Louis Armstrong - The Complete Hot Five & Hot Seven Recordings (Audio, Box Set 2000)

Everybody knows Louis Armstrong--even if it's just for his heart-pleasing renditions of "Hello Dolly" and "What a Wonderful World." Well, this four-CD box set marking the 100th anniversary of his birth--give or take a year--contains some of his most groundbreaking, historic works. Recorded between 1925 and 1929, the Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings find Armstrong with more than able cohorts, including pianists Earl "Fatha" Hines and Lillian Hardin (Armstrong's second wife), clarinetist-saxophonist Johnny Dodds, and trombonist Kid Ory. Recorded when Armstrong was emerging from the influence of his idol, Joe "King" Oliver, these sides feature the main staples of the Armstrong canon, including "Potato Head Blues," "Big Butter and Egg Man," "Cornet Chop Suey" and the Armstrong-Hines duet "Weather Bird." The jewel of the collection is "West End Blues," with Armstrong's stratospheric, pyramid-structured solo, which ranks as one of the greatest in the history of music. The sessions also mark an important technological breakthrough, with the transition from acoustic to electrical recording.

Armstrong's virtuosity on the cornet and trumpet alone would have been enough to ensure his fame. On the 1927 song "Heebie Jeebies," he forgot the lyrics and scatted them and became the first jazz singer, paving the way for Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Betty Carter. All in all, this set shows that Louis Armstrong's heroic talents enabled him to become the alpha and omega of 20th century music. As author Robert O'Meally, who wrote the superb liner notes to this well-packaged collection, puts it, "like Chaucer's poetry, which virtually begins the process of codifying the English language as a medium for sophisticated versification, Armstrong's Hot Fives and Hot Sevens provide a wide launching pad from which the history of the art of jazz takes flight."

CONDITION: Used Like New! No Slip Cover.

TRACK LISTING

Disc: 1

1 Gut Bucket Blues - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
2 My Heart - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
3 Yes! I'm in the Barrel - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
4 Come Back, Sweet Papa - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
5 Georgia Grind - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
6 Heebie Jeebies - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
7 Cornet Chop Suey - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
8 Oriental Strut - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
9 You're Next - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
10 Muskrat Ramble - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
11 Don't Forget To Mess Around - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
12 I'm Gonna Gitcha - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
13 Droppin' Shucks - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
14 Who'sit - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
15 The King of the Zulus - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
16 Big Fat Ma and Skinny Pa - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
17 Lonesome Blues - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
18 Sweet Little Papa - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
19 Jazz Lips - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
20 Skid-Dat-De-Dat - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
21 Big Butter And Egg Man - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
22 Sunset Cafe Stomp - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
23 You Made Me Love You - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
24 Irish Black Bottom - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
25 Pause Track - Louis Armstrong

Disc: 2

1 Put 'Em Down Blues - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
2 Ory's Creole Trombone - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
3 The Last Time - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
4 Struttin' with Some Barbecue - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
5 Got No Blues - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
6 Once In a While - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
7 I'm Not Rough - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
8 Hotter Than That - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
9 Savoy Blues - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
10 He Likes It Slow - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
11 Gambler's Dream - Louis Armstrong
12 Sunshine Baby - Hociel Thomas
13 Adam and Eve Had the Blues - Hociel Thomas
14 Put It Where I Can Get It - Hociel Thomas
15 Wash Woman Blues - Hociel Thomas
16 I've Stopped My Man - Hociel Thomas
17 Georgia Bo Bo - Lil's Hot Shots
18 Drop That Sack (Take 1) - Lil's Hot Shots
19 Drop That Sack (Take 1) - Lil's Hot Shots
20 Cornet Chop Suey - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
21 Pause Track - Louis Armstrong

Disc: 3

1 Willie the Weeper - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven
2 Wild Man Blues - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven
3 Alligator Crawl - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven
4 Potato Head Blues - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven
5 Melancholy - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven
6 Weary Blues - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven
7 Twelfth Street Rag - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven
8 Keyhole Blues - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven
9 S.O.L. Blues - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven
10 Gully Low Blues - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven
11 That's When I'll Come Back to You - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven
12 Chicago Breakdown - Louis Armstrong
13 Weary Blues - Johnny Dodds
14 New Orleans Stomp - Johnny Dodds
15 Wild Man Blues - Johnny Dodds
16 Wild Man Blues - Johnny Dodds
17 Melancholy - Johnny Dodds
18 Melancholy - Johnny Dodds
19 You're a Real Sweetheart - Lillie Delk Christian
20 Too Busy - Lillie Delk Christian
21 Was It a Dream? - Lillie Delk Christian
22 Last Night I Dreamed You Kissed Me - Lillie Delk Christian
23 Pause Track - Louis Armstrong

Disc: 4

1 Fireworks - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
2 Skip the Gutter - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
3 A Monday Date - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
4 Don't Jive Me - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
5 West End Blues - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
6 Sugar Foot Strut - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
7 Two Deuces - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
8 Squeeze Me - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven
9 Knee Drops - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven
10 No (Papa, No) - Louis Armstrong & His Savoy Ballroom Five
11 Basin Street Blues - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
12 No One Else But You - Louis Armstrong
13 Beau Koo Jack - Louis Armstrong & His Savoy Ballroom Five
14 Save It, Pretty Mama - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven
15 Muggles - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven
16 Heah Me Talkin' To Ya? - Louis Armstrong & His Savoy Ballroom Five
17 St. James Infirmary - Louis Armstrong & His Savoy Ballroom Five
18 Tight Like This - Louis Armstrong & His Savoy Ballroom Five
19 Weather Bird - Louis Armstrong & Earl Hines
20 I Can't Give You Anything But Love - Louis Armstrong & His Savoy Ballroom Five
21 I Can't Give You Anything But Love - Louis Armstrong
22 Mahogany Hall Stomp - Louis Armstrong & His Savoy Ballroom Five
23 Knockin' A Jug - Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra
24 Pause Track - Louis Armstrong