Saturday Jazz Performance! - Louis Armstrong - More than Okey!

Okey, so lets get started. This Saturday Jazz Performance is a little older than most, it doesn't capture a band on video either, but it is still worthwhile. Today we are featuring two sound recordings recorded over 80 years ago by Louis Armstrong.

The reason for this breaking in protocol is because these two very sharp sounding Armstrong recordings, transferred by Nick Dellow, have been posted by Jonathan Holmes on his jazz oriented YouTube Channel.

They are said to have been transferred from an "Okeh metal mother which was shipped to Germany for Odeon to use." Basically, it was an old fashioned master recording which was cut on a metal record, which is why the sound is so good.

Dellow states that, "There are still metals parts for pre-war Victor, Columbia and OKeh (from 1926) 78 rpm recordings residing within Sony's vaults in New York, though I have no idea exactly how much is left... Very occasionally, they are used as the source material for CD reissues, but the results vary!"

The first is Knee Drops performed by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, it was recorded in Chicago, Illinois on July 5, 1928. The record features Louis Armstrong on trumpet, Fred Robinson on trombone, Jimmy Strong on clarinet, Earl Hines on piano, Mancy Cara on banjo, and Zutty Singleton on the drums

Knee Drops was composed by Lil' Harden Armstrong, Louis' wife. This version was the first recording of the tune, I believe.

The second recording is Thomas "Fats" Waller's Ain't Misbehavin' performed by Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra. It was recorded in New York, on July 19, 1929.

The performers are Louis Armstrong who sings and plays the trumpet, Carroll Dickerson on violin, Homer Hobson on trumpet, Fred Robinson on trombone, Bert Curry on saxophone, Crawford Wethington on saxophone, Jimmy Strong on clarinet and tenor saxophone, Gene Anderson on piano, Mancy Cara on banjo, Pete Briggs on bass, and Zutty Singleton on the drums.

A big thank you goes out to both Jonathan Holmes and Nick Dello for making these transfers available!