Ricko

It's only "off," as far as I'm concerned, in terms of Armstrong's trumpet playing. Once you listen to "Indiana" and the trumpet solo isn't there, that's a true sign that even Pops knew his chops were down (though I'm sure most trumpet players would kill to have an "off" night like that). However, the rest of the band sounds great (Peanuts Hucko plays over his head), the sound is indeed wonderful, Pops sings beautifully and yes, there is a very fun atmosphere to the disc (especially with the alligator story leading into "Bucket's Got a Hole In It"....sounds like a party!). Definitely an entertaining evening with the All Stars and any die-hard Armstrong fan will love it but his chops are down and it's tough to hear him struggle. As I wrote on my blog, if you really want to hear Pops blow in 1958, there's a disc on the Sterling label produced by Joe Showler and I don't think it's available in stores. It's a date from Canada from May 58 (one of Ed Hall's last nights with the band and very early in Danny Barcelona's tenure) and Pops is just plain incredible, even fielding a request for "Long Gone" from the W.C. Handy album and topping the original studio version. I ordered mine at worldsrecords.com (the title is "Live, North Bay Ontario"). But any and all Pops is well-worth celebrating, including the Monterey set. Ricky dippermouth.blogspot.com

Yes, that's the only volume available on eMusic, though all four are available on Itunes (vols. 1-3 for $9.99 each and the rare volume 4, which isn't available as a separate stand-alone CD, for $11.99). But the way to go is the box, which right now can be purchased from Amazon marketplace sellers for as low as $29.38, which is a pretty good way to get four discs that retail for $18.98 each. The notes by Gosta Hagglof are terrific, the rare pictures are wonderful and the music is superb, ranging from 1933 to 1967, though the bulk is from the peak of the All Stars, 1949-1959. There's very little repetition in song choice (though I hope you enjoy "When It's Sleepy Time Down South") and when there is, there's usually a different approach to one of the songs (such as "Basin Street Blues," a Trummy Young feature on volume 2, while the version on volume 4 features the standard Armstrong vocal). There are songs the All Stars didn't play often ("I Get Ideas," "Coquette") and Armstrong solos that differ from later, more "set" versions ("Indiana," "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans"). I go into more details in my blog entry on the box but I will say that Storyville's Mona Granger wrote me privately to thank me for the blog entry on the box set, saying that it needs all the help it can get because it's sold very few copies in America. I think this is a tragedy. Pops is, in my opinion, the greatest and most important jazz musician America ever produced and a four-disc box of rare, previously unreleased material with in-depth notes and a cheap price tag, can't even sell in this country because it's under-publicized. Definitely check it out if you love Pops because it will not disappoint (and hey, you never know, if it sells better maybe will Storyville will contine to dig into the late Karl Emil Knudsen's enormous vault and release more rare Armstrong!), Ricky dippermouth.blogspot.com

Thanks for the kind words, KH. Yeah, as I said in the review, I wouldn't recommend it for casual All Stars fans or those new to Armstrong's later period because there's about 30 better concerts already out on disc (I've said it once, I'll say it a hundred times: the In Scandinavia box on Storyville is incredible). For the die-hards like me, I'm fascinated hearing Armstrong cope with having an off night but I realize not every jazz fan has such a streak of masochism! Used copies do seem to still be pretty steep but if you pick up a cheap one, I'd be interested to see if you agree. Anyway, thanks for reading--and spread the word! Ricky Riccardi dippermouth.blogspot.com

Hi all. My name is Ricky Riccardi and I'm a longtime lurker on Organissimo (and infrequent poster to the AAJ message boards). Louis Armstrong's music is a big chunk of my life and in addition to giving a few Armstrong lectures at the Institute of Jazz Studies, I'm also finishing a book on the All Stars period. Just to keep the Armstrong birthday celebration going, I wanted to spread the word that last month I joined the rest of the human race and started a blog. It's an Armstrong blog (natch) and all I do is put my Itunes on random and talk about the first Armstrong track that comes up...historical details, musical details, little-known facts, whatever. I'm also going to be discussing Armstrong YouTube videos and my last posting was a small thesis on the "In Scandinavia" set from Storyville. If you'd like to check it out, go to dippermouth.blogspot.com. I appreciate all comments and feedback hope you enjoy it...here's to Pops! Red beans and ricely yours, Ricky

I'm very satisfied with all my Proper and JSP purchases. On the JSP side, I own both the JSP and Sony Armstrong Hot 5's and 7's and I find myself listening to the JSP's more often. The Django sets are indispensible in terms of sound quality and completeness; I've outplayed some of those discs. The Mills Brothers one is a good one, but perhaps not essential. I'm a huge Condon man and owned much of the material on the JSP "Classic Sessions" set, but it's still one I revisit quite often. On the other hand, they seem to be going in a new direction with their latest jazz boxes. I only purchased the Goodman, which featured great material and great sound but I didn't like the whole grouping CDs by theme: Small Groups, Vocalists, etc. A strictly chronological set with a mix of everything would have worked better I think, but this seems to be JSP's new path, as they've demonstrated with their new Ella and Dorsey boxes. Oh, and don't forget the smaller JSP sets which are truly excellent: Red Allen's 1929-1930 stuff, Armstrong's Big Band recordings from the early 30s (perhaps the Armstrong set I listen to most) and a fine Joe Venuti-Eddie Lang sampler. On the Proper side, I love the Lester Young and Coleman Hawins boxes. I had all the material on the Pres set, but the Hawkins one saved me a lot of dough from buying all the material on Classics disc. Same goes for the Hampton set, nowhere near complete, but a terrific overview. I'm also currently listening to the Woody Herman set, a fine one that's doing its job well: plugging up a major gap in my collection, early Herman. Does anyone have the Illinois Jacquet Proper set? I haven't seen it in the flesh yet, but everyone and their mother is selling it on eBay for around $22. It has all the material on the Mosaic but also some live JATP stuff and some early 50s sides for Norman Granz's labels. I don't have the Mosaic set, but I'm not really a fanatic about having all of Jacquet's alternate takes. I think I'd be more than happy with the Proper set, but I just wanted to check here if the sound is all right or if there are any other hazards with the set. Enjoy, Rick

Papa Jo has been my all-time favorite drummer for years. Every session he played, he elevated. His work with Basie of course is probably his longest-lasting testament, but he's on a million sessions from the 50s that are essential, namely the two January 56 dates with Lester Young, Jazz Giants and Pres and Teddy (listen to Pres Returns on the latter for a clinic on how to compliment a soloist). He also made everything look so easy. In my opinion, he steals "The Sound of Jazz" every time the camera hits him, with that gigantic smile that both opens and closes the program (by the way, that open, when you just hear his hi-hat and then his smiling face lights up the screen, is one of my favorite moments in TV history). CBS should have given him a show to vent his opinions....Papa Knows Best? Sadly, as the other posters have noted, he does seem to have grown salty towards the end. I recently watched the excellent Lester Young documentary Song of the Spirit which features Jones being interviewed shortly before his death. He sounded unhappy and looked terrible, with a messy beard and mishapen teeth...I prefer to remember him smiling during his solo on "Rosetta" on The Sound of Jazz. Rick

Hello everyone. I lurked at the dearly departed Blue Note boards (ha) for a very long time, so I've decided to make my coming out appearence here starting with this topic. Everyone's recommendations have been excellent, and I'll second (third? fourth?) the good words said about Plas and Red's "Keep That Groove Going." For me, the standout track is "Go Red Go" which leads me to recommending the album where it originally came from, 1959's "Blow Arnett Blow" originally released on Prestige (okay, Cobb originally cut it for Apollo in the 40s, but this version is the topper). Cobb is paired with Lockjaw here, and while the results aren't as boppish as Jaws' dates with Griff, these guys swing hard in an almost violent way, aided by a rhythm section of Strethen Davis on organ, George Duvivier on bass (what a rock!) and Arthur Edgehill. Even when they're relaxing as on "When I Grow Too Old To Dream," the groove doesn't quit. The whoops and shouts heard in the background on "Go Red Go" speak volumes about this joyous date (note, it was reissued on LP as "Go Power" but the OJC CD is "Blow Arnett Blow"). Helluva job on the forum, Rick