Louis Armstrong tends to get the latter part of his career dismissed because his concerts tended to play the same traditional material. To that complaint, I always ask, “Were you expecting him to perform ‘So What’?” Yes, his concerts had a mostly closed canon, but for Pete’s sake, he invented the genre!
Anyway, while his concerts were mostly of one genre, his albums of the mid 50s reflected a complete Renaissance for Armstrong. He did a series of tributes to Fats Waller and WC Handy, a pair of classic duets with Ella Fitzgerald, and as this four disc set shows, a handful of albums in a variety of settings that are modern, inclusive and timeless.
A pair of albums, I’ve Got the World On a String and Louis Under the Stars from 1957 studio dates with Russell Garcia’s orchestra are gorgeous delights. Garcia’s arrangements for these two albums are considered textbook perfect in terms of framing a vocalist, and with Armstrong at the mic, the stars were in perfect alignment. Armstrong is in Tootsie Roll richness on Duke Ellington’s “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” and “Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me.” His read of “I’ve Got the World on the String” is confident and insouciant, while “Stormy Weather” is simply definitive.
Whoever thought of having a summit meeting between Armstrong and Oscar Peterson’s trio +1 (Herb Ellis/g, Ray Brown/b and Louis Bellson/dr) should have been given a extra 2 week vacation, as it’s a gorgeous and transcendental session, crossing across all musical and cultural borders. Armstrong’s horn is sweet and lyrical, blithely floating along Peterson’s piano on “What’s New?”, and when he sings the chorus, the heavens open up in passion.” Likewise, “You Go To My Head” has Armstrong amazingly world weary and reflective, while “Sweet Lorraine” oozes with hope and delight.
The final disc includes master takes along with false starts and alternatives of a ribald “Makin’ Whoopee,” a bouncy “I Get a Kick Out of You” a mischievous “Let’s Do It” and a floating “Willow Weep For Me.” All of these were originally released on Ella and Louis Again back in 1957, but the fact that Satchmo put out such a plethora of strong material in just a handful of sessions in August and October 1957 showed that the legend still had more to say, and he knew how to say it! Essential!
Verve Records