Stompin'

Louis Armstrong & his Orchestra: Coal Cart Blues [Removed]
Louis Armstrong & his Dixieland Seven: Mahogany Hall Stomp [Removed]
From Satchmo in the 40's: ASV Living Era CD AJA 5402 [Buy Here]

Righto, etnobofin is slowly moving towards becoming almost completely about music, so rather than resist this movement, I'm going to embrace the error of my ways and start audioblogging.

And what better way to start than with the acknowledged master of my chosen instrument, Louis Armstrong, here recorded with some pretty hot sidemen - Sidney Bechet on Coal Cart Blues, Kid Ory and Barney Bigard on Mahogany Hall Stomp.

Image: Louis Armstrong House and Archives, Queens College, CUNY

For me, the greatest trumpet players have been vocalists, whether they know it or not - Armstrong, Miles Davis, Tomasz Stanko, Kenny Wheeler. And Louis Armstrong was possibly the greatest exponent of the understated, well-turned phrase, whether on his Hot Fives and Sevens from the 20s or his duets with Ella in the 50s. Hell, he even made What a Wonderful World into a great record.