In Part 1 of our look at the album Louis Armstrong and His Friends, we examined how Louis Armstrong prepared for this work after consulting with producer Bob Thiele when Thiele visited him at his home in Queens. Part 2 focused on the events of May 26, 1970, which kicked off with an all-star assemblageContinue reading “50 Years of “Louis Armstrong and His Friends” Part 3: The May 27, 1970 Session”
We have reached the final chapter, friends. To be honest, I thought of Louis Armstrong and His Friends as a one-time “Satch’s Tracks” post a few weeks ago–and then the events of the world exploded and there was something about this album, and especially the songs covered today, that seemed so relevant and timeless andContinue reading “50 Years of “Louis Armstrong and His Friends”: The May 29, 1970 Session”
Last week marked Hyland Harris’s tenth anniversary of working at the Louis Armstrong House Museum. He has probably given more tours of the Armstrong House than anyone in else in that time period. Since people come from all over the world for a variety of reasons, we asked Hyland what he information he hopes toContinue reading “Hanging With Hyland: Tours of the Armstrong House”
The impetus for our “Satch’s Tracks” series was to share examples of the various types of music found in Louis Armstrong’s record and tape collection; so far we’ve covered Rachmaninoff, Jelly Roll Morton, Bix Beiderbecke, the Beatles, Louis’s own music and more. But the broader goal of the series is to answer the frequently askedContinue reading ““All Men Are Created Equal”: Louis Armstrong Reads Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address”
After our multi-part look into the 1970 album Louis Armstrong and His Friends, it’s once again time to return to our “That’s My Home” theme and provide another glimpse into what Louis Armstrong did in his spare time off at home. We’re continuing with the year 1970 (does anyone believe that was actually fifty yearsContinue reading “Louis Armstrong’s 1969-1971 Scrapbooks: Scrapbook 1, Part 1”
We’ve now published six installments of “Hanging With Hyland” featuring our own Hyland Harris discussing everything from his background to Louis’s connection to Queens to the album Louis Armstrong and His Friends and more. Our comments sections is always open and we have received some excellent questions from our worldwide audience. In this video, HylandContinue reading “Hanging With Hyland: Viewer Questions”
Last week, we took you through a page-by-page exploration of the first half one of the handful of scrapbooks Louis Armstrong created in the last two years of his life. As promised, here is part two, much of it coming from March-April 1970. We open with one of Louis’s collages, made out of Christmas greetingsContinue reading “Louis Armstrong’s 1969-1971 Scrapbooks: Scrapbook 1, Part 2”
This is a different, yet special edition of “Hanging With Hyland” as we’re shining the spotlight on our two wonderful LAHM Fellows, Jazz Milligan and Jovan Slaughter. For those who don’t know, we just completed our third year of a fellowship program funded by Robert F. Smith’s Fund II Foundation. Each year, two students areContinue reading “2020 LAHM Fellows Presentations”
70 years ago today, Louis Armstrong entered Decca’s New York studios to record two songs of French origin: “La Vie En Rose” and “C’est Si Bon.” Sy Oliver put together a terrific studio orchestra and arranged both songs for the date. The result was the biggest hit of Armstrong’s career to this point and twoContinue reading “Pops Goes French: “La Vie En Rose” and “C’est Si Bon””
In case you’ve missed them, Part 1 of this series opened with a page-by-page breakdown of the first half of a scrapbook Louis Armstrong began compiling in 1969. The shorter Part 2 continued through the middle pages, focusing on a number of photographs of Louis with Israeli trumpeter Yakov Uriel. This post will conclude thisContinue reading “Louis Armstrong’s 1969-1971 Scrapbooks: Scrapbook 1, Part 3”
