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Louis Armstrong
Oscar Peterson
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Genre
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Jazz
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Media
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CD
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Label | Essential Jazz Albums | ||
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Reviewer
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Gareth
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Track List
1. That Old Feeling 2. Let's Fall In Love 3. I'll Never Be The Same 4. Blues In The Night 5. How Long Has This Been Going On 6. I Was Doing All Right 7. What's New 8. Moon Song 9. Just One Of Those Things 10. There's No You 11. You Go To My Head 12. Sweet Lorraine 13. Indiana 14. Let's Fall In Love [Alt. Version] 15. I Get A Kick Out Of You 16. Makin' Whoopee 17. Willow Weep For Me 18. Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)
Description
Since Louis Armstrong just about invented jazz vocals if not popular singing itself, it was inevitable (and fortunate) that someone like producer Norman Granz would set Armstrong down in the studio with a modern '50s combo like Oscar Peterson's trio and watch the seminal musician strut his stuff. Aside from the Dixieland-derived All-Stars live show, Armstrong spent most of the late '40s and early '50s singing it straight for Milt Gabler at Decca Records. Here at Verve in 1957, Satchmo finally gets to ease up a little and stretch those famous gravelly vocal chords on a collection of romantic standards. Unlike Fats Waller, Armstrong rarely undermined the message of a love song with virtuoso clowning. For instance, he provided a wonderfully romantic foil to Ella Fitzgerald on their essential duet sessions. On his own, he proves tobe a rhythmically adept contemporary troubadour with such deeply melodic material as "I'll Never Be the Same", "Moon Song", and "You Go to My Head". It should be noted that the earthy Louis gets the last word on the eight-minute version ofCole Porter's "Let's Do It" that closes the set.
Review
Not only is this a seminal recording - two of the powerhouses of jazz finally meeting up- but it's also one of the joys of my cd collection. It's possible to fall in love with it from the first few bars of "That Old Feeling."
There's already so much written about both artists that I won't repeat it hear, except to say that both Armstrong and Peterson were geniuses. But for this recording, both have come together with one thing in mind: great music.
That this music swings, no doubt, that it has a warmth and charm that oozes out of every note is never in doubt but there is something else unquantifiable about this album that makes it special. I've though long and hard about it and have come to a single conclusion: it's fun.
How many albums can you really say it's a joy to listen to - from start to finish. You find your face aching at the end of the album through smiling so darn much -and there is a joy to that, in itself! You can tell that all parties are enjoying themselves immensely from the sheer exuberance that radiates from each note played.
Buy this, and you'll find yourself singing "Lets Fall In Love" on the way to work!!
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