|
Mosaic Records Issues a Spectacular 9-Disc Set of
Live Performances by the Peerless Louis Armstrong:
The Complete Columbia and RCA Victor Live Recordings
of Louis Armstrong and The All Stars - Available May 20
Mosaic Also Set to Release Armstrong's
Complete '56 and '58 Newport Jazz Festival
Performances with Four LP Set:
Louis Armstrong & The All Stars: Newport 1956 &1958
There has never been a more globally beloved figure from the world of jazz than Louis "Pops/Satchmo" Armstrong.
His influence on the development of both jazz and American popular
music is indisputably unparalleled. A lesser-known and disturbing fact
is that for the last 30 years of his life he was under attack by many
critics and musicians as irrelevant, under-achieving and too heavily
focused on commercial success. Now, Mosaic Records offers clear testimony to the inaccuracy and injustice of those characterizations with its spectacular Columbia and RCA Victor Live Recordings of Louis Armstrong and The All Stars.
A nine-disc set covering the years 1947-1958, these wonderful
recordings provide crystal-clear evidence of Louis' profound artistry
and majestic audience appeal from the most meaningful platform of
musical scrutiny - the bandstand.
"This
LP sets focuses on the complete performances by Louis Armstrong and his
All Stars at the third and fifth Newport Jazz Festivals, which are two
of the linchpins from our larger CD edition," says Mosaic Records
co-founder, Michael Cuscuna. "Although tracks have been
parceled out over the years, this 2014 set will finally present these
excellent performances in the entirety and in performance order, giving
us a healthy portion of previously unissued music by Louis with Trummty
Young, Edmond Hall, Peanuts Hucko, Jack Teagarden, Bobby Hackett and
Billy Kyle."
Mosaic
is not only known for assembling collections of vitally important music
by many of jazz' most immortal and influential figures, but also of
establishing historical accuracy and edification of the true import of
America's only indigenous art form. This set - a 12-year slice of his
creative output on the worldwide stage - shows the peerless Pops to be
fully in the forefront of jazz at its jubilant, transcendent and
irresistible best on nearly 163 tracks of both his most popular songs
along with many that are far less familiar.
Performing
over 300 shows a year throughout these years (and most of his life),
it's very fortunate that the performances offered here were recorded for
posterity. Most of this can be attributed to the legendary producer George Avakian
- to whom this set has been dedicated - who is responsible for nearly
70% of the material contained here. As his exclusive producer at
Columbia from when Louis joined the label in 1955, George implemented
the latest technological advances, which enhanced the material for both
artist and label. But that sometimes demanded editing and altering the
music for best commercial appeal. Mosaic has restored all of the concert
recordings to their purest essence, demonstrating all of the fire and
raw creativity of the music exactly as the screaming and stomping
audiences heard it over 50 years ago. And as a gigantic bonus, there are
75 tracks being released for the very first time.
The
set begins with the scintillating 1947 concert at New York's Town Hall,
which dramatically altered Louis' live performance format to the one
that would remain intact for the rest of his life. Eschewing his
16-piece big band for a smaller, more au courant ensemble, The All Stars
were born. In this incarnation it was the remarkable assemblage of Jack
Teagarden on trombone, clarinetist Peanuts Hucko, pianist Dick Cary,
bassist Bob Haggart and two alternating drummers - George Wettling and
"Big" Sid Catlett - on 20 tracks of pure joy.
A
newfound gem is the 1947 Carnegie Hall concert, which sat improperly
labeled in RCA's vaults for over half a century, is issued here for the
very first time. Some 90 minutes of material was preserved - 18
brilliant tracks, also featuring Teagarden, Cary and Catlett, but this
time with the eminent Barney Bigard on clarinet, the big bass sound of Arvell Shaw and the addition of vocalist Velma Middleton.
 |
| Photograph courtesy of the Louis Armstrong House Museum |
The
Avakian sessions comprise the rest of the set. Adding a new nickname to
Louis' already impressive array of monikers, Ambassador Satch was
bestowed - a fitting name for the man who had become the world's
foremost representative of American jazz and music in the 1950s.
Performances from Amsterdam and Milan featured the new All Stars of
Trummy Young on trombone, Edmond Hall on clarinet, pianist Billy Kyle
and drummer Barrett Deems, along with Shaw and Middleton. The Milan
performance was recorded in a theater in front of a small invited
audience. The original release included fake applause, which has been
removed so that only the wild response of the actual audience is heard,
genuinely enhancing the immediacy of the live concert.
Three U.S. concerts are also included. The Great Chicago Concert
from 1956 has been out of print for a long time, but is available again
here - with additional material, fully restored and unedited (Dale
Jones replaces Arvell Shaw). Two Newport Jazz Festival performances from
1956 and 1958 are here, uncut and including 28 tracks that have never
been released. The 1958 concert reunited Louis with Teagarden, Hucko and
cornetist Bobby Hackett, plus a most interesting item of Louis fronting
The International Youth Band.
A
Los Angeles studio date is included here because it was originally
released as a live concert. It's a fascinating set of unedited versions
of popular songs that provides an unusual and intimate glimpse of how
Louis and The All Stars developed and refined their material.
There
are other very special and inclusions - two never-before released
tracks recorded in Ghana, one with local musicians, singers and dancers;
an unreleased track from a London concert; a great version of Mack the Knife from Carnegie Hall; an interview of Louis by Edward R. Murrow that aired on the television show See It Now;
another interview by Avakian, and a most remarkable item featuring
Leonard Bernstein in rehearsal and performance at a 1956 Lewisohn
Stadium concert with Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic - including
three passes at St. Louis Blues, Bernstein chatting up the
audience and Pops playing encore after encore to keep the fans happy - a
real treasure that adds special luster to this wonderful collection.
But
above all else, Louis' consummate artistry on his horn, the brilliance
of his most singular sound, the unique infectiousness and impeccable
phrasing of his luminous vocal style and the utterly irresistible appeal
of one of the most delightful human beings to ever walk the earth is
brought to the listener with the clarity and depth that is the hallmark
of Mosaic Records. There is nothing like undiluted live performance to
truly convey the heart and soul of the jazz artist, succinctly stated by
Louis himself: "So, whatever they're going to say about Louis
Armstrong, all they say is, 'He blows like hell every time he hits that
stand.'"
As always, the striking Mosaic black and white packaging further enhances the total experience. Ricky Riccardi,
the archivist for the Louis Armstrong House Museum and one of the
world's foremost Armstrong experts has written an extremely enlightening
and comprehensive essay. A precisely researched new discography finally
clears up the confusion and inaccuracy about these dates. And in the
classic Mosaic tradition, there are many outstanding vintage photographs
from Louis' exalted career.
Of
course, Mosaic's commitment to provide the finest audio quality is
front and center on every track, under the guidance of co-producer Scott Wenzel,
who summarizes this set most aptly: "The Armstrong magnetism hardly
ever wavered through the years and these live performances that had him
back in the driver's seat with a small group bear out the verve and
genius of this great man."
Louis Armstrong · Columbia and RCA Victor
Live Recordings of Louis Armstrong and The All Stars
Mosaic Records · Release Date: May 20, 2014
This limited edition set is available exclusively from Mosaic Records.
complete track listing and discography.
For media information, please contact:
Information and press materials (including album covers, promotional photos
Serving the finest in jazz since 1988
###
| 
