By 1957, hard bop was firmly established as the "jazz of now," while pianist
Oscar Peterson and his ensemble with bassist
Ray Brown and guitarist
Herb Ellis were making their own distinctive presence felt as a true working band playing standards in the swing tradition.
Louis Armstrong was more recognizable to the general public as a singer instead of the pioneering trumpet player he was. But popularity contests being the trend, Armstrong's newer fans wanted to hear him entertain them, so in retrospect it was probably a good move to feature his vocalizing on these tracks with Peterson's band and guest drummer Louie Bellson sitting in. The standard form of Armstrong singing the lead lines, followed by playing his pithy and witty horn solos based on the secondary melody, provides the basis for the format on this charming but predictable recording. What happens frequently is that Armstrong and Peterson play lovely ad lib vocal/piano duets at the outset of many tunes. They are all songs you likely know, with few upbeat numbers or obscure choices. It is, however, the familiarity of songs like the midtempo "Let's Fall in Love," with Armstrong's gravelly scat singing, and his marvelous ability to riff off of the basic songs, that make these offerings endearing. A classic take of "Blues in the Night" is the showstopper, while choosing "Moon Song" is a good, off-the-beaten-path pick as the trumpeter plays two solo choruses, and he leads out on his horn for once during the slightly bouncy, basic blues "I Was Doing All Right." Some extremely slow tunes crop up on occasion, like "How Long Has This Been Going On?," an atypically downtempo take of "Let's Do It," and "You Go to My Head," featuring Peterson's crystalline piano. There are the dependable swingers "Just One of Those Things," "I Get a Kick Out of You," and "Sweet Lorraine," with Peterson at his accompanying best. There's a ramped-up version of the usually downtrodden "Willow Weep for Me" and a duet between Armstrong and Ellis on the sad two-minute ditty "There's No You." All in all, it's difficult to critique or find any real fault with these sessions, though Peterson is subsumed by the presence of Armstrong, who, as Leonard Feather notes, really needs nobody's help. That this was their only collaboration speaks volumes to how interactive and communal the session really was, aside from the fairly precious music.
- Bass – Ray Brown
- Drums – Louis Bellson
- Guitar – Herb Ellis
- Piano – Oscar Peterson
- Vocals, Trumpet – Louis Armstrong
A1 That Old Feeling
A2 Let's Fall in Love
A3 I'll Never Be the Same
A4 Blues in the Night
A5 How Long Has This Been Going On
A6 I Was Doing All Right
B1 What's New
B2 Moon Song
B3 Just One of Those Things
B4 There's No You
B5 You Got to My Head
B6 Sweet Lorraine
In
this collection by the German "History" label, you get nearly 40 hours
of digitally remastered original 78s and 45s. The sound quality is truly
amazing - the remastering process removes hiss, clicks & pops;
optimizes the equalization, and synthesizes stereo. The forty discs in
this set are grouped into twenty 2-disc volumes which are dedicated to a
vocalist or pair or vocalists.
.jpg)
The voices of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong are
among the most personal and beautiful that the history of music has
given us, transcending eras, genres and languages. In this wonderful
6-CD box we can find the legacy of this immortal duet including all
their key tracks and also some rarities that connoisseurs will surely
appreciate. With remastered sound and beautiful cover art, The Complete
Anthology is the definitive album of Ella & Louis, which should be
on every music collection.