Glorious Louis Armstrong

For this French-issued CD, Andre Francis, a French jazz critic, has put together a representative selection of Louis Armstrong's best recordings for the period 1923-1945. (Shades of Hughes Panassie, the famed critic, whose earlier exegesis of American jazz so incensed Eddie Condon!) Francis calls this disc "The Glory Years" and it's a justifiable title in the sense that all of Louie's 50-plus years as a performer were glorious, some a little more, some a little less. This collection starts from the very early days, reflected in 1923's "Tears", when he was playing 2nd trumpet to King Oliver. Later presssings show his full blown artistry in such numbers as "West End Blues" and later in a rollicking rendition of "Jack Armstrong Blues." Aside from Louis' typically lyrical trumpet improvisations, the disc reminds us of his leading role in the development of scat singing. An further plus for this CD is the inclusion of a brochure listing the personnel for most of the takes, including such luminaries as Sydney Bechet, Kid Ory, Johnny Dodds, Earl Hines, J.C. Higginbotham, Dexter Gordon, Billy Butterfield, Bobby Hackett, etc., etc, and not forgetting Louis's wife, Lil, on piano.