LOUIS ARMSTRONG

Spend New Years with one of the most important American artists in history. Fans who only remember Louis Armstrong for later-day appearances and tunes like Hello Dolly only have to scratch the surface to discover Satchmo's colossal impact on Jazz as an art form. Armstrong is not remembered for his political ideas, but one only needs to read David Margolick's article in the New York Times to learn about his political stand in 1957 in support of the kids in Little Rock. Winton Marsalis had this to say about Armstrong in Ken Burns Jazz: "Louis Armstrong invented a new style of playing. Louis Armstrong created the coherent solo. Louis Armstrong fused the sound of the Blues with the American popular song. Louis Armstrong extended the range of the trumpet. Louis Armstrong created the melodic and rhythmic vocabulary that all the big bands wrote music out of." There's a lot to explore in his long career! Image below: Cover design for the beautiful art book showcasing Armstrong's collage art, Satchmo: the Wonderful World and Art of Louis Armstrong.

See clips below for some of my favorite performances: Dinah, Hotter Than That, Russian Lullaby. You can also hear New Year's concerts from 1953, 1954, 1962, and 1967 over at Ricky Riccardi's blog here. BBC broadcast of Armstrong's home-recorded tapes here. Louis Armstrong House Museum here. Enjoy! Learn more about Satchmo with these NPR documentaries: Louis Armstrong: The Man and His Music part 1,  Revisiting Louis Armstrong in the Context of Civil Rights,  Louis Armstrong: The Man and His Music part 2,  Pops: Louis Armstrong in His Own Words, review of Mosaic's Decca Sessions box set, Louis Armstrong: the Singer, Louis Armstrong: the Trumpeter. Suggested reading: Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong, Satchmo: the Genius of Louis Armstrong. Suggested CDs: Hot Fives and Sevens, Satchmo at Symphony Hall, Plays WC Handy, Complete Decca Session 1935-1946, Columbia & RCA Live Recordings with the All-Stars, Satch Plays Fats.