The Ultimate Collection [Verve]

Disc 1
1	Copenhagen / Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra 3:00
2	Shanghai Shuffle / Fletcher Henderson 2:50
3	Stomp off, Let's Go / Erskine Tate 2:55
4	Drop That Sack / Lil's Hot Shots 2:49
5	Melancholy / Johnny Dodds' Black Bottom Stompers 3:08
6	I'm Goin' Huntin' / Jimmy Bertrand's Washboard Wizards 2:56
7	I'm in the Mood for Love 3:12
8	On Treasure Island 3:06
9	Thanks a Million 2:39
10	Ev'ntide 2:53
11	Dippermouth Blues / Jimmy Dorsey 2:46
12	Swing That Music / Jimmy Dorsey 2:51
13	Pennies from Heaven / Jimmy Dorsey 4:22
14	On the Sunny Side of the Street 2:58
15	Once in a While 3:11
16	In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree / Mills Brothers 2:20
17	Jubilee 2:39
18	When the Saints Go Marching In 2:45
19	Shadrack 2:35
20	Ain't Misbehavin' 2:56
21	Jeepers Creepers 2:37
Disc 2
1	Rockin' Chair / Casa Loma Orchestra 3:16
2	West End Blues 3:11
3	Savoy Blues 3:13
4	Hear Me Talkin' to Ya? 3:06
5	I'm Confessin' (That I Love You) 3:15
6	You're a Lucky Guy / Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra 3:18
7	Wolverine Blues 3:19
8	Sweethearts on Parade 2:51
9	Perdido Street Blues 3:07
10	2:19 Blues 2:53
11	Coal Cart Blues 2:58
12	Groovin' 2:53
13	Royal Garden Blues 5:03
14	Mahogany Hall Stomp 3:54
15	Blueberry Hill 2:53
16	You Can't Lose a Broken Heart / Sy Oliver's Orchestra 3:15
17	My Bucket's Got a Hole in It 3:44
18	Panama 5:05
19	New Orleans Function/Free as a Bird 6:46
20	You Rascal You / Louis Jordan & His Tympany 5 3:07
21	A Monday Date 6:29
Disc 3
1	A Kiss to Build a Dream On / Sy Oliver's Orchestra 3:04
2	It's All in the Game 3:24
3	Someday You'll Be Sorry / Commanders 3:08
4	Basin Street Blues 5:56
5	When It's Sleepy Time Down South 3:22
6	I Can't Give You Anything But Love / Sy Oliver's Orchestra 4:23
7	Weary Blues 3:04
8	Wild Man Blues 4:01
9	Dippermouth Blues 3:19
10	Dear Old Southland 4:14
11	Stompin' at the Savoy / Ella Fitzgerald 5:16
12	I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues 3:59
13	Sweet Lorraine / Oscar Peterson 5:14
14	Hello, Dolly! 2:27
15	What a Wonderful World 2:23
16	Cabaret 2:50
17	Dream a Little Dream of Me / Louis Armstrong & His All-Stars 3:16

Barnes & Noble

More than the music's premier trumpeter and vocalist, Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) was the major wellspring of jazz and American pop, the source from which soloists, singers, and orchestrators alike all learned their basic vocabulary. This three-CD set attempts the daunting task of anthologizing the Great Man's multigenerational career under a single roof. Virtually the only thing that's missing are his breakthrough Hot Five recordings of the mid-'20s, although the era is well sampled via other recordings of the period, and though the original classic "West End Blues" isn't here, a fine later remake is. Otherwise, the whole career is pretty well touched upon,encompassing Armstrong's days as a sideman with Fletcher Henderson ("Copenhagen"), his own recording units of the '20s ("Drop That Sack," with Armstrong's band working under his wife's name); his fine big band of the swing era ("Thanks a Million"); duets and meetings with guest stars (such as Jack Teagarden and the Mills Brothers), his more-Dixieland-styled All Stars units of the later years (the great "New Orleans Function"); his "musical autobiography" of 1956 ("Wild Man Blues") and his many charted hit singles as a pop star in the '50s and '60s ("Kiss to Build a Dream On," "Hello Dolly"). No one had a longer or more diverse career than Armstrong, and no one did more to establish what jazz would sound like, then, now, and forever. Will Friedwald

All Music Guide

Covering over 50 years of Louis Armstrong's career, this three-CD set from the Verve archives starts in the juke joints and speakeasies of the '20s and ends up documenting his pop hits of the '60s. Chronicling the achievements of a prolific and diverse performer of Anderson's caliber is difficult, but this release gives a strong, broad overview of one of the great pioneers of jazz. The Ultimate Collection features jazz greats such as Coleman Hawkins, "Fatha" Earl Hines, and Jack Teagarden, as well as vocal performances by Billie Holiday, Bing Crosby, the Mills Brothers, Ella Fitzgerald, and many others. Zac Johnson