The Hot Fives & Hot Sevens, Volume III

By the time these recordings were made in 1927-28, Louis Armstrong had abandoned the darker sounding cornet in favor of the brasher, more brilliant tonality of the trumpet. The New Orleans ensemble effects so prominent in earlier Hot Five sessions were of secondary importance, as Armstrong's instrumental command ascended to dizzying heights. Pianist and soon-to-be ex-wife Lil Hardin's "Struttin with Some Barbecue" inspires the trumpeter to a soaring, brilliantly syncopated solo, while guitarist Lonnie Johnson's expressive blues playing inspires Louis to expressive new heights on "Hotter Than That" and "Savoy Blues." But it's the appearance of pianist Earl Hines on the June 27, 1928 recording session that marks a sea change in Armstrong's music. Here at last is an original thinker, with the chops, imagination, and daring to play with Louis at an Olympian level, beginning, appropriately enough, with their choruses on "Fireworks" and their dazzling exchanges on "Skip the Gutter." Hines' "A Monday Date" is a particular joy, from the humorous repartee (in which Louis tosses in a plug for his favorite local bootlegger) to Zutty Singleton's dancing spoons, to Hines's sprightly playing underneath Armstrong's vocals and the leader's punchy muted trumpet figures. --Chip Stern