Louis Armstrong is the
Godfather of Swing and Jazz in many ways. However, most of his most famous
and common recordings are of the dixieland/New Orleans style with swirling solos
and a very overly-bouncy beat such that only Lindy Hoppers who love vintage
swing music appreciate it for dancing. Oscar Peterson, on the other hand,
is extremely popular on the "Groove" side of the Lindy world, with Ray
Brown providing the smooth-attack bass anchor to his swing material.
Armstrong mostly fits into Peterson's style on this album by singing and playing
a set of easy-going, slower, relaxed tunes in front of Peterson's back-up band
(including Ray Brown on Bass). As Scott Yanow notes in his Allmusic
review, the change of pace for Armstrong is refreshing. Nine of the twelve
songs (and twelve of the sixteen song on the bonus edition) are danceable and
amazing.
Louis Armstrong is the
Godfather of Swing and Jazz in many ways. However, most of his most famous
and common recordings are of the dixieland/New Orleans style with swirling solos
and a very overly-bouncy beat such that only Lindy Hoppers who love vintage
swing music appreciate it for dancing. Oscar Peterson, on the other hand,
is extremely popular on the "Groove" side of the Lindy world, with Ray
Brown providing the smooth-attack bass anchor to his swing material.
Armstrong mostly fits into Peterson's style on this album by singing and playing
a set of easy-going, slower, relaxed tunes in front of Peterson's back-up band
(including Ray Brown on Bass). As Scott Yanow notes in his Allmusic
review, the change of pace for Armstrong is refreshing. Nine of the twelve
songs (and twelve of the sixteen song on the bonus edition) are danceable and
amazing.