1929-1930

• Artist: Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1929 -1930
• Total Time: 71:36
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Jazz

Review

On March 1, 1929, Eddie Condon managed to assemble a completely unrehearsed band in a recording studio at Liederkranz Hall in New York City, where two of the greatest jazz records of the entire decade were waxed and soon issued under the name of Fats Waller & His Buddies. Four days later, Condon was in a different studio with a band led by Panamanian pianist Luis Russell. This ten-piece orchestra was identified on record as Louis Armstrong's Savoy Ballroom Five. Their "Mahogany Hall Stomp" perfectly embodies both the leader's personality and jazz itself at the end of the 1920s. The Armstrong chronology jumps to July of 1929 with four beautiful Fats Waller melodies and into September with a string of pretty tunes that seem to anticipate popular taste during the 1930s. In December of 1929 Armstrong made a series of records with Luis Russell's orchestra. This placed him in the same group with trumpeter Henry "Red" Allen, something that should have happened more often. Hoagy Carmichael sat in on December 13th to assist Armstrong in singing "Rockin' Chair." On January 24, 1930, the era of sweet bands seems to have officially opened with "Song of the Islands," garnished with three violins and vibraphone played by Paul Barbarin while the band's valet sat in on the drums. Moving into the spring of 1930, a duet rendition of "Dear Old Southland" paired the trumpeter with pianist Buck Washington. As the Great Depression settled over the listening public, Armstrong recorded numerous pop songs in front of a large, lightly sweetened orchestra. His trumpet and persona transform even the least of these ditties into precious delicacies that still nourish and satisfy many years after their creation. ~ arwulf arwulf, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Mahogany Hall Stomp	Spencer Williams	Louis Armstrong	(3:27)
Ain't Misbehavin'	Fats Waller, Andy Razaf, Harry Brooks	Louis Armstrong	(3:24)
Black and Blue	Fats Waller, Andy Razaf, Harry Brooks	Louis Armstrong	(3:10)
That Rhythm Man	Fats Waller, Andy Razaf, Harry Brooks	Louis Armstrong	(3:11)
Sweet Savannah Sue	Fats Waller, Andy Razaf, Harry Brooks	Louis Armstrong	(3:15)
Some of These Days [Instrumental]	Shelton Brooks	Louis Armstrong	(2:54)
Some of These Days [Vocal Version]	Shelton Brooks	Louis Armstrong	(3:15)
When You're Smiling (The Whole World Smiles with You) [Instrumental]	Mark Fisher, Joe Goodwin, Larry Shay	Louis Armstrong	(2:59)
When You're Smiling (The Whole World Smiles with You) [Vocal Version][V	Mark Fisher, Joe Goodwin, Larry Shay	Louis Armstrong	(3:31)
After You've Gone	Henry Creamer, Turner Layton	Louis Armstrong	(3:24)
I Ain't Got Nobody	Roger Graham, Spencer Williams, Dave Peyton	Louis Armstrong	(2:46)
Dallas Blues	Lloyd Garrett, Hart A. Wand	Louis Armstrong	(3:17)
St. Louis Blues	W.C. Handy	Louis Armstrong	(3:02)
Rockin' Chair	Hoagy Carmichael	Louis Armstrong	(3:22)
Song of the Islands	Charles E. King	Louis Armstrong	(3:29)
Bessie Couldn't Help It	Byron Warner, Jacques Richmond, Charles A. Bayha	Louis Armstrong	(3:22)
Blue Turning Grey Over You	Fats Waller, Andy Razaf	Louis Armstrong	(3:28)
Dear Old Southland	Henry Creamer, Turner Layton	Louis Armstrong	(3:20)
My Sweet Hunk o' Trash	James P. Johnson, F.E. Miller	Louis Armstrong	(3:22)
I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me	Jimmy McHugh, Clarence Gaskill	Louis Armstrong	(3:10)
Indian Cradle Song	Gus Kahn, Mabel Wayne	Louis Armstrong	(3:00)
Exactly Like You	Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields	Louis Armstrong	(3:28)

Credits

Louis Armstrong (Trumpet), Louis Armstrong (Vocals), Louis Armstrong (Main Performer)