Excellent Music, But Consider Buying it in a Different Form

This is a great set of absolutely essential jazz, nicely remastered by the great Phil Schaap. This makes it all the more unfortunate that the packaging, though attractive, is shoddily made and POTENTIALLY VERY DAMAGING TO THE DISCS. They fit too tightly into the cardboard sleeves, which can cause scratches when you insert and remove the discs. What's worse, it is very easy for the glue from the seams of the sleeves to transfer to the discs, rendering them completely unplayable in some cases.



Accordingly, if you can tolerate a bit more surface noise, you might want to consider the JSP set "The Hot Fives & Sevens" (4 discs; ASIN: B00001ZWLP) and/or "The Big Band Recordings: 1930-1932" (2 discs; ASIN: B00004YTYQ) instead of this one. Together, those sets cover almost everything included here, plus a number of additional songs. The packaging is a lot less elaborate and the liner notes are not as extensive, but the discs are secured in standard jewel cases. Additionally, the price is significantly lower (in fact, the total cost for both JSP sets -- six CDs and 132 tracks in all -- is less than the price of "Portrait of the Artist"). Moreover, many people feel that the sound quality is actually superior on the JSP sets (less extensive use of noise reduction results in more surface noise, but also greater presence).



If you do decide on Columbia's "Portrait of the Artist," be sure to check all four discs carefully for damage, and immediately transfer them to standard cases.

Hard to find bad Louis.

This came out before the restored Hot Fives & Sevens. It's a great overview as advertised. Since superceded, but excellent and entertaining.

Need a remastered version of this

I have to disagree completely with the previous reviewer. The JSP set sounds way better than these sets (I own both). Also, you cant compare this set with the JSP set in terms of content. The JSP set only includes recordings with the hot five and sevens. On this set, only 2 of the 4 CD's include that material. The rest is stuff recorded earlier as a sideman or later with RCA. Everything in this set is gold of the highest order. But the remastering is no longer the best it could be.

The Greatest Artist Of The 20th Century

Louis Armstrong is the greatest artist of the 20th century. Don't die without hearing "West End Blues". In fact, don't live one more day without this CD. I know what you're thinking. I looked at the years this box set covers and I thought, "Oh no. 4 CD's of 78s." The truth is the sound is tinny. And the truth is it doesn't matter.