WIWS Banner

The Second Disc

Expanded and Remastered Music News

  • Home
  • Holiday Gift Guide
  • News
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Features
    • Release Round-Up
    • Giveaways!
    • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Release Calendar
    • Coming Soon
    • Now Available
  • About
  • Second Disc Records
    • Full Catalog
  • Contact

/ News

Ain't Misbehavin': Mosaic Collects Louis Armstrong's "Complete RCA Victor and Columbia Studio Sessions 1946-66"

February 2, 2021 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

Louis Armstrong Complete RCA and Columbia Mosaic 1946 1966

PRE-ORDER NOW FROM MOSAIC RECORDS

Throughout his remarkable and influential career, Louis Armstrong recorded in a variety of styles for a number of labels.  In April, some of his most significant sides for both RCA Victor and Columbia are coming to CD in a new box set from the fine folks at Mosaic Records.  The Complete Louis Armstrong Columbia and RCA Victor Studio Sessions 1946-1966 is a sprawling and comprehensive 7-CD collection with all 29 of Satchmo's 1946-47 RCA sides plus his '50s Columbia LPs with producer George Avakian (Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy, Satch Plays Fats); Dave and Iola Brubeck's starry concept album The Real Ambassadors; and subsequent cuts overseen by Teo Macero and Bob Johnston. This set promises to be an ideal complement to the (now sadly out-of-print) 2014 box Columbia and RCA Victor Live Recordings of Louis Armstrong and The All-Stars.

The box begins in January 1946 with a session featuring Duke Ellington on one track and Neal Hefti on another; it continues through October 1947.  At RCA, Armstrong recorded with both his regular live band and in a small group setting; the latter sessions with Bobby Hackett and Jack Teagarden would lead Armstrong to form his own small group, The All-Stars.  All 29 of these recordings have been newly transferred from the original metal parts.

Following his RCA years, Armstrong signed with Decca Records where he honed his crossover success with pop audiences at the expense of the support of some in the jazz community.  But in 1954, George Avakian - still in the midst of his innovative 12-year stay at Columbia during which time he nurtured the careers of artists from Miles Davis to Johnny Mathis - lured Armstrong to the fold for what was intended to be a one-off album.  The result was 1954's Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy, a full-length tribute to the "Father of the Blues."  The trumpeter-vocalist tapped into his roots on such tracks as "St. Louis Blues," "Beale Street Blues," and "Long Gone" with The All-Stars: Trummy Young (trombone), Barney Bigard (clarinet), Billy Kyle (piano), Arvell Shaw (bass), Barrett Deems (drums), and Velma Middleton (vocals).  Avakian himself penned the liner notes for the triumphant return to form which is today regarded as perhaps Armstrong's finest album statement.

Plays W.C. Handy was so successful that Avakian lured Armstrong back for a follow-up the next year.  Satch Plays Fats Waller celebrated the life of the stride piano legend and included many of his most famous (and famously playful) compositions such as "Ain't Misbehavin'," "Honeysuckle Rose," "Squeeze Me," and "Black and Blue."  The producer again annotated the LP which featured the same All-Stars lineup.  While a later 1955 session didn't yield a full album, it did garner Armstrong a bona fide standard.  His Columbia recording of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's "Mack the Knife" (in its 1954 American translation by Marc Blitzstein) was the first to bring the song to the forefront of the U.S. pop consciousness, inspiring later takes by just about everybody, but most notably Bobby Darin and Louis' sometime-duet partner, Ella Fitzgerald.

The third major Columbia LP covered in this set was an all-star (if not All-Star) affair.  In September 1957, Armstrong took a courageous public stand against the injustices being perpetrated against African-American students attempting to integrate in Arkansas.  Pianist Dave Brubeck and his wife Iola believed passionately in what the musician was saying and conceived a big Broadway musical about the cultural ambassadors of the world - people like Louis Armstrong.  It was titled The Real Ambassadors, and the Brubecks drew, too, on their own experiences touring the world on behalf of the U.S. State Department, sharing American music.  While the musical never got off the ground despite (or maybe because of) addressing such weighty issues as civil rights and America's standing in the Cold War era, the score premiered at the 1962 Monterey Jazz Festival and on disc by Columbia Records under the auspices of Teo Macero.  Louis starred alongside Dave Brubeck, Carmen McRae, and the vocal trio of Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross.  The 60-year-old artist brought a lifetime of experience to the role, and it remains some of his most affecting work at Columbia or anywhere else.

All three Columbia LPs are presented in new remasters of their original albums, but Mosaic being Mosaic, that's far from all.  Each album is now accompanied by never-before-heard session material totaling more than three hours of listening.  As Avakian relied heavily upon editing and splicing the jazz recordings he produced, the Columbia archives housed numerous alternate takes, rehearsals, and even in-studio talks.  All of those are presented here including over 75 minutes of outtake material from The Real Ambassadors.

That's still not all.  The box also has a handful of other rarities including a Remington shaver ad with Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, and The Hi-Los; and Louis' 1966 Columbia single of "Canal Street Blues" b/w "Cabaret" from the Broadway musical of the same name (the cast album rights for which were held by Columbia).  By that point, Armstrong's popularity had once again skyrocketed thanks to his once-in-a-lifetime, Grammy-winning recording of Jerry Herman's "Hello, Dolly!" for the Kapp label.  (When "Dolly!" reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1964, it ended The Beatles' streak of three chart-toppers over fourteen consecutive weeks on the chart.  Louis also became the oldest artist to reach No. 1.)

The Complete Louis Armstrong Columbia and RCA Victor Studio Sessions 1946-1966 will be packaged with Mosaic's usual attention to detail.  The booklet includes a 30,000-word essay by Armstrong historian Ricky Riccardi (author of What a Wonderful World: Louis Armstrong's Later Years and Heart Full of Rhythm: The Big Band Years of Louis Armstrong) as well as over 40 photos (many never before published) from the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation. Sound quality promises to be exceptional, too.  Mosaic indicates that "via Sony's archives we were able to get the original RCA Victor metal parts and test pressings of the pre-tape material and for the Columbia sessions we had access to all of the reel-to-reel tapes which were lovingly transferred by Matt Cavaluzzo of Battery Studios. For the Columbia LPs, we kept the order in which they appeared on the original LPs and as for the alternate takes we had our restoration engineer Andreas Meyer restore previous edits and splices."

The box set is limited to 3,500 copies and is scheduled for release exclusively through Mosaic Records on April 10.  Pre-orders are open now at the link below.

The Complete Louis Armstrong Columbia and RCA Victor Studio Sessions 1946-1966 (Mosaic, 2021)

For complete track listing and Armstrong sessionography for the period covered in this box set, please visit Mosaic Records here.

Categories: News Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Jazz Tags: Carmen McRae, Dave Brubeck, Lambert Hendricks and Ross, Louis Armstrong

Avatar photo

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

Connect With Joe: FacebookTwitter

You Might Also Like

  • Steve and Eydie That Holiday FeelingRelease Round-Up: Week of November 11
  • Neil Diamond ChristmasYou Make It Feel Like Christmas: New Collections Coming From Neil Diamond, Reba McEntire, Louis Armstrong, More
  • Rush Moving Pictures 40thRelease Round-Up: Week of April 15
  • StreamThe Weekend Stream: January 22, 2022

Comments

  1. Robert Lett says

    February 2, 2021 at 12:18 pm

    Definitely getting this. The sound on this will be great I wish they would show the original album art in the booklets.

    Reply
  2. Arize says

    February 4, 2021 at 8:58 am

    Just glad to see in Mosaic records has managed to remain in business. They have been doing God's work over the years.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Upcoming Releases

  • Carole Bayer Sager Sometimes Late at Night
    Sometimes Late at Night: Expanded Edition
    Carole Bayer Sager
    February 03, 2023
  • Carole King Home Again
    Home Again: Live in Central Park
    Carole King
    February 10, 2023
  • Robert Palmer Island Years
    The Island Records Years
    Robert Palmer
    February 17, 2023
See Full Calendar

Connect

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,544 other subscribers

Popular

  • headquarters
    Review: The Monkees, "Headquarters: Super Deluxe Edition" posted on January 24, 2023 | under Reviews
  • Bob Dylan Fragments Bootleg 17 Cover
    Release Round-Up: Week of January 27 posted on January 27, 2023 | under Release Round-Up
  • Marshall Crenshaw 40
    Something's Gonna Happen: Marshall Crenshaw's Expanded Debut Coming Back to CD posted on January 26, 2023 | under News

Comments

  • small faces here come the nice2
    Return To Itchycoo Park: Small Faces' "Here Come The Nice" Deluxe Box Set Arrives In January [UPDATED 12/3] 84 comments | by Joe Marchese | posted on December 3, 2013 | under News
  • the beatles u s albums box2
    British Invasion! The Beatles Unveil "The U.S. Albums" Box Set in January 69 comments | by Joe Marchese | posted on December 12, 2013 | under News
  • Rolling Stones in Mono
    Out of Their Heads: Stones Plan Mono Box Set 47 comments | by Mike Duquette | posted on August 10, 2016 | under News

Music Resources

  • Addicted to Vinyl
  • Crap from the Past
  • Discogs
  • Film Score Monthly
  • IMWAN Forum – From the Vaults
  • MusicTAP
  • Musoscribe
  • Pause & Play
  • Popblerd
  • Popdose
  • Record Racks
  • Slicing Up Eyeballs
  • Steve Hoffman Music Forums
  • Ultimate Classic Rock
  • Vintage Vinyl News
  • Viva La Mainstream
  • Wolfgang's Vault

Labels of Note

  • Ace Records
  • Analog Spark
  • Bear Family
  • BGO Records
  • Big Break Records
  • Blixa Sounds
  • Cherry Red Label Group
  • Craft Recordings
  • Demon Music Group
  • Friday Music
  • Funky Town Grooves
  • Iconoclassic Records
  • Intervention Records
  • Intrada
  • Kritzerland
  • La La Land Records
  • Legacy Recordings
  • Light in the Attic
  • Masterworks Broadway
  • Now Sounds
  • Omnivore Recordings
  • Real Gone Music
  • Resonance Records
  • Rhino Entertainment
  • Rock Candy Records
  • SoulMusic Records
  • Sunset Blvd. Records
  • Supermegabot
  • Varese Sarabande
  • Vinyl Me, Please
  • Wounded Bird
Copyright © 2023 The Second Disc. All rights reserved. · Site by Metaglyphics

The Second Disc is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy