[Dixielandjazz] Is 'Skokiaan' classed as part of your band's music?

[Bill Haesler]

Robert Smith wrote:
> Louis Armstrong recorded "Skokiaan" with Sy Oliver's Orchestra 
> 1954-08-13. I have it on a German commercial cassette MCA MK-8271 "20 
> Golden Hits".

Dear Bob,
That two-parter is, in my opinion, the best (by far) of all the 
versions I've heard.
Unfortunately, at 4:50, way too short.
8>)
We had it on an Australian Columbia 78 when it came out in 1954 - and 
thrashed it to death.
Unfortunately, it was rarely reissued on LP and also hard to find on CD.
(The Readers Digest and Ambassador Louis' CDs are long gone.)
I'm playing it again now (as I frequently do) for the sheer excitement 
of it all, and Louis' superb playing.
What some people don't know is that Sy Oliver assembled a great line-up 
for this single-record session at Decca:
Charlie Shavers, Taft Jordan, Abdul Salaam [ William "Chieftie" Scott] 
(t);  Alfred Cobbs, Elmer Crumbley, Paul Seiden (tb) Barney Bigard (cl) 
Omer Simeon (sop) Dave Martin (p) Danny Barker (bj) Arvell Shaw (sb) 
and Barrett Deems (d).
Kind regards,
Bill.