Louis Armstrong Archives - Paul – and some of that Jazz

From the Record Shelves #346 – Railroad Blues – When Louis Armstrong got the job as a soloist in New York with Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra, he took a leap on his way to stardom. He may not have felt at home like he did in New Orleans or with King Oliver in Chicago, but his qualities became evident (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #339 – Papa De-Da-Da – Step into the time machine and travel back a century. On March 4 in 1925, a band under the leadership of Clarence Williams was in the studio to record and promote one of his own compositions (in partnership with Spencer Williams). His wife, Eva Taylor (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #326 – Speak Now Or Hereafter Hold Your Peace – In the 1990s this series came with a new approach to releasing, and on the other end, listening to jazz music, presenting in chronological order everything recorded, including alternative takes and surviving live (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #317 – Nobody but My Baby – It says “Louis Armstrong’s Original Washboard Beaters” on the label. So, what was going on here? Did they try to capitalize on Armstrong’s growing fame in Europe? Was it no mistake, just a way of selling more copies? Well, it might have been the (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #305 – Medley – Biopics are more or less irritating, but much is forgiven in this one because of the good acting of Danny Kay and the participation of Louis Armstrong. Maybe it should be seen as a film loosely inspired by the life of Red Nichols or (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #278 After You’ve Gone – For a period when I was about fifteen, I listened to this every day. Same program every morning. My mother woke me up, and after I had been to the toilet and got dressed, she had the porridge ready. Most of the time, I had (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #275 – I Ain’t Gonna Play No Second Fiddle – Before leaving New York for Chicago at the end of 1925, Louis Armstrong had one last session. The leader was the very busy pianist, composer and manager Perry Bradford, who called his studio band (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #267 – Savoy Blues – Now I happen to stumble upon a Kid Ory’s Creole Jazz Band recording again. The LP presents interesting things meant to be “gap filling for collectors”.This one from AFRS Jubilee Broadcast and was recorded in Hollywood (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #259 – You’re Lucky to Me – Louis Armstrong on record! We hear him breaking out of Oliver’s Creole Jazzband, either as a soloist with Fletcher Henderson or accompanying Bessie Smith and other great singers. We hear him dominating his (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #257 – Everybody Loves My Baby – I may be wrong, but I have the impression that the early recordings of the Clarence Williams Blue Five featuring Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet have always been a bit hard to find, especially since I started to (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #234 – Melancholy – There’s a special atmosphere in this fine recording featuring Johnny Dodds and Louis Armstrong. This is April 1927, and the couple plus drummer Baby Dodds recorded the tune again only a few weeks later (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Studio #10 – Dinah – Here is a jam on Dinah. The tune is from Akst-Lewis-Young and was published in 1925. Ethel Waters sang it, and Jean Goldkette’s Orchestra made an instrumental record. Other memorable versions are the ones of Bing Crosby with (…) read more and listenread more and listen