Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy

1	St. Louis Blues / Louis Armstrong 8:52
2	Yellow Dog Blues / Louis Armstrong 4:17
3	Loveless Love / Louis Armstrong 4:29
4	Aunt Hagar's Blues / Louis Armstrong 4:58
5	Long Gone (From the Bowlin' Green) / Louis Armstrong 5:10
6	The Memphis Blues (Or Mister Crump) / Louis Armstrong 3:00
7	Beale Street Blues / Louis Armstrong 4:57
8	Ole Miss Blues / Louis Armstrong 3:26
9	Chantez Les Bas (Sing 'Em Low) / Louis Armstrong 4:49
10	Hesitating Blues / Louis Armstrong 5:21
11	Atlanta Blues (Make Me One Pallet on Your Floor) / Louis Armstrong 4:34
12	George Avakian's Interview With W.C. Handy / Louis Armstrong previously unreleased 2:45
13	Loveless Love / Louis Armstrong previously unreleased / Rehearsal Sequence 5:56
14	Hesitating Blues / Louis Armstrong previously unreleased / Rehearsal Sequence 5:40
15	Alligator Story / Louis Armstrong previously unreleased 0:47
16	Long Gone (From the Bowlin' Green) / Louis Armstrong previously unreleased / Rehearsal Sequence 7:53

Barnes & Noble

Today, William Christopher Handy is regarded more as a musical anthropologist who profited highly from the tunes he gathered in the field than as a composer. However, whether or not he actually wrote the raw material he edited into blues and jazz classics, Handy's machinations served a major role in establishing the blues as a major force in American pop. Handy also gave us dozens of the most playable and singable blues ever put on paper, as Armstrong reestablishes with this 1954 collection of 12 of the best-known works by the "Father of the Blues." This is probably the most familiar edition of Armstrong's All-Stars, starring trombonist Trummy Young, clarinetist Barney Bigard, and singer Velma Middleton. The first of two Satchlemouthed composer collections produced by George Avakian (the other was SATCH PLAYS FATS), LOUIS PLAYS HANDY is as major a meeting of men and material as has ever beenrecorded. Will Friedwald

All Music Guide

This recording was not only Louis Armstrong's finest record of the 1950s but one of the truly classic jazz sets. Armstrong and his All-Stars (trombonist Trummy Young, clarinetist Barney Bigard, pianist Billy Kyle, bassist Arvell Shaw, drummer Barrett Deems, and singer Velma Middleton) were clearly inspired by the fresh repertoire, 11 songs written by W.C. Handy. Their nearly nine-minute version of "St. Louis Blues" (with witty vocals, roaring Young trombone, and a couple of long majestic trumpet solos) is arguably the greatest version of the oft-recorded song. Other highlights include "Loveless Love," "Beale Street Blues," and a romping version of "Ole Miss Blues." The CD reissue also includes rehearsal versions of three songs, Louis Armstrong telling a joke, and a brief George Avakian interview with W.C. Handy. Essential music for all serious jazz collections. Scott Yanow