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Louis Armstrong
Christian McBride's Christmas Jazz Playlist

Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis' version of "We Three Kings" goes on Christian McBride's holiday playlist. Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Brooks Brothers hide caption

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Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Brooks Brothers

Jazz Night In America

Christian McBride's Christmas Jazz Playlist

These days, the host of Jazz Night In America looks for old and forgotten gems during the holiday season. He weighs in with surprisingly different and joyous tunes — plus, of course, James Brown.

Christian McBride's Christmas Jazz Playlist

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Love Songs You Love To Love

Clockwise from upper left: Bright Eyes, Ed Sheeran, Louis Armstrong, Etta James, Peter Gabriel Courtesy of the artists hide caption

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Courtesy of the artists

All Songs Considered

Love Songs You Love To Love

In honor of Valentine's Day, we asked for your ideal romantic songs. On this week's All Songs Considered, we count down the 10 most popular tunes that make you swoon.

Love Songs You Love To Love

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Music Articles

'Pops': Louis Armstrong, In His Own Words

Jazz icon Louis Armstrong didn't just leave behind a treasure trove of musical recordings; he also documented hundreds of his private conversations on tape. Those recordings served as the basis for Terry Teachout's new biography of the legendary musician, Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong.

'Pops': Louis Armstrong, In His Own Words

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Review

Music Reviews

Louis Armstrong, The 'Decca Sessions'

Fresh Air

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new seven-disc set that chronicles the trumpeter's big band performances. Mosaic restored and remastered each of the 166 tracks from Decca Records' original recordings.

Louis Armstrong, The 'Decca Sessions'

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Music Articles

Revisiting Louis Armstrong in the Context of Civil Rights

Time/Life recently released a retrospective box set of Louis Armstrong. The material may show why Armstrong was not just a giant of jazz music, but a civil rights leader as well.

Revisiting Louis Armstrong in the Context of Civil Rights

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Music Articles

The Spirit of New Orleans Is in Its Music

For many music fans, it has been hard to hear the dramatic stories coming out of New Orleans and not consider the city's rich culture. The city is steeped in music, a heritage that folklorist Nick Spitzer, who evacuated the day before Katrina hit, continues to celebrate on the air.

The Spirit of New Orleans Is in Its Music

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Music Articles

Louis Armstrong Museum

This week, on an unassuming street in the Corona section of Queens in New York, the Louis Armstrong House opened to the public. Louis Armstrong lived in that house for the last 30 years of his life, and it has been restored to the way it looked when Armstrong last lived there.

Louis Armstrong Museum

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Music Articles

Director of the Louis Armstrong House & Archives, Michael Cogswell

Fresh Air

Director of the Louis Armstrong House & Archives, Michael Cogswell. August 4th is the 100th anniversary of Armstrong's birth. The archive contains 5000 photographs, 350 pages of autobiographical manuscripts, 270 sets of band part manuscripts, 650 home-made tape recordings and more. Hear excerpts from the tapes.

Director of the Louis Armstrong House & Archives, Michael Cogswell

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Music Articles

Louis Armstrong

GUESTS: CLARK TERRY * Jazz musician and bandleader, plays trumpet and flugelhorn DAN MORGENSTERN *Director of the Institute for Jazz Studies, Rutgers University LAURENCE BERGREEN *Author,Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life (Broadway Books, 1997) Louis Armstrong has been called the greatest musician of the century. While some may disagree, one thing is certain: after Louis, no one played or sang popular music the same way. Miles Davis once said that you can't play anything on the trumpet that Louis hadn't played-- even modern music. And while Armstrong may not have been gifted with a classically beautiful singing voice, the way he made a melody his own has inspired popular singers ever since; Frank Sinatra said that Louis Armstrong turned popular song into art. July 4th is the day when Armstrong's birthday is traditionally celebrated, so across the country this Independence Day, Americans will also be celebrating a hundred years of Pops. Join Juan Williams and guests for a look at the life and influence of Louis Armstrong, on the next Talk of the Nation, from NPR News.

Louis Armstrong

Only Available in Archive Formats.
Louis Armstrong: 'The Complete Hot Five & Hot Seven Recordings'

Review

Basic Jazz Record Library

Louis Armstrong: 'The Complete Hot Five & Hot Seven Recordings'

Louis Armstrong, one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th Century, exuded joy and exuberance as a trumpet player and singer. He rose from poverty in New Orleans, before achieving worldwide fame. In this 1928 album, a young Satchmo shows the extraordinary inventiveness that put him on the map.

Louis Armstrong: 'The Complete Hot Five & Hot Seven Recordings'

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Review

Basic Jazz Record Library

Louis Armstrong: 'The Best of the Decca Years, Vol. 1'

In 1956, Louis Armstrong was an international star at the height of his popularity. He also was one of the first to sing in "scat" style, essentially trying to sound out the notes instead of the words. Among many treats, The Best of the Decca Years has one of the best scat solos of all time — "Up a Lazy River."

Louis Armstrong: 'The Best of the Decca Years, Vol. 1'

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Gospel Meets Jazz, With Unpredictable Results

Don Byron released Love, Peace, and Soul with his New Gospel Quintet on Feb. 21. Till Krautkraemer/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Till Krautkraemer/Courtesy of the artist

Review

Music Articles

Gospel Meets Jazz, With Unpredictable Results

Two recent albums, from Don Byron's New Gospel Quintet and Charlie Haden and Hank Jones, offer contrasting perspectives on the intersection of two quintessentially American music styles.

Gospel Meets Jazz, With Unpredictable Results

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'Hello Dolly'

Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong, the great jazz trumpeter and vocalist playing at the Savoy Hotel, London. Harrison/Getty Images hide caption

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Harrison/Getty Images

Music Articles

'Hello Dolly'

When Louis Armstrong recorded Hello, Dolly in 1963, he gave it his unique vocal and instrumental treatment. But he had no idea the song would become a success.

'Hello Dolly'

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Cajun Carols: New Orleans Christmas Jazz

Album cover of Putumayo's New Orleans Christmas. Courtesy of Putumayo World Music hide caption

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Courtesy of Putumayo World Music

Holiday Music

Cajun Carols: New Orleans Christmas Jazz

90.5 WESA

In New Orleans, December brings only faux snow, so Papa Noel packs his presents on a pirogue pulled by alligators. Feux de Joie bonfires are lit along the Mississippi River to light his way to the bayous. Papa might not have a stereo on board, but if he does, you might hear a few of these Cajun carols around the Crescent City area.

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