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Louis Armstrong and friends - Esquire Jazz Concert (1944) - Full Show.
- Esquire Blues
- Mop Mop
- Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me
- I Love My Man
- I Can't Give You Anything But Love
- I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues
- Sweet Lorraine
- I Got The Rhythm
- The Blues
- We All Drink \"Coca Cola\"
- Esquire Bounce
- Rockin' Chair
- Basin Street Blues
- I'll Get By
- Tea For Two
- Back O'Town Blues
- Muskrat Ramble
- Buck Jumpin'
- Stompin At The Savoy
- For Bass Faces Only
- My Ideal
- Rose Room
- I've Got A Feeling I'm Falling
- More Than You Know
- Squeeze Me
- Honeysuckle Rose
- Flying Home
- Jammin' The Vibes
- Star Spangled Banner
The first Esquire All-Star Concert, which took place in 1944, has been well documented on various discs, generally in bits and pieces, but this CD has more of the music than most issues. Originally recorded on transcription discs for distribution by various Armed Forces Radio programs, including One Night Stand, Jubilee, and Swing Session, the music is sometimes briefly intruded upon by an announcer who felt obligated to identify a soloist in the middle of a song. But this is a rare opportunity to hear many jazz masters of the 1940s in a jam session atmosphere, including Louis Armstrong, Jack Teagarden, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, and Red Norvo, to name a few. But the true star of the evening is the phenomenal pianist Art Tatum, who proves himself as a more than competent pianist in a group setting, something he was always accused of not being able to do. The highlight of the 21 selections on this Italian CD is easily the intense eight-minute workout of \"I Got Rhythm,\" with potent solos by Tatum, Eldridge, Hawkins, and clarinetist Barney Bigard. The sound quality isn't bad for a vintage 1940s broadcast, though the rhythm section isn't always clearly audible. Unfortunately, the spelling of names and song titles is a bit sloppy, the music is out of sequence (unlike most reissues), and the concert took place on January 18, 1944, not January 13 as listed. This memorable concert should be part of any serious jazz collection.
Bass – Oscar Pettiford
Clarinet – Barney Bigard
Drums – Sidney Catlett
Guitar – Al Casey
Piano – Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson
Saxophone [Tenor] – Coleman Hawkins
Trumpet – Roy Eldridge
Vibraphone [Vibes] – Lionel Hampton
Vocals – Billie Holiday, Mildred Bailey
Vocals, Trombone – Jack Teagarden
Vocals, Trumpet – Louis Armstrong
Xylophone – Red Norvo
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo, Satch, and Pops, was an American trumpeter, composer, singer and occasional actor who was one of the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades, from the 1920s to the 1960s, and different eras in the history of jazz. In 2017, he was inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.
Armstrong was born and raised in New Orleans. Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an \"inventive\" trumpet and cornet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance. Around 1922, he followed his mentor, Joe \"King\" Oliver, to Chicago to play in the Creole Jazz Band. In the Windy City, he networked with other jazz musicians, reconnecting with his friend, Bix Biederbecke, and made new contacts, which included Hoagy Carmichael and Lil Hardin. He earned a reputation at \"cutting contests\", and moved to New York in order to join Fletcher Henderson's band.
With his instantly recognizable gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes. He was also very skilled at scat singing. Armstrong is renowned for his charismatic stage presence and voice almost as much as for his trumpet playing. Armstrong's influence extends well beyond jazz, and by the end of his career in the 1960s, he was widely regarded as a profound influence on popular music in general. Armstrong was one of the first truly popular African-American entertainers to \"cross over\", whose skin color was secondary to his music in an America that was extremely racially divided at the time. He rarely publicly politicized his race, often to the dismay of fellow African Americans, but took a well-publicized stand for desegregation in the Little Rock crisis. His artistry and personality allowed him access to the upper echelons of American society, then highly restricted for black men.
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