Remembering Louis in Bloomington, MN

Although 14 of the 16 songs on this set were recorded by
Louis Armstrong
(he never got around to
"How Am I to Know,"
which he did perform in 1930, while
"In the Land of Beginning Again"
was the closing theme song of
Fate Marable
's band when
Armstrong
was a sideman), there is no attempt to re-create Satch's solos or try vocalizing like him. Instead, this project just served as a good excuse for acoustic guitarist
Marty Grosz
(who surprisingly does not take any vocals), clarinetist
Ken Peplowski
, trumpeter
Jon-Erik Kellso
, and
Vince Giordano
(doubling on string bass and bass sax) to play some superior tunes that they loved from
's early days. The instrumentation is reminiscent of the
Sidney Bechet
/
Muggsy Spanier
quartet of 1940 and the ensembles have the same light feel. The musicians are all major players in the
classic jazz
field, have individual voices, and are superior ensemble players. Such songs as
"Mandy, Make up Your Mind,"
"Everybody Loves My Baby,"
"There's a Cabin in the Pines,"
"Cake Walking Babies From Home,"
and
"Jubilee"
are among the better songs, but in reality there is no weak point to this easily enjoyable
swing
/trad set. ~ Scott Yanow