Weekly Album Of The Week #13

I usually post albums which I currently own but this week I am choosing an album on my "To Get" list.

While the "gray heads and long hairs" of the American Music Institutions of higher learning (ala Juliard) where agonzing over trying to find the great American equivalent to the music of Bach, they failed to recognize that he was allready among them in the spectre of one Louis Armstrong.

Armstrong took a true American music and made it into something more than it was (a novelty act), into high art. These recordings from the late 1920's with the Hot Fives/Sevens represent Armstrong at his finest period (before he was well known among whites and singing "What A Wonderful World"). If he were Elvis, this would be Armstrong's Sun period. His creativity was young, raw, and on fire. You can give the tracks a listen here. I suggest you start with "West End Blues" on CD 3 track 5.