[Dixielandjazz] Mosaic Armstrong set, Decca, 1935-46.

Fri Dec 2 05:43:43 PST 2011

On 02/12/2011 02:38, M J (Mike) Logsdon wrote:
> Any opinions about this set?  The video ad at this link has me impressed.
>
>
I wrote this about it. Hope it helps!
Steve Voce

THE COMPLETE LOUIS ARMSTRONG DECCA SESSIONS (1935-46)
CD 1
(1) I’m In The Mood For Love; You Are My Lucky Star; La Cucaracha; Got A Bran’ New Suit; (2) I’ve Got My Fingers Crossed; Old Man Mose; I’m Shooting High; Was I To Blame For Falling In Love With You?; (3) Red Sails In The Sunset; On Treasure Island; (4) Thanks A Million; Shoe Shine Boy; Solitude; I Hope Gabriel Likes My Music; The Music Goes ‘Round And Around; (5) Rhythm Saved The World; Got A Bran’ New Suit (alt tk.-A); (2) I’ve Got My Fingers Crossed (alt tk.-A); Old Man Mose (alt tk.-A); Old Man Mose (alt tk.-D); (4) Thanks A Million (alt tk.-B); Solitude (alt tk.-C; Solitude (alt tk.-B); I Hope Gabriel Likes My Music (alt tk.-C) ;  (5) Rhythm Saved The World (alt tk.-B) (74.14)
CD 2
(6) I’m Puttin’ All My Eggs In One ; Yes-Yes! My-My! (She’s Mine); (7) Somebody Stole My Break; I Come From A Musical;  (8) If We Never Meet Again; (9) Lyin’ To Myself; Ev’ntide; Swing That Music;  Thankful;  Red Nose;  Mahogany Hall Stomp; (10) The Skeleton In The Closet; When Ruben Swings The Cuban; Hurdy Gurdy Man;  Dipper Mouth Blues; Swing That Music;  (11) “Pennies From Heaven” medley - Let’s Call A Heart A Heart/So Do I/The Skeleton In The Closet; Pennies From Heaven; (12)  To You, Sweetheart Aloha; On A Cocoanut Island; (13) On A Little Bamboo Bridge; Hawaiian Hospitality; (10) When Ruben Swings The Cuban (alt tk.-B); Hurdy Gurdy Man (alt tk.-B); (11) “Pennies From Heaven” Medley - Let’s Call A Heart A Heart/So Do I /The Skeleton In The Closet (alt tk.-B) (77.41)
Armstrong 2
CD 3
(14) Carry Me Back To Old Virginny; Darling Nelly; (15) In The Shade Of The Old Apple Tree; The Old Folks At Home; (16) Public Melody Number One; Red Cap; Yours And Mine; (17)  She’s The Daughter Of A Planter From Havana; Alexander’s Ragtime Band;  Cuban Pete;  I’ve Got A Heart Full Of Rhythm; Sun Showers; (18) Once In A While; On The Sunny Side Of The Street; (19) Satchel Mouth Swing; Jubilee; Struttin’ With Some Barbecue; The Trumpet Player’s Lament; (14) Darling Nelly Gray (alt tk.-B); (15)  In The Shade Of The Old Apple Tree (alt tk.-B); The Old Folks At Home (alt tk.-B?); (19) Struttin’ With Some Barbecue (alt tk.-B); The Trumpet Player’s Lament (alt tk.-C) (65.15)
CD 4
(20) I Double Dare; You True Confession; Let That Be A Lesson To You; Sweet As A Song; (21) So Little Time (So Much To Do); Mexican Swing; As Long As You Live You’ll Be Dead If You Die; When The Saints Go Marching In; (22) On The Sentimental Side;
It’s Wonderful; Something Tells Me; Love Walked In; (23)The Flat Foot Floogee; (24)  The Song Is Ended; My Walking Stick; (25) Shadrack; Going To Shout All Over God’s Heaven; Nobody Knows De Trouble I’ve Seen; Jonah And The Whale; (20) I Double Dare You (alt tk.-B); True Confession (alt tk.-B); Let That Be A Lesson To You (alt tk.-B); (25)Going To Shout All Over God’s Heaven (alt tk.-B) (64.12)
CD 5
(26) Naturally; I’ve Got A Pocketful Of Dreams; I Can’t Give You Anything But Love; Ain’t Misbehavin’;  (27) Elder Eatmore’s Sermon On Throwing Stones; Elder Eatmore’s Sermon On Generosity; (28) Jeepers Creepers; What Is This Thing Called Swing?; (29) Rockin’ Chair; Lazybones; (30) Hear Me Talkin’ To Ya; Save It Pretty Mama; West End Blues; Savoy Blues;
(31) Confessin’; Our Monday Date; If It’s Good (Then I Want It); Me And Brother Bill; Happy Birthday; (32) Baby Won’t You Please Come Home?; Poor Old Joe; Shanty Boat On The Mississippi (66.01)
CD 6
(33) Poor Old Joe; You’re A Lucky Guy; You’re Just A No Account; Bye And Bye; (34) Hep Cats’ Ball; You’ve Got Me Voodoo’d; Harlem Stomp; Wolverine Blues; Lazy ‘Sippi Steamer; (35) W.P.A.; Boog-It; (36) Cherry; Marie; (37) Sweethearts On Parade; You Run Your Mouth, I’ll Run My Business; Cut Off My Legs And Call Me Shorty; Cain And Abel; (38) Perdido Street Blues; 2:19 Blues; Down In Honky Tonk Town; Coal Cart Blues; (39) Ev’rything’s Been Done Before; I Cover The Waterfront; In The Gloaming; Long, Long Ago; (38)Down In Honky Tonk Town (alt tk.-B) (77.05)
CD 7
(40) Hey Lawdy Mama; I’ll Get Mine Bye And Bye;  Do You Call That A Buddy?; Yes Suh!; (41)  When It’s Sleepy Time Down South; Leap Frog; I Used To Love You (But It’s All Over Now);  You Rascal You; (42) Cash For Your Trash; Among My Souvenirs; Coquette; I Never Knew; (43) Groovin’; Baby Don’t You Cry; Whatcha Say?; (44) Jodie Man; I Wonder; (45) You Won’t Be Satisfied; The Frim Fram Sauce; (41) I Used To Love You (But It’s All Over Now) (alt tk.-B); (42) Among My Souvenirs (alt tk.-B); Coquette (alt tk.-B);
(43) Whatcha Say? (alt tk.-A?); (45) You Won’t Be Satisfied; The Frim Fram Sauce (alt tk.-B?) (69.33)
  (1) Louis Armstrong And His Orchestra: Louis Armstrong (t/v); Leonard Davis, Gus Aiken, Louis Bacon (t); Harry White, Jimmy Archey (tb); Henry Jones, Charlie Holmes (cl/as); Bingie Madison (cl/ts); Greely Walton (ts); Luis Russell (p); Lee Blair (g); Pops Foster (b); Paul Barbarin (d/ bells). NYC, October 3, 1935.
(2) same as (1) NYC, November 21, 1935.
(3) same as (1). NYC, December 13, 1935.
(4) same as (1). NYC, December 18, 1935.
(5) same as (1). January 18, 1936.
(6) Louis Armstrong (t/v); Bunny Berigan, Bob Mayhew (t); Al Philburn (tb); Sid Trucker (cl/as); Phil Waltzer (as); Paul Ricci (ts); Fulton McGrath (p); Dave Barbour (g); Pete Peterson (b); Stan King (d). NYC, February 4, 1936.

(7) Louis Armstrong (t/v); Leonard Davis, Gus Aiken, Louis Bacon (t); Jimmy Archey, Snub Mosley (tb); Henry Jones, Charlie Holmes (as); Bingie Madison, Greely Walton (ts); Luis Russell (p); Lee Blair (g); Pops Foster (b); Paul Barbarin (d). NYC April 28 1936.
(8) Louis Armstrong (t/v); Leonard Davis, Gus Aiken, Louis Bacon (t); Jimmy Archey, Snub Mosley (tb); Henry Jones, Charlie Holmes (cl/as); Bingie Madison (ts); Greely Walton (cl/ts); Luis Russell (p); Lee Blair (g); Pops Foster (b); Paul Barbarin (d). NYC, April 29, 1936.
(9) same as (8), NYC, May 18, 1936.
(10) Louis Armstrong With Jimmy Dorsey And His Orchestra: Louis Armstrong (t/v); George Thow, Toots Camarata (t); Bobby Byrne, Joe Yukl, Don Mattison (tb); Jimmy Dorsey (cl/as); Jack Stacey (cl/as/bs); Fud Livingston, Skeets Herfurt (cl/ts); poss. Bobby Van Eps (p); Roc Hillman (g); Slim Taft (b); Ray McKinley (d). LA, August 7, 1936.
(11) same as (10) except add Bing Crosby and Frances Langford (v). LA, August 17, 1936.
(12) Louis Armstrong With The Polynesians: Louis Armstrong (t/v); Sam Koki (steel g); George Archer, Harry Baty (g/v); Joe Nawahi (b/v), Lionel Hampton (d/vib).  LA, August 18, 1936.
(13) Louis Armstrong With Andy Iona And His Islanders: Louis Armstrong (t/v); Sam Koki (steel g); George Archer, Harry Baty (g); Andy Iona (uke); Joe Nawahi (b). NYC, March 24, 1937.
(14) Louis Armstrong And The Mills Brothers: Louis Armstrong (t/v); Bernard Addison (g), Harry Mills, Herbert Mills, Donald Mills, John Mills Sr. (v). NYC, April 7, 1937.
(15) same as (14). NYC, June 29, 1937.
(16) Louis Armstrong (t/v); Shelton Hemphill, Henry “Red” Allen, Louis Bacon (t); George Matthews, George Washington, J.C. Higginbotham (tb); Pete Clark (as); Charlie Holmes (cl/as); Albert Nicholas, Bingie Madison (cl/ts); Luis Russell (p); Lee Blair (g); Pops Foster (b); Paul Barbarin (d). NYC, July 2, 1937.
(17) Same as (16). NYC, July 7, 1937.

(18) Louis Armstrong (t/v); J.C. Higginbotham (tb); Charlie Holmes (as); Bingie Madison (cl/ts); Luis Russell (p); Lee Blair (g; Red Callender (b); Paul Barbarin (d). LA, November 15, 1937.
(19) Louis Armstrong (t/v); Shelton Hemphill, Henry “Red” Allen, Louis Bacon (t); Wilbur DeParis, George Washington, J.C. Higginbotham (tb); Pete Clark, Charlie Holmes (as); Albert Nicholas, Bingie Madison (cl/ts); Luis Russell (p); Lee Blair (g); Pops Foster (b); Paul Barbarin (d). LA, January 12, 1938.
(20) Louis Armstrong (t/v); J.C. Higginbotham (tb); Charlie Holmes (as); Bingie Madison (ts/ bs); Luis Russell (p); Lee Blair (g); Pops Foster (b); Paul Barbarin (d/vib). LA, January 13, 1938.
(21) Louis Armstrong (t/v); Shelton Hemphill (t); J.C. Higginbotham (tb); Rupert Cole (cl/as); Charlie Holmes (as); Bingie Madison (ts); Luis Russell (p); Lee Blair (g); Pops Foster (b; Paul Barbarin (d). NYC, May 13, 1938.
(22) same as (21). NYC, May 18, 1938.
(23) Louis Armstrong And Mills Brothers: Louis Armstrong (t/v); Norman Brown (g); Harry Mills, Herbert Mills, Donald Mills, John Mills Sr. (v). NYC, June 10, 1938.
(24) same as (23). NYC, June 13, 1938.
(25) Louis Armstrong With The Decca Mixed Chorus: Louis Armstrong (vcl), Luis Russell (p), Lee Blair (g), Pops Foster (b), Paul Barbarin (d); The CBS Choir (v). NYC, June 14, 1938.
(26) Louis Armstrong (t/v); Bob Cusumano, Johnny McGee (t); Al Philburn (v-tb); Sid Stoneburn (cl); Nat Jaffe (p); Dave Barbour (g); Haig Stephens (b); Sam Weiss (d). NYC, June 24, 1938.
(27) Louis Armstrong (speech); Harry Mills (org/speech); unknown mixed choir (v). NYC, August 11, 1938.
(28) Louis Armstrong (t/v); Shelton Hemphill, Henry “Red” Allen, Otis Johnson (t); Wilbur DeParis, George Washington, J.C. Higginbotham (tb); Rupert Cole, Charlie Holmes (as); Albert Nicholas, Bingie Madison (ts); Luis Russell (p); Lee Blair (g); Pops Foster (b); Sid Catlett (d). NYC, January 18, 1939.

(29) Glen Gray And The Casa Loma Orchestra: Louis Armstrong (t/v); Frank Ryerson, Grady Watts, Sonny Dunham (t); Billy Rauch (tb), Pee Wee Hunt (tb/v); Murray McEachern (as/tb); Clarence Hutchenrider (cl/as); Art Ralston (as); Dan D’Andrea (cl/b-cl/as/ts); Pat Davis (ts); Kenny Sargent (cl/ts/bs); Joe Hall (p); Jack Blanchette (g); Stanley Dennis (b); Tony Briglia (d); Glen Gray (dir). NYC, February 20, 1939.
(30) Louis Armstrong (t/v); Shelton Hemphill, Henry “Red” Allen, Otis Johnson (t); Wilbur DeParis, George Washington, J.C. Higginbotham (tb); Rupert Cole, Charlie Holmes (cl/as); Joe Garland (cl/ts); Bingie Madison (cl/ts); Luis Russell (p); Lee Blair (g); Pops Foster (b); Sid Catlett (d). NYC, April 5, 1939.
(31) same as (30) except Bernard Flood (t) replaces Johnson. NYC, April 25, 1939.
(32) Louis Armstrong (t/v); Shelton Hemphill, Henry “Red” Allen, Bernard Flood (t); Wilbur DeParis, George Washington, J.C. Higginbotham (tb); Rupert Cole (cl/as); Charlie Holmes (as); Bingie Madison (ts); Joe Garland (ts/bs); Luis Russell (p); Lee Blair (g); Pops Foster (b); Sid Catlett (d). NYC, June 15, 939.
  (33) same as (32). NYC, December 18, 1939.
(34) same as (32). NYC, March 14, 1940.
(35) Louis Armstrong And Mills Brothers: Louis Armstrong (t/v); Norman Brown (g); Harry Mills, Herbert Mills, Donald Mills, John Mills Sr. (v). NYC, April 10, 1940.
(36) same as (35). NYC, April 11, 1940.
(37) LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA: Louis Armstrong (t/v); prob. Shelton Hemphill (t); prob. J.C. Higginbotham (tb); Charlie Holmes (as); Joe Garland (ts/bs); Luis Russell (p); Lee Blair (g); Pops Foster (b); Sid Catlett (d). NYC, May 1, 1940.
(38) Louis Armstrong (t/v); Claude Jones (tb); Sidney Bechet (cl/ss); Luis Russell (p); Bernard Addison (g); Wellman Braud (b); Zutty Singleton (d). NYC, May 27, 1940.
(39)  Louis Armstrong (t/v); George Washington (tb); Prince Robinson (cl); Luis Russell (p); Lawrence Lucie (g); Johnny Williams (b); Sid Catlett (d). NYC, March 10, 1941.
(40) Same as (39). NYC, April 11, 1941.

(41) Louis Armstrong (t/v); Frank Galbreath, Shelton Hemphill, Gene Prince (t); George Washington, Norman Greene, Henderson Chambers (tb); Rupert Cole (cl/as); Carl Frye (as); Prince Robinson (ts); Joe Garland (ts/bs s); Luis Russell (p); Lawrence Lucie (g); Hayes Alvis (b); Sid Catlett (d). Chicago, November 16, 1941.
(42) Louis Armstrong (t/v); Frank Galbreath, Shelton Hemphill, Bernard Flood (t); George Washington, James Whitney, Henderson Chambers (tb); Rupert Cole, Carl Frye (cl/as); Prince Robinson, Joe Garland (cl/ts); Luis Russell (p); Lawrence Lucie (g); John Simmons (b); Sid Catlett (d). LA, April 17, 1942.
(43) Louis Armstrong (t/v); Jesse Brown, Thomas Grider, Andrew Ford, Lester Currant (t); Taswell Baird, Adam Martin, Larry Anderson (tb); John Brown, Willard Brown (as); Teddy McRae, Dexter Gordon (ts); Ernest Thompson (bs); Ed Swanston (p); Emitt Slay (g); Alfred Moore (b); James Harris (d); Dorothy Dandridge (v). LA, August 9 1942.
(44) Louis Armstrong (t/v); Billy Butterfield (t); Sid Stoneburn, Jules Rubin (cl/as); Bill Stegmemyer (cl/ts); Arthur Rollini (ts); Paul Ricci (bs); Dave Bowman (p); Carl Kress (g); Bob Haggart (b); Johnny Blowers (d). NYV, January 14, 1945.
(45) Louis Armstrong (t/v); Billy Butterfield (t); Bill Stegmemyer (cl/ts); George Koenig (as); Jack Greenberg, Art Drellinger ((ts); Milton Schatz (bs); Joe Bushkin (p); Danny Perri (g); Trigger Alpert (b); Cozy Cole (d); Ella Fitzgerald (v). NYC, January 18, 1946.
(Mosaic MD7-243)
It’s convenient to regard his first recording of Sweethearts On Parade on December 23, 1930 as the end of an era in Louis’s career. It is a jazz classic of great purity, and after it he stepped emphatically from his life as a pure jazz musician to being a supremely marketable property from which some shady people made a lot of money. His life in the first few years of the ‘30s hasn’t been comparatively well documented, but it seems that struggles with American gangsters and shysters drove him to spend much of his time in Europe until the beginning of 1935. On his return to the States he fell into the hands of Joe Glaser, who was to direct his career from then on with a financial motive that did not bend to any artistic concerns.
   What we see here are the results of that metamorphosis. Don’t misunderstand me for much of the best trumpet Louis ever recorded is included in this box. But the settings are aimed at beguiling the general public and would remain that way for more than a decade until the 1948 Town Hall concert. Louis’s material for the new Decca label (formed in 1934 with Bing Crosby as its first big-seller) was to be current pop songs, tunes from the movies and Broadway shows, spiced with the occasional return to past classics like Savoy Blues and Dippermouth.

  This brings in material ranging all the way from dross to little-heard classics. The constant throughout it all is the celestial trumpet playing and the electrifying and charismatic singing.
In his sensitive note Dan Morgenstern is commendably open about the tracks that he regards as not making the grade, but I didn’t find one of them that I didn’t enjoy listening to.
   The Sweethearts On Parade here, at faster tempo, certainly doesn’t best the original, but it’s not that far off and many of the revisited classics like Mahogany Hall are exemplary. The latter comes from the magical session of May 18, 1936 where Louis recorded Ev’ntide, on a par with  Hoagy Carmichael’s greatest compositions, and amazingly not recorded by anyone else until Dick Sudhalter did it in 2001. The first of two Swing That Musics comes from that session, and has the famous string of 42 Cs above top C, whilst a later version of the number is one of the tracks where Louis on top form is accompanied by the powerful and excellent Jimmy Dorsey band.
   Majestic is the obvious word for this kind of trumpet playing. Its like had never been heard before and it’s easy to imagine the impact that it had on the embryo Lytteltons of the time – Humph always regarded this body of Armstrong’s music as the most potent, and he was not mistaken. It is still overawing, and I found myself instantly replaying tracks all the way through even though I’ve had all the music on the estimable (and much-missed) Gösta Häglöff’s Ambassador label for many years. I have to say, and it becomes embarrassing to repeat the statement with each new set, that the revitalising qualities of Mosaic’s recording technique make listening to familiar material a completely fresh experience and here in particular pulls out attributes in Louis’s playing that one had missed in earlier issues.
   The backings on the 168 tracks are usually at a very high level, ranging from the easy familiarity of the Luis Russell band through the delightful chamber music of the Mills Brothers to the power and fire of Sidney Bechet. Excellent soloists too in Higginbotham, Bechet, Nicholas, Holmes and a load of little-know sidemen who play very well throughout. The attentions of Billy Butterfield, Sy Oliver, Bob Haggart and Big Sid are to be savoured on some of the later tracks. Ella and the Mills Brothers are the best of the co-opted partners.
   I said that this music is overawing, and in truth it is, but it is also irresistibly cheering as Louis reaches out from the last century to bring joy to us all, now enduring our own great depression, with an unstoppable power that one might expect our miserable masters in Brussels to declare a risk to health and safety.
  It’s to be hoped that they sell this box wherever Humph and Ruby are.
Steve Voce