By June of 1928 Louis Armstrong had refined himself and his ensemble to the point where nearly every record they made was a study in collective genius, as the mature edition of the Hot Five resounded with Zutty Singleton's popping cymbals and Earl Hines' modernistic piano. The entire idiom of... [+] Expand

By June of 1928 Louis Armstrong had refined himself and his ensemble to the point where nearly every record they made was a study in collective genius, as the mature edition of the Hot Five resounded with Zutty Singleton's popping cymbals and Earl Hines' modernistic piano. The entire idiom of classic jazz is defined in part by the lively, well-oiled precision of "Fireworks," the humorous dialogue leading into the leader's velvety vocal on "A Monday Date" and the stunning vocal trio harmonies laid over Fats Waller's "Squeeze Me." On July 5, 1928, the Five found themselves surrounded by six other players to form a big band designated for posterity as Carroll Dickerson's Savoyagers. This interesting experiment in upsizing pointed in the direction that Armstrong was headed, for within one year, with violinist Dickerson in tow, the trumpeter would be performing in front of a significantly larger ensemble. For the time being, Armstrong's sextet began calling itself his Orchestra or, when Don Redman was in on the gig, his Savoy Ballroom Five. This portion of the Armstrong chronology is deliciously packed with some of his greatest moments on record. "Weather Bird" is an especially satisfying Hines/Armstrong duet update of King Oliver's "Weather Bird Rag." At the beginning of 1929 Armstrong headed back to New York City, where on the 5th of March he recorded the famous "Knockin' a Jug" with Jack Teagarden, Happy Caldwell, Joe Sullivan, Kaiser Marshall, and Eddie Lang. On the same day a gorgeous rendition of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" was presented by the Luis Russell Orchestra in one of its most dazzling incarnations: drummer Paul Barbarin, bassist Pops Foster, guitarist Lonnie Johnson, Eddie Condon on the banjo, Russell at the piano, and a front line of Teddy Hill, Charlie Holmes, Albert Nicholas, J.C. Higginbotham, and Louis Armstrong. ~ arwulf arwulf, All Music Guide [-] Collapse

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