Louis Armstrong - The Ultimate Collection (3CD Box Set) - 2000

Product Description: Recorded between October 1924 and July 1968. Digitally remastered by Kevin Reeves (Universal Mastering Studios-East).

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Louis Armstrong - The Ultimate Collection (3CD Box Set) - 2000

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This three-CD collection provides a remarkable overview of Louis Armstrong's career, beginning with 1924 recordings with Fletcher Henderson's orchestra and carrying all the way through the decades to include the pop hits from the 1960s, like "Hello, Dolly" and "What a Wonderful World." Along the way, there's plenty to document Armstrong's position as the first great soloist of jazz, its first great singer, and a popular entertainer whose charm was as unique as his musical talent.
The 1920s are represented by his stellar performances as a "sideman" to regular associates, like his wife, Lil Hardin Armstrong, and clarinetist Johnny Dodds. The 1930s find him leading his own bands, big and small, and recording with Jimmy Dorsey and Bing Crosby ("Pennies from Heaven"), and the Mills Brothers. The '40s and '50s are the years of the All-Stars, with Armstrong's trumpet joyously exploding in the company of such fellow giants as trombonist Jack Teagarden and pianist Earl Hines.
He was also creating richly nostalgic recordings like "Blueberry Hill," and singing duets with the finest jazz singers of the period, women whose own art had been shaped in different ways by Armstrong's–Billie Holiday on "You Can't Lose a Broken Heart" and Ella Fitzgerald on "Stompin' at the Savoy." Armstrong's humor shows up on a mock recreation of a New Orleans jazz funeral and a version of "You Rascal, You" with Louis Jordan, and his brilliant trumpet is everywhere in evidence. Just as important as what's here is what's left out. Many of Armstrong's greatest recordings–-those with King Oliver, all the Hot Fives and Hot Sevens of the late 1920s, the 1947 Town Hall concert, the '50s tributes to W.C. Handy and Fats Waller, and the late encounter with Duke Ellington–aren't touched. What's left is a fascinating and satisfying portrait of Armstrong that doesn't necessarily lead to a great deal of duplication in an expanding collection of his work.

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Louis Armstrong - The Ultimate Collection (3CD Box Set) - 2000

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Review: The flood of Armstrong collections and boxed sets has only grown in the aftermath of Ken Burns’ Jazz documentary. If you’re in the market for one, Verve’s latest triple-disc release would have to rank as an exceptionally good value. With 21 tracks on the first two discs and 17 on the third, there’s no skimping at all. The packaging is attractive and durable, and the thick booklet contains photos, artwork, a biographical essay by Alun Morgan, and meticulous, track-by-track annotation. The music spans the better part of the American Century, from 1924 to 1968, underscoring the stunning breadth of Armstrong’s recording career. From the Vocalion and Decca 78s of the 1920s and 30s to the pop hits of the 60s ("Hello Dolly," "What a Wonderful World"), the compilation plays out like a mini-movie of Armstrong’s volatile and monstrously influential career. There’s unevenness in sound quality — in a couple of instances extreme — as one proceeds from track to track, but that’s the nature of the beast. The remastering by Kevin Reeves is commendable. On the majority of these tracks, Armstrong is featured with various orchestras: his own and those of Fletcher Henderson, Erskine Tate, Jimmy Dorsey, Gordon Jenkins, and Sy Oliver. Glories abound, of course, but the freshest and most captivating cuts are with the oddball small groups, such as Jimmy Bertrand’s Washboard Wizards, who perform "I’m Goin’ Huntin’." With just Armstrong, Bertrand on washboard and woodblocks, Johnny Dodds on clarinet, and Jimmy Blythe on piano, this 1927 ensemble zips along with an economy quite unlike anything else on the album. (Bertrand’s woodblocks suggest the aural equivalent of tap dancing.) There’s a similar uniqueness in Armstrong’s partnership with the Mills Brothers a decade later, on the track "In the Shade of the Old Maple Tree," or in the 1940 small group with Sidney Bechet that performs "Perdido Street Blues," "2:19 Blues," and "Coal Cart Blues." Also a gem is the 1950-51 All Stars lineup with Earl Hines, which takes the stage toward the end of disc two. ("You Rascal, You," a vocal duet with Louis Jordan, ought to give us a bit of historical perspective on the Eminem controversy. How’s this for a blues chorus: "I’m gonna kill you just for fun, you rascal, you/I’m gonna kill you just for fun, you rascal, you/I’m gonna kill you just for fun/The bugs can have you when I’m done/I’ll be glad when you’re dead, you rascal, you." Slap a warning sticker on the thing and alert Charlton Heston.) Giving a good, hard listen to this anthology is a tonic, for it enables us to encounter the music as it is, without the grating hagiography that is Ken Burns’s stock in trade.

Track Listing:

CD1
01 - Copenhagen - 3:01
02 - Shanghai Shuffle - 2:50
03 - Stomp Off, Let's Go - 2:55
04 - Drop That Sack - 2:49
05 - Melancholy - 3:09
06 - I'm Goin' Huntin' - 2:57
07 - I'm in the Mood for Love - 3:13
08 - On Treasure Island - 3:06
09 - Thanks a Million - 2:40
10 - Ev'ntide - 2:53
11 - Dippermouth Blues - 2:47
12 - Swing That Music - 2:52
13 - Pennies From Heaven - 4:22
14 - On the Sunny Side of the Street - 2:58
15 - Once in a While - 3:12
16 - In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree - 2:20
17 - Jubilee - 2:39
18 - When the Saints Go Marching In - 2:46
19 - Shadrack - 2:36
20 - Ain't Misbehavin - 2:56
21 - Jeepers Creepers - 2:38

CD2
01 - Rockin' Chair - 3:17
02 - West End Blues - 3:12
03 - Savoy Blues - 3:14
04 - Hear Me Talkin' to Ya - 3:07
05 - I'm Confessin' - 3:16
06 - You're a Lucky Guy - 3:19
07 - Wolverine Blues - 3:20
08 - Sweethearts on Parade - 2:51
09 - Perdido Street Blues - 3:07
10 - 2:19 Blues - 2:54
11 - Coal Cart Blues - 2:59
12 - Groovin' - 2:53
13 - Royal Garden Blues - 5:04
14 - Mahogany Hall Stomp - 3:55
15 - Blueberry Hill - 2:54
16 - You Can't Lose a Broken Heart - 3:16
17 - My Bucket's Got a Hole in It - 3:45
18 - Panama - 5:05
19 - New Orleans Function Flee as a Bird / Oh, Didn't He Ramble - 6:47
20 - You Rascal, You - 3:07
21 - My Monday Date - 6:30

CD3
01 - A Kiss to Build a Dream On - 3:05
02 - It's All in the Game - 3:24
03 - Someday You'll Be Sorry - 3:08
04 - Basin Street Blues - 5:57
05 - When It's Sleepy Time Down South - 3:22
06 - I Can't Give You Anything but Love - 4:23
07 - Weary Blues - 3:04
08 - Wild Man Blues - 4:01
09 - Dippermouth Blues - 3:20
10 - Dear Old Southland - 4:15
11 - Stompin' at the Savoy - 5:17
12 - I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues - 4:00
13 - Sweet Lorraine - 5:15
14 - Hello, Dolly - 2:28
15 - What a Wonderful World - 2:24
16 - Cabaret - 2:50
17 - Dream a Little Dream of Me - 3:17


Personnel: Louis Armstrong (vocals, trumpet, cornet); John Mills, Sr. (vocals, guitar); Edmond Hall (vocals, clarinet); Louis Jordan (vocals, alto saxophone); Jack Teagarden, Pee Wee Hunt (vocals, trombone); Ella Fitzgerald, Frances Langford, Donald Mills, Harry Mills, Billie Holiday, Bing Crosby, Herbert Mills (vocals); Dave Barbour, Everett Barksdale, Allen Hanlon, Willard Suyker, Lee Blair, Herb Ellis, Jack Blanchette, Art Ryerson, Allan Reuss, Roc Hillman, Tony Rizzi, Bernard Addison, Bill Jennings, Carl Kress, Carmen Mastren (guitar); Tony Gattuso, Johnny St. Cyr, Bud Scott, Charlie Dixon (banjo); Sidney Bechet, Buster Bailey (clarinet, soprano saxophone); Don Redman, Rupert Cole, Jimmy Dorsey, Milt Yaner, Charlie Holmes (clarinet, alto saxophone); Coleman Hawkins, Fred Williams, Bingie Madison, Albert Nicholas, Barney Bigard, Al Klink (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Angelo Fernandez, Sid Stoneburn, Joe Muranyi, Joe Darensbourg, Johnny Dodds (clarinet); Jerome Richardson, Sam Marowitz (woodwinds); Stump Evans (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Willard Brown, John Brown , Jack Stacey, Art Ralston, Henry Jones, John Brown, Johnny Mince, Sid Cooper, George Dorsey (alto saxophone); Pat Nizza (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Dexter Gordon, Thomas Parshley, Eddie Miller, Dent Eckels, Fud Livingston, Norval Morton, Art Drelinger, Dan d'Andrea, Pat Davis, Joe Garland, Lucky Thompson, Teddy McRae, Skeets Herfurt, Josh Jackson, Greely Walton (tenor saxophone); Earnest Thompson, Raymond Stanfeld, Dave McRae , Kenny Sargent (baritone saxophone); Andrew Ferretti, Clark Terry, George Thow, Carl Poole, Bruce Hudson, Elmer Chambers, Leonard Davis, Howard Scott , Frank Zullo, Frank Beach, Bernard Flood, Bob Cusmano, Thomas Grider, Gus Aiken, Grady Watts, Otis Johnson, Howard Scott , Cappy Lewis, Louis Bacon, Aaron Izenhall, Joe Wilder, Murray McEachern, Sonny Dunham, Tutti Camarata, Yank Lawson, Billy Butterfield, Shelton Hemphill, Bernie Privin, Buddy Childers (trumpet); Milt Bernhart, Taswell Baird, Al Philburn, Joe Yukl, Phil Giardina, George Washington , Roy Palmer, Harry White, Adam Martin, J.C. Higginbotham, Jack Satterfield, Fayette Williams, Don Mattison, Marshal Cram, Larry Anderson , Jimmy Archey, Kid Ory, Lou McGarity, Tyree Glenn, Urbie Green, Wilbur DeParis, Will Bradley, Trummy Young, Claude Jones, Cutty Cutshall, Bobby Byrne, Charlie Green, Lloyd Ulyate (trombone); Ralph Escudero (tuba); Dick Cary, Teddy Weatherford, Fletcher Henderson, Nat Jaffe, Bobby Van Eps, Hank Jones , Howard Hall, Jimmy Blythe, Lil Armstrong, Luis Russell, Marty Napoleon, Oscar Peterson, Bernie Leighton, Billy Kyle , Bill Doggett, Charlie LaVere, Earl Hines (piano); Paul Barbarin (vibraphone, drums); Jimmy Bertrand (drums, washboard); Cozy Cole, Danny Barcelona, James Harris , Grady Tate, Ed Grady, Tony Briglia, Jimmy Crawford , Louie Bellson, Alvin Stoller, Nick Fatool, Ray McKinley, Sam Weiss, Big Sid Catlett, Baby Dodds, Barrett Deems, Zutty Singleton,

Personnel includes: Louis Armstrong (vocals, trumpet, cornet); Don Redman (vocals, alto saxophone, clarinet); Louis Jordan (vocals, alto saxophone); Jack Teagarden (vocals, trombone); Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald (vocals); Buster Bailey, Sidney Bechet (soprano saxophone, clarinet); Jimmy Dorsey (alto saxophone, clarinet); Coleman Hawkins (tenor saxophone, clarinet); Barney Bigard, Dexter Gordon (tenor saxophone); Henry "Red" Allen (trumpet); J.C. Higginbotham, Kid Ory (trombone); Johnny Dodds (clarinet); Fletcher Henderson, Lil Armstrong, Earl Hines, Oscar Peterson (piano); Herb Ellis (guitar); Pops Foster, Ray Brown (bass); Kaiser Marshall, Baby Dodds, Ray McKinley, Sid Catlett, Cozy Cole, Louis Bellson (drums).

Producers include: Milt Gabler, Norman Granz, Michael Kapp, Bob Thiele.Q (3/01, p.116) - 4 stars out of 5 - "…Each side of the man is represented….proving that 'quality' Louis doesn't start and finish with those oft-lauded Hot Fives or Hot Sevens periods…"