Louis Armstrong

Satchmo at the National Press Club: Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours (Smithsonian Folkways)

May 08, 2012

midnight

One of Louis Armstrong's final concerts was recorded in 1971 at Washington, D.C.'s National Press Club and released at the time on a limited-edition LP. The tapes finally made their way to digital. And although the great jazzman would die five months later, no clue could be heard on his ebulliently soulful performance. His gravelly, scatting voice, good humor and muggy yet insistent trumpet sounded as fine as ever on easygoing renditions of “When It's Sleepy Time Down South” and “Rockin' Chair” and a rollicking “Hello, Dolly.”