Louis Armstrong - Satchmo Forever

Satchmo.  Growing up in extremely precarious circumstances, only music and trumpet gave Louis Daniel „Satchmo“ Armstrong stability in his childhood and youth. At the age of 26, together with Kid Orys, he had his first hit, Muskrat Ramble, in the Billboard charts. Until 1966, another 78 hits were to follow. Concert tours worldwide, plus appearances in Hollywood films such as High Society or Hello Dolly and legendary collaborations with Ella Fitzgerald, among others, make him the figurehead of American contemporary culture of his time. That is why, at the peak of the Cold War, the U.S. government sends him as a musical ambassador to the African and Asian countries courted by the U.S. and the USSR. Later, he opposes racial segregation in his own country and refuses to cooperate again with U.S. authorities. Armstrong played a significant role in the development of New Orleans jazz and established „star soloism“ in jazz.  Stylistically, he has influenced almost all subsequent trumpeters of traditional jazz styles. His distinctive voice also makes him one of the most successful jazz vocalists ever.  By the way, Armstrong‘s nickname „Satchmo“ is an abbreviation of Satchel mouth, a reference to the size of his mouth.

Side B

1. Basin Street Blues [with The All-Stars]  
2. Dream A Little Dream Of Me [with Ella Fitzgerald]  
3. Takes Two To Tango  
4. Mack the Knife [with Edward R. Murrow & Leonard Bernstein]
5. Summertime [with Ella Fitzgerald]