About this Artist

• Biography

Editorial Reviews

The recordings that Louis Armstrong cut with his Hot Five and Hot Seven units in Chicago in the mid-to-late 1920s are as important as any made in the history of recorded music. Not only did they establish Armstrong as a star performer; they brought the art of jazz improvisation, as personified by Louis, to wider public attention. For it’s on these monumental sides that the brilliant trumpeter and vocalist honed his skills as a bravura soloist. As stirring as the New Orleans-style ensemble work is throughout these performances, it’s Armstrong’s own horn work and scat singing that cuts right through, drawing full attention to his incomparable technique and high style as an improvising artist. This collection skims the cream off the Louis Armstrong: The Complete Hot Fives and Sevens Recordings box set, gathering some of the very finest works of Armstrong’s staggeringly creative career. How do you sing the glories of such time-honored performances as “West End Blues,” “Heebie Jeebies,” “Muggles,” or “Wild Man Blues”? You can only hope that every citizen of the world who is serious about music has heard them. Steve Futterman, Barnes & Noble

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