Louis Armstrong on Mosaic

[Chanders]

Hi all, I am more or less a lurker on this board but have found it very valuable especially as it offers a different take on a lot of aspects of recorded jazz than my usual forums (Reddit and the one that shall not be named but if inder the banner of a well-known engineer). 
 

I’ve been building up my Mosaic collection the last year or so and it’s time to combine that with the goal of broadening my Louis Armstrong holdings past 1934. I have the complete Hot Fives and Sevens of course and the Portrait of the Artist sampler box. If you were going to pick your first of the four main Mosaic boxes which would you start with? Let’s assume for the sake of argument you might not ever have the money or room to get another. Finally, all of the boxes are OOP and expensive but let’s just ignore that for now. 
 

Whar would you buy first?

[JSngry]

Probably the Decca All Stars set? But the other Decca set contends.

[Stompin at the Savoy]

Those Armstrong sets are kind of pricey right now, no idea why.  But if you set up notifications on ebay, discogs, and what have you, and watch for a while you can generally get them for the original price ($15-$17 per disk), or less.  For ex in 2022 I picked up #146 The Complete Decca Studio Recordings of Louis Armstrong and the All Stars, for $78 (box, book, the works, shipped).

Two are available on spotify (and presumably as downloads from the usual sources): 

Louis Armstrong The Complete Louis Armstrong Decca Sessions (1935-1946): https://open.spotify.com/album/4ePSSZbkcek6jALbNtztI8? 

Louis Armstrong Columbia And RCA Victor Live Recordings Of Louis Armstrong And The All Stars:

Vol. 1: https://open.spotify.com/album/7GwSrFicvM59OYCAFsDB4q

Vol. 2: https://open.spotify.com/album/5oPUTne7UdDcLUsRKpODvW

Vol. 3: https://open.spotify.com/album/6caWTu3uR6ykaFv1asaqwG

Edited Sunday at 09:54 PM by Stompin at the Savoy

[John L]

I would give a strong recommendation for the Decca sessions of 1935-1946.   Maybe some of the chosen songs leave something to be desired, but this is Louis Armstrong in his absolute youthful prime giving mostly timeless interpretations of jazz and pop standards.  

Much of his later work with the All Stars is also fine, but I would it a notch below this. 

There is also a box of the complete RCA recordings (not on Mosaic), which are absolutely essential.  You already have a taste of that on the Portrait of the Artist box. 

Edited Sunday at 11:45 PM by John L

[Chuck Nessa]

3 hours ago, John L said:

I would give a strong recommendation for the Decca sessions of 1935-1946.   Maybe some of the chosen songs leave something to be desired, but this is Louis Armstrong in his absolute youthful prime giving mostly timeless interpretations of jazz and pop standards.  

Much of his later work with the All Stars is also fine, but I would it a notch below this. 

There is also a box of the complete RCA recordings (not on Mosaic), which are absolutely essential.  You already have a taste of that on the Portrait of the Artist box. 

Agree.

[Stompin at the Savoy]

Here's the booklet for the Complete Decca Sessions: https://musicbrainz.org/release/ba5d4236-388e-4dc8-9adf-ed38c4c08b69/cover-art  . The set is sold as a (cd quality in some places) download under the name The Decca Singles. 

I got a complete copy of the box set on ebay in 2022 for $127.

Edited yesterday at 04:35 AM by Stompin at the Savoy

[gmonahan]

I'd agree with Jim about the Decca All Stars set, mostly because of the collaborations with Jack Teagarden, though he is on a little of the Victor/Columbia live set as well. There are a lot of jewels in the earlier Decca Big Bands set, but some dross as well. But that's Mosaic. You get it all.

[ghost of miles]

My vote's for the Decca 1935-46 set, followed closely by the Decca All-Stars box.

[Chanders]

Many thanks to everyone who weighed in. In the end, price made a decision for me. I managed to find  a copy of the Big Band Decca set for $19 a disc but also from a seller in Italy, which is where I live and often help me pull the trigger on bigger purchases. Looking forward to listen in tandem with the 2020 Ricky Riccardi book :-).