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Welcome back to the next installment in our series of posts inspired by the first Louis Armstrong Hot Five recording session of November 12, 1925. We’ve come along way since the initial posts and have ended up chronocling the impact George Avakian’s Columbia Records album reissues of the 1940s had on the reputation of thisContinue reading “Hot Five Centennial Celebration Part 7: Columbia Long-Playing Albums of the 1950s”

Last time out, we told the story of George Avakian, who, while still a 21-year-old student at Yale, was hired by Columbia Records oversee a series of jazz reissue albums. Louis Armstrong’s 1920s sides had become coveted collector’s items in the years following their release and Avakian had grown frustrated with how difficult they wereContinue reading “Hot Five Centennial Celebration Part 6: Columbia Records Reissue Albums of the 1940s”

In our (very long) previous installment to this series, we told the tale of how the records Louis Armstrong made with the Hot Five and Hot Seven in the 1920s were extremely influential to those who heard them…but there were a lot of people who didn’t hear them at the time of their release becauseContinue reading “Hot Five Centennial Celebration Part 5: George Avakian and the Release of “King Louis””

In the previous post of this series, we shared many of the advertisements and clippings devoted to the Hot Five, as saved by Louis Armstrong in a pair of precious scrapbooks from the 1920s. Armstrong was obviously proud of his success as a recording artist and, as the story goes, these records changed jazz historyContinue reading “Hot Five Centennial Celebration Part 4: Contemporary Coverage of the Hot Five 1926-1940”

Welcome back to a very exciting third installment in our ongoing Hot Five Centennial Celebration series. If you’d like to catch up, here’s a link to Part 1, which detailed the birth of the Hot Five, and here’s a link to Part 2, in which we broke some very exciting news about Lil Hardin Armstrong.Continue reading “Hot Five Centennial Celebration Part 3: The Scrapbooks”

On Saturday, November 8, 2025, I co-hosted an afternoon event at the Louis Armstrong House Center dedicated to the impending Hot Five Centennial. I’ve given many Archival presentations since the Armstrong Center opened in 2023, often alternating with Matthew “Fat Cat” Rivera (of Hot Club of New York fame), who handles our Listening Sessions. WeContinue reading “Hot Five Centennial Celebration Part 2: Archival Presentation and Listening Session”

The annals of music are filled with iconic band names. The Beatles. The Rolling Stones. Metallica. It happens less frequently in the jazz world, which tends to favor the individual, but even then, some phrases have had lasting power: The Blanton-Webster Band. The Old Testament. The Jazz Messengers. But it all started 100 years agoContinue reading “Hot Five Centennial Celebration Part 1: Birth of the Hot”

70 years ago today, Louis Armstrong stepped into Columbia Records’s 30th Street studio, acting upon an idea by producer George Avakian. It was the only free time he had before embarking on a three-month tour of Europe two days later. The stress of the session was worth it, as it resulted in the biggest hitContinue reading ““Take It, Satch!”: 70th Anniversary Celebration of “Mack the Knife””

Scrapbooks have been a very popular part of this website–and we have plenty of them to share. It’s always enjoyable to share them, but sometimes it’s nice to tie one into an anniversary. We’re a little late, but a memorable occasion took place on August 10, 1960–65 years ago last month–that’s worth celebrating: The 5thContinue reading ““Prisoners Have a Ball With Louis”: Lorton Jazz Festival 1960″

On this date in 1957, Louis Armstrong put his career on the line to speak out against racial injustice occurring in Little Rock, Arkansas, venting to young reporter Larry Lubenow, “The way they’re treating my people in the south, the government can go to hell.” Armstrong’s comments were made in Grand Forks, North Dakota, theContinue reading ““Solid – Satchmo Louis Armstrong”: Grand Forks Herald Coverage of Louis Armstrong and Little Rock”