Topic: West End Blues

[eric]

I used to have an E copy of this.  The incomparable Louis Armstrong with the Hot Five (Earl Hines on Piano)

[islandgal]

I have recently been watching the Ken Burns 10-part story of Jazz. I found it exceptionally well done. He features a lot of Louis Armstrong in the earlier parts.

Jean

[Stuart]

That's a good one, eric. I have it on Volume 3 of "The Complete Hot Five And Hot Seven Recordings." I picked it up when the CD set was issued in the early-mid 2000s, IIRC. I did a quick search and the CD is also on YT as a playlist if you're interested. (I haven't checked for the other CDs):

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?app=desktop&list=OLAK5uy_nu2LQlZb8RXJiwHkqqISyX3kvwC-xhGzY

[MarkC]

Pops is tops!

That collection Stuart brought up is excellent.

[bnemerov]

I think that's Earl Hines on piano. Mrs. Armstrong couldn't swing a piano break like that.

[eric]

I have recently been watching the Ken Burns 10-part story of Jazz. I found it exceptionally well done.

Hi Jean, I think so too.  There's been some criticism of it from the Jazz community, but it's a great introduction to the genre.

That's a good one, eric. I have it on Volume 3 of "The Complete Hot Five And Hot Seven Recordings."

Thanks Stuart, I'll check it out.  There were whole bunch of great Jazz reissues that came out back then.

I think that's Earl Hines on piano.

You could be right, bnemerov.  Maybe someone with a Jazz discography could chime in.

[Stuart]

I think that's Earl Hines on piano. Mrs. Armstrong couldn't swing a piano break like that.

You are correct, Bruce. Here's the Wiki page and a couple of others:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Armstrong_Hot_Five_and_Hot_Seven_Sessions

https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/HotFiveHotSevenRecordings.pdf

https://www.npr.org/2011/06/17/4558350/louis-armstrong-the-complete-hot-five-hot-seven-recordings

There were several "Complete" sets released back in the early 2000s, JSP and Sony among them. It looks like both are still available.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Fives_%26_Sevens

[MarkC]

“Louis Armstrong—Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man 1923 -1934” is another great collection.

[eric]

Thanks guys, I made the change.

[islandgal]

Regarding the Ken Burns Jazz series. "There's been some criticism of it from the Jazz community.."
Thanks Eric. I'd be interested in hearing their take on the series. Technically, I think the series is amazing. Content-wise, I stand to be educated I suppose.

[MarkC]

There are members of The Jazz Police who live to criticize.

[lindy]

Ornette Coleman once said, "The human being receives the pleasure from music, not from the argument over what it is."

But how we love to argue and criticize.

*In my personal experience*--yours may be different--most of the criticisms I've heard about "Jazz" or about any of the other Ken Burns documentaries have been aimed at specific lines in the script, calling them something equivalent to "inane."

OK, good luck producing a 20-hour mini-series about something as big as Jazz, or Baseball, or the Vietnam War without a few of those.

I respect the Jazz series for placing the development of this great art form in the context of race relations in America. We therefore get access to two history lessons, one about the music, and one about 20th century American society.

I encourage anyone who's interested to find a copy of the companion book to the series, written by Geoffrey Ward. It fills in some of the gaps that the film didn't cover. Stands up as a strong history of the music on its own.

Lindy

[MarkC]

Well said Lindy.