Louis Armstrong - Satchmo Plays King Oliver
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CD Details
Artist: Louis ArmstrongEdition: Music CD
Format: Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2002-10-01
Music Label: Varese Sarabande
Music reviews of Satchmo Plays King Oliver
Music Review: A forgotten treasure by Satch.A bunch of swing!!!
Rating: 5 Stars
After turning 50,Armstrong,who already had given to the world some of the most incredible masterpieces of the history of music,and who was,maybe,the greatest living legend of jazz,Armstrong could have decided to rest.He was beginning to have health troubles;troubles with his lips,first;then troubles with his heart;after several diseases,he had a big heart trouble in 1959,the year this album was recorded,and after that,doctors told him not to play anymore;but he didn't care,because playing was his life;after the masterpieces of the fifties ("Satch plays Fats","plays W.C.Handy","a musical autobiography","the Good Book" and "plays KIng Oliver", he did another immense recording session with Duke Ellington,in 1961;and even if his last years were not as musically great as before,he was still here singing,and blowing when he could,until his death,July 6,1971,aged...? 71,maybe (until recently,his birthday was July 4,1900); or 69 (now,he is supposed to be born August,1901);or a little bit more than 71,referring to the testimonies of older New Orleans players.Maybe we'll never know.And maybe we don't care.
The fact is that Louis Armstrong career really started in July,1922.July,again;July 4th,July 6th,and another day of July.That day of July,1922,the young Louis,living in New Orleans,received a telegram from the biggest star of the era,Joe "King" OLIVER (1885-1938),asking him to go to Chicago to join his band.That's how the legend appeared.Louis went to Chicago,of course,and played with the King;then he joined Fletcher Henderson's orchestra in NYC;then,the Hot Five and Hot Seven;and then,glory.
21 years after Oliver's tragic death in Savannah,Georgia,where he was living in total poverty and sent dramatic letters to his family shortly before passing,saving up cent after cent to buy a train ticket he never bought,21 years after the death of one of the most important jazz players of all times,Louis had the opportunity to pay a tribute to his mentor.Remembering the good old days of the roaring twenties,he choose some tunes from the King's repertoire,and played them with Trummy Young,tb,Peanuts Hucko,cl,Billy Kyle,p,Mort Herbert,b and Danny Barcelona,dms,September and October 1959.The result is a highlight in Satch's late career."Chimes blues" has very great,yet so simple,so evident,blowing by Satch.The two takes of the magnificent "Saint James Infirmary" rank among Louis greatest performances;the dirge atmosphere is outstanding;and please,listen to the lyrics of this very sad song:they're some of the most emotionnal I've ever heard.Played at an incredibly slow tempo,this version of "St James" is a true masterpiece,some of the greatest music ever played."Old Kentucky home" is the only tune which was never played by Oliver;asked about it,Satch answered:"well,he might have played it".Of course he might,because this song was written in 1853.And Louis loved this melody;he played it often.Now,there's "FRankie and Johnny";aka Frankie and Albert,or Frankie Baker,this melody seems to appear around 1840;it has often been recorded by blues artists (Mississippi John Hurt's terrific 1928 version);considering it as an old tune,Louis thought of recording it without the band,with just a barrelhouse piano support.Billy Kyle transforms himself into a honky tonk piano player,while Louis sings the most complete version of this song ever recorded.There are great lyrics here:
"So bring on your creep and your flowers,
"bring on your rubber-tight hat,
"Cause there's eight men to go to the graveyard,
"But only seven comin' back"
It makes me think of Jim Thompson's or Chester Himes' writing:the art of telling the most with a very few words,and a way to describe tragic,but ordinary facts with poetic images.
"I ain't gonna give nobody..." is another masterful performance by Satch;and so are all of these tunes.
OK,maybe this record is not as great as "plays W.C.Handy" or "musical autobiography";if Satch's band still had Barney Bigard,Arvell Shaw and Cozy Cole,it would have been better;or even Barrett Deems;but if the sidemen are not the best you can dream of,Louis is at his very best.He couldn't have missed this session,because Oliver was the man who gave Louis the opportunity to become the most shining star of jazz.This record is essential.Don't miss it!!!
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Description of Satchmo Plays King Oliver
Satchmo Plays King Oliver by Louis Armstrong and The All StarsThis product is manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.
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