Louis Armstrong and His Friends [RCA/Bluebird]

• Artist: Louis Armstrong
• Rating:
• Release Date: July 09, 2002
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Jazz

Review

Louis Armstrong and His Friends isn't among the trumpeter/singer's essential releases, but it is certainly interesting, enjoyable, and historically important. Recorded in May 1970, Louis Armstrong and His Friends was his next-to-last studio session -- on July 6, 1971, the jazz giant passed away. When this album (which Bluebird/RCA reissued on CD in 2002) was recorded, Armstrong was in poor health; in fact, he wasn't well enough to do any trumpet playing on this album. But he was still able to sing, and he gets his points across on songs that range from "My One and Only Love" and Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo" to unlikely choices such as "Give Peace a Chance," Pharoah Sanders' "The Creator Has a Master Plan (Peace)," and the civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome." Produced by Bob Thiele and arranged by Oliver Nelson, Louis Armstrong and His Friends sometimes goes out of its way to sound contemporary (by early-'70s standards). And for the most part, it works. "The Creator Has a Master Plan (Peace)" and "Give Peace a Chance" aren't songs that Armstrong's longtime fans would have expected him to record, but they work surprisingly well for him. Meanwhile, Nelson's string arrangement on "Everybody's Talkin' (Echoes)" sounds dated (although not in a bad way) and even somewhat disco-ish. The disco era didn't really get started until around 1974, but in 1970 there were certain soul arrangers who were paving the way for disco (including Isaac Hayes and the Kenneth Gamble/Leon Huff team). And on "Everybody's Talkin' (Echoes)," Nelson sounds like he was paying close attention to some of the people who were taking soul into the '70s. Again, this CD falls short of essential, but for Armstrong's truly devoted fans, it is a fascinating (if imperfect) album to listen to. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
We Shall Overcome	Guy Carawan, Pete Seeger, Frank Hamilton, Zilphia Horton	Louis Armstrong	(6:43)
Everybody's Talkin' (Echoes)	Fred Neil	Louis Armstrong	(3:04)
What a Wonderful World	Bob Thiele, George David Weiss	Louis Armstrong	(3:21)
Boy from New Orleans	Bob Thiele, Ruth Ann Roberts, Bill Katz	Louis Armstrong	(3:57)
The Creator Has a Master Plan (Peace)	Leon Thomas, Pharoah Sanders	Louis Armstrong	(4:15)
Give Peace a Chance	John Lennon, Paul McCartney	Louis Armstrong	(4:35)
Mood Indigo	Irving Mills, Barney Bigard, Duke Ellington	Louis Armstrong	(3:20)
His Father Wore Long Hair	Bob Thiele, George David Weiss, Pauline Rivelli	Louis Armstrong	(2:32)
My One and Only Love	Robert Mellin, Guy Wood	Louis Armstrong	(3:19)
The Black Cat Has Nine Lives	Lorenzo Pack	Louis Armstrong	(2:47)
Here Is My Heart for Christmas [*]	Bob Thiele, George David Weiss, Pauline Rivelli	Louis Armstrong	(2:38)
The Creator Has a Master Plan (Peace) [Original Unedited Version][#][*]	Leon Thomas, Pharoah Sanders	Louis Armstrong	(5:56)
The Creator Has a Master Plan (Peace) [ [Unedited Version With Overdub]	Leon Thomas, Pharoah Sanders	Louis Armstrong	(5:53)

Credits

Tony Bennett (Vocals), Ruby Braff (Vocals), Eddie Condon (Vocals), Miles Davis (Vocals), Richard Davis (Bass), Al Grey (Trombone), Bobby Hackett (Vocals), Chico Hamilton (Vocals), Billy Harper (Saxophone), Thad Jones (Trumpet), Thad Jones (Flugelhorn), Oliver Nelson (Arranger), Oliver Nelson (Conductor), Oliver Nelson (Orchestral Arrangements), Jimmy Owens (Trumpet), Jimmy Owens (Flugelhorn), James Spaulding (Flute), Marvin Stamm (Trumpet), Marvin Stamm (Flugelhorn), Leon Thomas (Percussion), Leon Thomas (Vocals), Leon Thomas (Wood Flute), Chuck Rainey (Bass (Electric)), Ernie Royal (Trumpet), Ernie Royal (Flugelhorn), George Wein (Vocals), Mike Lipskin (Vocals), Quentin Jackson (Trombone), George Duvivier (Bass), Tasha Thomas (Vocals), Louis Armstrong (Vocals), Louis Armstrong (Main Performer), Robert Ashton (Saxophone), Danny Bank (Saxophone), Julien Barber (Viola), Raymond Beckenstein (Saxophone), Janice Bell (Vocals), Arnold Black (Violin), Sam T. Brown (Guitar), Alfred Brown (Viola), Garnett Brown (Trombone), Kenny Burrell (Guitar), Bill Campbell (Trombone), Ornette Coleman (Vocals), Winston Collymore (Violin), Stanley Dance (Vocals), Stanley Dance (Liner Notes), Paul Gershman (Violin), Gene Golden (Conga), Manny Green (Violin), Carl Hall (Vocals), Harry Lookofsky (Violin), Joseph Malin (Violin), Charles McCracken (Cello), Kermit Moore (Cello), Gene Orloff (Violin), Frank Owens (Piano), Bernard "Pretty" Purdie (Drums), George Ricci (Cello), Al Schulman (Cello), David Schwartz (Viola), Bob Thiele (Original Album Producer), Todd Whitelock (Mastering), Todd Whitelock (Mixing), Emanuel Vardi (Viola), Willard Jenkins (Liner Notes), Raymond Ross (Photography), Ila Govan (Vocals), Matthew Ledbetter (Vocals), Joshua Sherman (Series Producer), John B. Williams, Jr. (Bass (Electric))