In 1933,
Louis Armstrong
was filmed playing before a live audience in Copenhagen, performing
"I Cover the Waterfront,"
"Dinah"
and
"Tiger Rag."
In addition to being an exciting document to watch, it ranks as possibly the first in-concert
jazz
performance saved for posterity. Its soundtrack launches the
In Scandinavia
four-CD set which includes all of the existing music from
Armstrong
's many visits through the years to that part of the world. There are three songs from a Stockholm concert a week after the 1933 film and two numbers by the 1949
All-Stars
that include
Jack Teagarden
Earl Hines
. These are erratically recorded and there is a lot of fooling around, but it is great to hear
Satch
's 1933 solo on
"On the Sunny Side of the Street"
and the clowning by
Teagarden
Barney Bigard
on
"Twelfth Street Rag."
The remainder of this box is better recorded, featuring the
Louis Armstrong All-Stars
of 1952, 1955, 1959 and 1967. Most of the material was previously unreleased until these sets became initially available as individual CDs.
is in wonderful form throughout, enjoying himself entertaining large enthusiastic crowds. Even though one can sing some of his set solos note-for-note while hearing these versions for the first time,
's sound and feeling generate a lot of excitement. While
Trummy Young
is the trombonist on the great majority of the performances (
Tyree Glenn
is on the 1967 date), it is interesting to compare the clarinet solos of
Bob McCracken
,
Peanuts Hucko
Edmond Hall
, who sometimes are featured in different years on the same songs. Pianist
Marty Napoleon
is surprisingly boppish in the 1952 concert, much different than
Billy Kyle
would be during his long stint with
Pops
. There is much to discover even on the warhorses.
fans will definitely want this joyous box. ~ Scott Yanow