[Dixielandjazz] Louis Armstrong "When You're Smiling"

[Stephen G Barbone]

I think this is Louis with the Dickerson Band. No doubt our mate, Bill  
Haesler can shed more light on it.

Main point is that Louis was adapting to fit the dance craze that was  
sweeping White America. I read somewhere that he did not consider  
himself primarily a jazz musician but rather a musician who wanted to  
reach the mass audience. He played a lot of danceable pop tunes to  
reach that audience, from the late 1920s until he died.

During this sweet period, IMO, he was enamored, as others have said,  
by Guy Lombardo's sound and so he fronted bands that played in that  
style. (Dickerson, Russell et al) The great thing about this record  
also IMO is (besides the vocal) his solo which is an octave above the  
norm for it. So he gets his licks in.

Who can fault him for his "entertainer" outlook on music? Not me.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband