Strokin' Away
Crazy Chords
Someday Sweetheart
Primrose Stomp
Frances (Fat Frances)
Mint Julep
Shreveport
Courthouse Bump
Chant
Turtle Twist
Each Day
Wild Man Blues
Fussy Mabel
Ponchatrain
Each Day
Cannon Ball Blues
Gambling Jack
Freakish
Someday Sweetheart
Billy Goat Stomp
Mournful Serenade
That'll Never Do
Mississippi Mildred
Dead Man Blues
Burnin' The Iceberg
Billy Goat Stomp
Pearls
Tank Town Bump
Down My Way
Wolverine Blues
Blue Blood Blues
Sweet Peter
If Someone Would Only Love Me
That's Like It Ought To Be
Shreveport

Morton, born in 1890, was the first true jazz composer. His great talent lay in creating small-band music which sounded so natural that you could almost believe it had been improvised on the spot. But when you listen more closely, you realise that no band could ever improvise music as perfectly proportioned and well balanced as that. He created his music with the musicians around him, not like an architect planning a building, but like a gardener trimming and training naturally growing plants. This five-CD box contains everything Morton recorded at the peak of his career, between 1926 and 1930. The bulk of it is band music by his Red Hot Peppers, with a scattering of piano solos, trios, quartets and some larger ensembles. It took years for the producers to collect the best possible original copies, which were then remastered by John R. T. Davies, a world expert on the restoration of classic jazz. The result is almost certainly the best Morton edition ever produced-or likely to be. [+]

Tracks The Original Guitar Wizard

Another Woman Booked Out And Bound To Go
Why Should I Cry
Im So Tired Of Living All Alone
Uncle Ned, Dont Use Your Head
Two Tone Stomp
Hes A Jelly-Roll Baker
Why Women Go Wrong
No More Women Blues
It Feels So Good, Pts 1 & 2
The New Fallin Rain Blues
Have To Change Keys To Play These Blues
Guitar Blues
Guitar Blues
In Love Again
The Victim Of Love
The Loveless Blues
Tootache Blues, Pts 1 & 2
Just Another Day
Working Mans Blues
Sundown Blues
It Was All In Vain
Blue Guitars
Tomorrow Night
Crowing Rooster Blues
When You Feel Low Down
Me And My Crazy Self
Im So Tired Of Living All Alone
What A Real Woman
Two Tone Stomp
Crowing Rooster Blues
Careless Love
Deep Blue Sea Blues
I Have To Do My Time
Broken Levee Blues
Jersey Belle Blues
It Feels So Good, Pts 1 & 2
Broken Levee Blues
Jet Black Blues
Playing Around
Love Is The Answer
You Cant Buy Love
No More Troubles Now
Blues Stay Away From Me
Misty Mornin
Crowning Rooster Blues
You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now Pts 1 & 2
Hot Fingers
I Just Cant Stand These Blues
Got The Blues For Murder Only
Bulldog Moan
Shes Making Whoopee In Hell Tonight
The New Fallin Rain Blues
Tootache Blues, Pts 1 & 2
Deep Sea Blues
Deep Blue Sea Blues
Blue Room Blues
Im Guilty
The Dirty Dozen
Watch Shorty
You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now Pts 1 & 2
Thats Love
No More Women Blues
Dont Wear It Out
Jet Black Blues
Another Woman Booked Out And Bound To Go
Sleepy Water Blues
Bulldog Moan
Trouble Aint Nothing But The Blues
Im Just Dumb
Swing Out Rhythm
Keep What You Got
Youre Getting Old On Your Job
Long Black Train
Im Nuts About That Gal
You Only Want Me When Youre Lonely
Little Rocking Chair
Lazy Woman Blues
Nothing But Trouble
I Got The Best Jelly Roll In Town, Pts 1 & 2
Hot Fingers
Blue Guitars
Shes Making Whoopee In Hell Tonight
Careless Love
Cant Sleep Any More
Falling Rain Blues
Let All Married Women Alone
Have To Change Keys To Play These Blues
Racketeers Blues
Misty Mornin
Beautiful But Dumb
Blue Room Blues
Sundown Blues
Get Yourself Together

Tracks Porgy And Bess

What You Want Wid Bess? - Ella Fitzgerald, Russell Garcia
Oh, Doctor Jesus - Ella Fitzgerald, Russell Garcia
Bess You Is My Woman Now - Ella Fitzgerald, Russell Garcia
I Got Plenty O' Nuttin' - Ella Fitzgerald, Russell Garcia
It Ain't Necessarily So - Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Russell Garcia
My Man's Gone Now - Ella Fitzgerald, Russell Garcia
Buzzard Song - Ella Fitzgerald, Russell Garcia
Porgy And Bess: Overture - Louis Armstrong, Russell Garcia
Porgy And Bess: Medley: Here Come De Honey Man / Crab Man / Oh, Dey's So Fresh And Fine - Louis Armstrong, Russell Garcia
Oh Lawd, I'm On My Way - Louis Armstrong, Russell Garcia
Bess, Oh Where's My Bess? - Louis Armstrong, Russell Garcia
A Woman Is A Sometime Thing - Louis Armstrong, Russell Garcia
I Wants To Stay Here - Ella Fitzgerald, Russell Garcia
There's A Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon For New York - Ella Fitzgerald
Summertime - Louis Armstrong, Russell Garcia, Ella Fitzgerald

Getting the two most personable voices in jazz to sing an hour's worth of George Gershwin's opera Porgy & Bess (Ella doing all the female parts, Satchmo all the male) was a good idea, but not quite as great as it sounded. Armstrong savours the down-and-dirty Charlestonisms that inspired the cadences of the music and lyrics and they fit his happy rasp like an old shoe; Fitzgerald, conversely, sounds almost prissy every time she has to sing the word "ain't", though her melodic genius gets Gershwin's bold, supple tunes over. The arrangements are full-throttle Broadway, with a few leaps into Dixieland (including some fine Armstrong trumpet solos), but the disc works best when the vocalists break character and let their jazz side out. -Douglas Wolk.

Tracks The Bix Beiderbecke Story: 4cd Set

There Ain't No Sweet Man That's Worth The Salt Of My Te ars
Raisin' Tha Roof
Good Man Is Hard To Find
Futuristic Rhythm
Jubilee
Mississippi Mud
My Pet
Jazz Me Blue
Love Nest
I'm Glad
Lovable
Riverboat Shuffle
Clorinda
In My Merry Oldsmobile
Bless You Sister
Louisiana
Blue River
Baltimore
Tia Juana
Singin' The Blues
Love Affairs
I'm Wonderin' Who
(What Are You Waiting For) Mary
I Didn't Know
Rhythm King
Coquette
In A Mist
Wait Till You See "Ma Cherie"
Royal Garden Blues
Forget Me Not
Humpty Dumpty
Riverboat Shuffle
High Up On A Hilltop
Sugar
Trumbology
Idolizing
China Boy
From Monday On
There's A Cradle In Caroline
Margie
I'm More Than Satisfied
Japanese Sandman
Lila
Ostrich Walk
Davenport Blues
Fidgety Feet
Cryin' All Day
I'm Gonna Meet My Sweetie Now
Toddlin' Blue
Wringin' An' Twistin'
Baby Won't You Please Come Home
Rockin' Chair
Susie (Of The Islands)
At The Jazz Band Ball
Borneo
Lonely Melody
Krazy Kat
Taint So Honey Taint So
Just An Hour Of Love
I'm Coming Virginia
Dusky Stevedore
Barnacle Bill The Sailor
You Took Advantage Of Me
I Need Some Pettin'
Lazy Daddy
Slow River
Royal Garden Blues
Tiger Rag
Three Blind Mice
Wa-Da-Da (Everybody's Doin' It Now)
Somebody Stole My Gal
Love Nest
Three Blind Mice
Louise
Clementine
Ol' Man River
Sorry
For No Reason At All In C
There's A Cradle In Caroline
Dardanella
Goose Pimples
Flock O'Blues
Changes
Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
Big Boy
Our Bungalow Of Dreams
Copenhagen
I'm Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover
Sugar
Take Your Tomorrow (And Give Me Today)
Clarinet Marmalade
Sensation
Since My Best Gal Turned Me Down
Thou Swell
There Ain't No Land Like Dixieland To Me
Oh Baby
Back In Your Own Back Yard
San
When
Louisiana
Mississippi Mud
There'll Come A Time
Jazz Me Blues

Tracks The Sidney Bechet Story

Gone Away Blues
Cake Walking Babies From Home
Strange Fruit
Texas Moaner Blues
Kansas City Man Blues
I'm Speaking My Mind
Indian Summer
Polka Dot Rag
I Know That You Know
Mooche
Stompy Jones
Blame It On The Blues
Wild Man Blues
I'm Coming Virginia
Jungle Drums
Egyptian Fantasy
Sheik Of Araby
Twelfth Street Rag
Pickin' On Your Baby
Preachin' Blues
Georgia Cabin
Blues In The Air
Up In Sidney's Flat
Ole Miss
I Found A New Baby
Mandy Make Up Your Mind
Maple Leaf Rag
Winin' Boy Blues
Four Or Five Times
Milenberg Joys
I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say
I Found A New Baby
Blues In Thirds
Mood Indigo
Rose Room
Dear Old Southland
Sweetie Dear
Really The Blues
Love For Sale
Sweet Patootie
Jeepers Creepers
What Is This Thing Called Love
Oh Didn't He Ramble
I'm A Little Blackbird Looking For A Bluebird
Nobody Knows The Way I Feel 'Dis Morning
Save It Pretty Mama
After You've Gone
Old Stack O'Lee Blues
Shag
Ja Da
House Party
Limehouse Blues
Jackass Blues
China Boy
House Rent Blues (The Stomp)
Muskrat Ramble
Summertime
Old Man Blues
When You And I Were Young Maggie
I Want You Tonight
Laura
Weary Blues
V-Disc Blues
Lazy River
Out Of The Gallion
Shake It And Break It
Tain't A Fit Night Out For Man Or Beast
Perdido Street Blues
Nobody Knows The Way I Feel 'Dis Mornin'
Blue Horizon
When It's Sleepy Time Down South
Fidgety Feet
One O'Clock Jump
Sidney's Blues
I'm Just Wild About Harry
Baby Won't You Please Come Home
Jazz Me Blues
At A Georgia Camp Meeting
Blackstick
Early Every Mornin'
Oh Lady Be Good
Hold Tight (Want Some Seafood Mama)
Lay Your Racket
High Society
Characteristic Blues
Okey-Doke
St. Louis Blues
Pounding Heart Blues
Southern Sunset
Wild Cat Blues
Trixie Blues
Blood On The Moon
Tommy's Blues

Tracks Original Mr Jelly Lord 1923-41

Sweet Anita Mine - Jelly Roll Morton, Jelly Roll Morton & His Orchestra
Steamboat stomp
Freaksih
Doctor Jazz
jungle blues
Panama
Don't You Leave Me Here - Jelly Roll Morton, Jelly Roll Morton's New Orleans Jazzmen
Hyena stomp
Ballin The Jack
Jersey Joe
New Orleans Bump - Jelly Roll Morton, Jelly Roll Morton & His Orchestra
Deep creek
Smoke house blues
Sweet peter
Georgia swing
Freakish - Jelly Roll Morton
Beale street blues
Mint julep
Blue Blood Blues
Soap suds
Climax Rag - Jelly Roll Morton, Jelly Roll Morton's New Orleans Jazzmen
Courthouse Bump - Jelly Roll Morton, Jelly Roll Morton & His Orchestra
Boogaboo
Original Jelly Roll blues
Ponchatrain
Ponchartrain
Blue blood blues
Granpa's Spells
Dead mans blues
Smilin The Blues away
The pearls
Sweet Substitute
Ballin' the Jack - Jelly Roll Morton, Jelly Roll Morton's New Orleans Jazzmen
Midnight mama
New Orleans bump
Shoe shiner's drag
Kansas City stomps
Mr Jelly Lord
Shreveport
Sweet Substitute - Jelly Roll Morton Seven
Turtle twist
Deep Creek Blues
Seattle hunch
Cannon ball blues
The chant
Billy goat stomp
Sidewalk blues
Don't you leave me here
Fussy mabel
Turtle Twist - Jelly Roll Morton Seven, Jelly Roll Morton Trio
Pretty Lil
Climax rag
London blues
Panama - Jelly Roll Morton Seven
Pretty Lil - Jelly Roll Morton, Jelly Roll Morton & His Orchestra
Burnin' the Iceberg - Jelly Roll Morton, Jelly Roll Morton & His Orchestra
Sweet Peter
West End Blues - Jelly Roll Morton, Jelly Roll Morton's New Orleans Jazzmen
Mississippi Mildred
Fussy Mabel
Low gravy
Black bottom stomp
Wild man blues
Sweet Aneta Mine
Mint Julep
Burnin the iceburg
Low Gravy
Courthouse bump
Mississippi Mildred
Smilin' the Blues Away - Jelly Roll Morton Seven, Jelly Roll Morton Trio
Jersey Joe
Seattle Hunch - Jelly Roll Morton
West End Blues
Mournful Serenade

Tracks Tommy Dorsey and His Greatest Band

Marie
Clarinet Cascades
I'm In Love With Someone
Opus No 1
I'm Gettin' Sentimental Over You
Minor Goes Muggin'
On The Sunny Side Of The Street
Wagon Wheels
Rest Stop
Losers Weepers
Boogie Woogie
But She's My Buddy's Chick
Swanee River
Song Of India
That's My Home
Swing High
There Is No Breeze (To Cool The Flame Of Love)
We'll Git It
Land Of Dreams
Like A Leaf In The Wind
Amor

Tracks Johnny Hodges With Billy Strayhorn And The Orchestra

Juice A Plenty - Johnny Hodges
I'm Just A Lucky So-And-So - Billy Strayhorn, Orchestra, Johnny Hodges
Day Dream - Johnny Hodges
Your Love Has Faded - Billy Strayhorn, Orchestra, Johnny Hodges
Gal From Joe's - Johnny Hodges
Stardust - Billy Strayhorn, Orchestra, Johnny Hodges
Tailor Made - Billy Strayhorn, Orchestra, Johnny Hodges
Don't Get Around Much Anymore - Johnny Hodges, Billy Strayhorn
I've Got It Bad And That Ain't Good - Johnny Hodges
Azure - Billy Strayhorn, Orchestra, Johnny Hodges
Jeep's Blues - Johnny Hodges

This album is virtually a showcase for the alto saxophone of Johnny Hodges. The only other soloist on most of the numbers is trombonist Lawrence Brown who is wonderful on "Stardust". He's accompanied by the Duke Ellington band with Billy Strayhorn replacing Ellington at the piano and the crisp drumming throughout is by Sam Woodyard. But half a dozen of the Ellingtonians including Harry Carney and Paul Gonsalves solo on Hodges's own tune, "Tailor Made". All the arrangements were written by Strayhorn and most of the tunes are his or Ellington's, including fine lesser-played pieces like "The Gal From Joe's" and "Azure". Hodges always contrived to be impeccable and inspired at the same time. He was one of the great originals, instantly identifiable by his superb sound, impeccable poise and instinctive feeling for jazz. He was remarkable for many things, not least his ability to play romantic music without ever sounding sentimental or banal. A perfect example of this is on "Your Love Has Faded" where the listener is treated to the sort of playing that caused Charlie Parker to speak of "Johnny Lily Pons Hodges". -Steve Voce-.

Back To Back is an oddity in the Duke Ellington canon, a small-band record that includes not a single Ellington composition and only one Ellington musician, co-leader and alto sax king Johnny Hodges. The repertoire consists of seven classic blues pieces, including three from the pen of W. C. Handy, and the results of this informal 1959 session are nothing short of remarkable. The other major solo voice is Harry "Sweets" Edison, a Count Basie-band veteran who seems particularly inspired on this day. His embrace of the melody on "Basin Street Blues" shows great tenderness laced with simply perfect blues-based accents. Hodges offers a virtual lesson in how to build solos from the ground up, nuzzling the nostalgic melodies at first before adding colourful embellishments. Meanwhile, Ellington's spare improvisations and clever comping offer bold chord choices and typically idiosyncratic timing without overwhelming the basic structure and feeling of the blues. No question, a record of old standards and easygoing statements can be just as powerful as any other. -Marc Greilsamer.

Tracks The Bebop Years

The Way You Look Tonight
I'm In The Mood For Love
Bean-A-Re-Bop
Disorder At The Border
My Ideal
Thru' For The Night
Sweet Lorraine
Smack
Rainbow Mist
It's Only A Paper Moon
Angel Face
I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me
Don't Blame Me
Voodte
Recollections
Pick-Up Boys
Body And Soul
Hallelujah
Bah-U-Bah
When Day Is Done
Woody 'N' You
I Can't Get Started
Imagination
Make Believe
It's The Talk Of The Town
Feeling Zero
Stumpy
You Go To My Head
Nat Meets June
Crazy Rhythm
Rocky Comfort
Bu-Dee-Daht
Blue Moon
Porgy
Under A Blanket Of Blue
How High The Moon
'S Wonderful
Picasso
Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
Isn't It Romantic
Rifftide
Esquire Bounce
Cattin' At Keynote
On The Sunny Side Of The Street
On The Sunny Side Of The Street
On The Bean
Flame Thrower
Battle Of The Saxes
Dedication
El Salon De Gutbucket
Night And Day
"Bean" At The Met
Say It Isn't So
Bean Soup
One O'Clock Jump
Hawk's Variations, Pt. 1 & 2
Undecided
All The Things You Are
What Is There To Say?
Blues Changes
Cocktails For Two
Three Little Words
My Ideal
Phantomesque
Stompin' At The Savoy
Drifting On A Reed
9-20 Special
Flyin' Hawk
How Deep Is The Ocean
Stuffy
April In Paris
Feedin' The Bean
I Only Have Eyes For You
Louise
Just One More Chance
Dinah
I Surrender Dear
Sweet Lorraine
Get Happy
Uptown Lullaby
Just One Of Those Things
Lover Come Back To Me
Yesterdays
Salt Peanuts
Look Out Jack
Hawkins' Barrel House
The Man I Love
Father Co-Operates
Every Man For Himself

There is a slight problem with the title Coleman Hawkins, the Bebop Years: this long look at Hawkins begins in October 1939, only reaching anything identifiable as the bebop years (Monk's debut on record, as Hawk's sideman, in October 1944) towards the end of disc 3. Looking beyond the vagaries of titling (and the budget price of these proper boxed sets helps one to look further), this is a well-chosen series of snapshots of a tenor giant moving from his absolute pomp ("Body and Soul", 1939) through years of consistently high achievement (early 40s) into the challenge of bop (on the fourth disc are four tracks of the wonderful 1945 sextet featuring Howard McGhee and Oscar Pettiford, plus the Hawkins all-star session with Miles and Max Roach) and finally back to Europe for a post-war reunion of sorts. Hawkins was fiercely competitive, even with old friends like Webster and Eldridge, so there is no slacking off of effort from the frontman. Additionally, one of the most notable developments traced here is a new and uncluttered rhythmic ease. He chose his phrases more carefully, went for contrast and drama with great precision and became the more telling soloist for it. This is a valuable four-CD document, in good sound. -Keith Shadwick.

Tracks Side By Side

Big Shoe - Johnny Hodges And His Orchestra
Stompy Jones - Johnny Hodges, Duke Ellington
Ruint - Johnny Hodges And His Orchestra
Squeeze Me - Johnny Hodges, Duke Ellington
Bend One - Johnny Hodges And His Orchestra
Just A Memory - Johnny Hodges And His Orchestra
Going Up - Johnny Hodges, Duke Ellington
Let's Fall In Love - Johnny Hodges And His Orchestra, Duke Ellington
You Need To Rock - Johnny Hodges And His Orchestra

Of all the huge number of Ellington recordings, very few feature his unique piano work at any length, and those that do are usually unpopulated with front-line horns. By contrast, the three tracks here that involve him (and those on the Back To Back album from the same session) show him interacting with Johnny Hodges and trumpeter Harry Edison in a unique sextet. Edison, Les Spann (guitar/flute), Al Hall (bass) and ex-Basie drummer Jo Jones were musicians he was unaccustomed to working with, and the inspirational sparks flew. A storming version of "Stompy Jones" (especially during the piano solo and closing ensemble), the lesser-known "Goin' Up" from the movie Cabin In The Sky, plus Fats Waller's "Squeeze Me" are performances to treasure. More conventional but not inferior are the remaining septet tracks led by Hodges with Billy Strayhorn on piano, Ben Webster, Lawrence Brown and Roy Eldridge. All the tunes are played at various medium tempos, and everything is imbued with relaxed swing. Once more, the combination of a Ducal atmosphere with the non-Ellingtonians Eldridge and Jo Jones (again) makes for a highly successful performance. -Brian Priestley.

Tracks The Five Pennies [Us Import]

Music Goes Round and Round The - Danny Kaye/Susan Gordon
Lullaby in Ragtime - Danny Kaye/Louis Armstrong
Goodnight Sleep Tight Medley - Danny Kaye/Louis Armstrong/Susan Gordon
Just the Blues - Louis Armstrong
Wail of the Winds - Red Nichols & His Five Pennies
Battle Hymn of the Republic - Red Nichols & His Five Pennies
Indiana Radio Montage - Danny Kaye/Leigh Stevens & Orchestra
Jingle Bells - Danny Kaye
Main Title - Leith Stevens & Orchestra
Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home - Louis Armstrong/Danny Kaye
After You've Gone - Louis Armstrong
Five Pennies The - Danny Kaye
Back Home in Indiana - Red Nichols & His Five Pennies
Good Night Sleep Tight - Barbara Bel Geddes
Five Pennies Saints The - Danny Kaye/Louis Armstrong
Five Pennies Finale/Battle Hymn Of Republic
Carnival of Venice - Danny Kaye
College Montage/Follow The Leader - Danny Kaye/Red Nichols & His Five Pennies

Tracks Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy

Hesitating Blues
Atlanta Blues (Make Me One Pallet On Your Foot)
Louis Armstrong Monologue
Aunt Hagar's Blues
Louis Armstrong's Alligator Story
Ole Miss
Yellow Dog Blues
Beale Street Blues
Memphis Blues (Or Mister Crump)
Long Gone
Chantez Les Bas (Sing 'em Low)
Long Gone (2)
Loveless Love
St Louis Blues
Hesitating Blues (2)
Loveless Love (2)
Interview With WC Handy

A wonderful meeting of two institutions of American music, this 1954 album was the finest recording of Louis Armstrong's later career, with the great trumpeter-singer turning to material that was very close to his roots. Both W. C. Handy and Armstrong had a complex relationship with the blues, an essential source for both Handy's popular songs and Armstrong's improvisational art, and these recordings touch on the heart of the matter. On "Yellow Dog Blues," a product of Handy's own early and chance encounter with the rural blues, there's a majesty that recalls Armstrong's early recordings with Bessie Smith. Armstrong is clearly inspired by the classic material and the chance to stretch out on record, and his regular band of the period joins in perfectly. Trombonist Trummy Young, clarinetist Barney Bigard, pianist Billy Kyle, and singer Velma Middleton contribute stellar solos and support, while bassist Arvell Shaw and drummer Barrett Deems do an exceptional job of keeping the slower tempos rock steady. This is a deeply moving and consummately executed performance. -Stuart Broomer.

Tracks Jazz in Paris - Louis Armstrong and Friends

Sweet Georgia Brown - Johnson, Freddy & Arthur Briggs All Star Orchestra
Super Tiger Rag - Armstrong, Louis
Japanese Sandman - Briggs, Arthur & Louis Cole
St Louis Blues - Armstrong, Louis
St Louis Blues - Armstrong, Louis
Montparnasse Jump - Polo, Danny & His Swing Stars
China Boy - Polo, Danny & His Swing Stars
Wo Ist Der Mann - Johnson, Freddy & His Jazz/Marlene Dietrich
I Got Rhythm - Briggs, Arthur & Louis Cole
Will You Won't You Be My Baby - Armstrong, Louis
Goodbye To Summer - Keller, Greta
Foxy And Grapesy - Johnson, Freddy & Arthur Briggs All Star Orchestra
On The Sunny Side Of The Street - Armstrong, Louis
Doing The Gorgonzola - Polo, Danny & His Swing Stars
Grabbin' Blues - Briggs, Arthur & Louis Cole
Polo Naise - Polo, Danny & His Swing Stars
I'm Gonna Lock My Heart (And Throw Away The Key) - Keller, Greta
Song Of The Vipers - Armstrong, Louis
Nobody's Sweetheart - Briggs, Arthur & Louis Cole

This beautiful album was engineered by Rudy Van Gelder in his Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home studio where so much jazz history was made. It features guitar innovators Lonnie Johnson and Elmer Snowden together for the first time-despite a friendship going back to the 1920s when both appeared on some of the earliest jazz and blues 78s. Johnson, the father of single-note six-string soloing, is in marvelous voice on this selection of blues, ballads, and jazz, crooning the double-entendre "Jelly Roll Baker" and the heartache-laden "Back Water Blues" (a Bessie Smith tune he first cut in 1927) with a marksman's sense of pitch and chilling nuance. Snowden serves mostly as accompanist. But these men play so closely that they seem to be sharing every breath. -Ted Drozdowski.

Review King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band 1923-1924 / Joe 'King' Oliver:

Review Complete Recorded Works 1926-1930 / Jelly Roll Morton:

Review The Original Guitar Wizard / Lonnie Johnson:

Review Porgy And Bess / Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong:

Review Gentle Hawk / Coleman Hawkins:

Review The Bix Beiderbecke Story: 4cd Set / Bix Beiderbecke:

Review The Sidney Bechet Story / Sidney Bechet:

Review The Best of the Black and White Minstrels / George Mitchell Minstrels:

Review Original Mr Jelly Lord 1923-41 / Jelly Roll Morton:

Review Tommy Dorsey and His Greatest Band / Tommy Dorsey:

Review Jazz Greats / Sidney Bechet:

Review Johnny Hodges With Billy Strayhorn And The Orchestra / Johnny Hodges Billy Strayhorn:

Review Back to Back: Duke Ellington & Johnny Hodges Play the Blues/Remastered / Duke Ellington:

Review The Bebop Years / Coleman Hawkins:

Review Side By Side / Duke Ellington Johnny Hodges:

Review The Five Pennies [Us Import] / Original Soundtrack:

Review Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy / Louis Armstrong:

Review I Can't Get Started / Warren Vache:

Review Jazz in Paris - Louis Armstrong and Friends / Louis Armstrong:

Review Blues & Ballads / Lonnie Johnson with Elmer Snowden: