Sugar

The '40s were the dawning of a new and fast-progressing movement in jazz. Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, and Coleman Hawkins had all cut important records in the technically challenging language of bebop at the time these Armstrong recordings were made, 1947. These small-group sessions, split between the studio and stage, frame Louis' timeless musicality wonderfully. Though improvised music was getting headier and faster, Armstrong's slipping out of fashion did not affect his ability to swing hot and hard--not to mention attract admirers. Highpoints include two live takes from New York City's Town Hall: an up-tempo, rollicking "Ain't Misbehavin'" and a low-down, slow "Back O' Town Blues." Throughout, Louis is in fine form and accompanied by the likes of Kid Ory, Peanuts Hucko, Barney Bigard, Bobby Hackett, and Jack Teagarden. When the mid-'50s rolled around, Armstrong was back in vogue and back on the charts, but this collection shows that Satchmo never lost his touch or appeal.