Satchmo in Style

by Ken DrydenNot only was Louis Armstrong a major jazz star but his fame as a popular entertainer was growing by the time these sessions were recorded for Decca between 1949 and 1954. Gordon Jenkins provides the arrangements and serves as conductor, although the jazz content is minimal and the music is plagued by the rather dated charts and a rather nauseating choir on over half of the tracks. Likewise, the strings (when present) are overbearing and haven't stood the test of time as well as Armstrong's warm vocals and still potent trumpet, though he isn't featured as a trumpeter all that much. His horn is the highlight of "Chloe," though the overbearing choir makes one long for Spike Jones' satirical version instead. The undisguised attack on bop, "The Whiffenpoof Song," falls flat in a bland easy listening arrangement, though Armstrong's spoof of Dizzy Gillespie's scat vocals is briefly amusing. "Spooks" doesn't stand a ghost of chance -- it's an attempt at vocal Halloween humor that deserved to be left in the vault. The best music on this CD reissue is contained within the three tracks that thankfully omit the choir and strings, especially Irving Berlin's "You're Just in Love," which has a fun duet with Velma Middleton, and a remake of Armstrong's "I Want a Big Butter and Egg Man." This release is not one of the high points of Louis Armstrong's career, though it may serve as a nostalgic reminder for those who remember hearing the original releases when they first came out.