Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy

Louis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy
Studio album by Louis Armstrong and His All Stars
Released	1954
Recorded	Jul 12, 1954
Genre	Jazz
Length	76:37
Label	Columbia
Producer	George Avakian
Louis Armstrong and His All Stars chronology
Satchmo at Pasadena (1951) Louis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy (1954) Satch Plays Fats (1955)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Louis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy is a 1954 studio release by Louis Armstrong and His All Stars, described by Allmusic as "Louis Armstrong's finest record of the 1950s" and "essential music for all serious jazz collections".^[2] Columbia CD released the album on CD in 1986 in a much altered form, with alternative versions in place of many of the original songs, but restored the original with its 1997 re-issue, which also included additional tracks: a brief interview by the producer, George Avakian, with W. C. Handy; a joke told by Louis Armstrong; and several rehearsal versions of the songs.

Track listing

Side 1

1. "St. Louis Blues" (Handy) - 8:50
2. "Yellow Dog Blues" (Handy) - 4:16
3. "Loveless Love" (Handy) - 4:28
4. "Aunt Hagar's Blues" (Brymn, Handy) - 4:57
5. "Long Gone (From The Bowlin' Green)" (Handy, Smith) - 5:08

Side 2

1. "The Memphis Blues (Or Mister Crump)" (Handy, Norton) - 2:59
2. "Beale Street Blues" (Handy) - 4:56
3. "Ole Miss Blues" (Handy) - 3:25
4. "Chantez Les Bas (Sing 'Em Low)" (Handy) - 4:48
5. "Hesitating Blues" (Handy) - 5:20
6. "Atlanta Blues (Make Me One Pallet on Your Floor)" (Elman, Handy) - 4:33

1996 CD bonus tracks

1. "George Avakian's Interview with W. C. Handy" - 2:44
2. "Loveless Love [Rehearsal Sequence]" (Handy) - 5:55
3. "Hesitating Blues [Rehearsal Sequence]" (Handy) - 5:38
4. "Alligator Story" - 0:47
5. "Long Gone (From The Bowlin' Green) [Rehearsal Sequence]" (Handy, Smith) - 7:53

Personnel

Performers

• Louis Armstrong – trumpet, vocals
• Barney Bigard – clarinet
• Barrett Deems – drums
• Billy Kyle – piano
• Velma Middleton – vocals
• Arvell Shaw – bass
• Trummy Young – trombone

Production

• Rene Arsenault – production assistant
• George Avakian – producer, engineer, liner notes, reissue producer
• Gina Bello – design assistant
• Steven Berkowitz – reissue series
• Jennifer Ebert – packaging manager
• Kevin Gore – reissue series
• Randall Martin – reissue design
• Patti Matheny – A&R, artist coordination
• Seth Rothstein – project director, project manager
• Cozbi Sanchez-Cabrera – art direction, reissue art director
• Mark Wilder – engineer, digital mastering

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy at AllMusic

External links

• Louis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy, from The Louis Armstrong Discography by Scott Johnson with adaptations by Michael Minn, 1997–2007