Perfection

Over at The New Yorker this week, Richard Brody shared his list of Perfect Jazz Recordings. It's a a good list, but like all lists, no one's going to agree with all of it. There's plenty to agree with but of course, plenty that also, for the sake of a tamer phase, inspires discussion.

For one thing, Brody's 66 choices are all pre-1973...but only a small amount are from the pre-bop era. He admits this up front: "Idiom: bebop and after. I've noticed a preponderance of performances from the mid-forties onward." Well, duh. The majority of jazz fans still believe that the music didn't start getting good until Charlie Parker came on the scene (most young jazz musicians feel the same way). I've vented about this for years so it's not worth going to town on it again. I did unload on this on my Facebook page recently and it's worth repeating that when Lester Young died in 1959, Ralph J. Gleason wrote, "[Young] was one of the three great instrumental soloists in jazz who changed the course of this music--the other two, Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker." Sounds right to me. Yet, of those three, Bird is the only one who is still worshipped and treated as The Creator. Parker was a genius and I love him but he spent his formative years studying Armstrong ("West End Blues" cadenza) and Young ("Shoe Shine Boy") solos until he could incorporate them into his playing. But today, countless musicians learn their Omnibook solos in every key and can't talk about Pops or Pres to save their lives. Brody's list just follows the trend.

He does have a possible explanation: "I think it's because of the liberated role of the drum in bebop and post-bop eras." Right. Sid Catlett, Jo Jones, Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton, Baby Dodds, Paul Barbarin, Zutty Singleton, Chick Webb, Alvin Burroughs and other greats were simply human metronomes, just waiting for Max Roach to teach them to drop a bomb and liberate themselves. 

But again, with these picked nits aside, I can't argue with Brody's choices as there's lots of great music on that list. But what of Louis Armstrong, you say? Yeah, he's there. One selection. "Potato Head Blues." Of course, a common choice. But that's it. John Kirby's on there twice (go Billy Kyle!) but Pops is one and done.

However, it's not like everyone else got lots and lots of selections; Brody does try to be balanced so other, later greats like Parker, Coltrane and Davis only have two apiece (tied with John Kirby!). But it did get me thinking. If someone asked me to create a list of "perfect" jazz recordings, first, there'd be a lot of names missing here--Bobby Hackett, Roy Eldridge, Fats Waller, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Jack Teagarden, Erroll Garner, etc. But what about Louis? I could list 66 perfect Louis Armstrong recordings and not even touch the surface.

Oh, wait a minute....blog idea!

So here goes. No one asked me and this is admittedly ridiculous, but here are the first 66 "perfect" Louis Armstrong recordings that come to mind. No particular order, I'm just going to think and type. I'm not even going to look at the discography or my iTunes to give me food for thought. Obviously, the ones I think of first will be towards the top of my personal list, but I'm sure I'll forget something. And when I'm done, feel free to comment with some of your personal Pops favorites that didn't make my list. Let's go:

1. Stardust

2. St. Louis Blues (from Louis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy)

3. When You're Smiling (from Satchmo: A Musical Autobiography)

4. Blue Turning Grey Over You (from Satch Plays Fats)

5. On the Sunny Side of the Street (from Satchmo: A Musical Autobiography)

6. King of the Zulus (from Satchmo: A Musical Autobiography)

7. Beau Koo Jack

8. Tight Like This

9. Struttin' with Some Barbecue (1938 Decca version)

10. Muskrat Ramble (from Satchmo at Symphony Hall)

11. Black and Blue (live in Berlin, 1965)

12. Lazy River (1931 original)

13. I Never Knew

14. When It's Sleepy Time Down South (Decca instrumental)

15. Hotter Than That

16. I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues

17. Mahogany Hall Stomp (1929 original)

18. Butter and Egg Man (1926 original)

19. Sweethearts on Parade (1930 original)

20. Dinah (1933 Copenhagen film)

21. The Nearness of You (with Ella)

22. Dream a Little Dream of Me (with Ella)

23. Stompin' at the Savoy (with Ella)

24. Rockin' Chair (1947 Town Hall)

25. Because of You

26. Pennies from Heaven (1947 Town Hall)

27. Ain't Misbehavin' (1929 original)

28. I Can't Give You Anything But Love (1929 original)

29. West End Blues (1928 original)

30. Hello, Dolly! (yeah, I went there!)

31. That's For Me

32. On a Coconut Island

33. Avalon (with Dukes of Dixieland)

34. Azalea

35. Summer Song

36. Sweet Lorraine

37. Keepin' Out of Mischief Now (from Satch Plays Fats)

38. The Faithful Hussar (from Ambassador Satch)

39. I Get Ideas

40. La Vie En Rose

41. Song of the Vipers

42. Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen (from I've Got the World on a String)

43. Weather Bird

44. Short But Sweet

45. A Kiss to Build a Dream On

46. Ev'ntide

47. Swing That Music (1936 original)

48. I'm a Ding Dong Daddy

49. Cake Walking Babies from Home (with Clarence Williams' Blue Five)

50. There's No You

51. Chantes-Lez Bas (Sing 'Em Low)

52. Jack Armstrong Blues

53. Someday You'll Be Sorry (1953 version with The Commanders)

54. When You Wish Upon a Star

55. Chinatown, My Chinatown

56. Bess, Oh Where's My Bess

57. Wolverine Blues (1940 Decca)

58. That's My Home (1932 original)

59. Laughin' Louie

60. Moon River

61. I Get a Kick Out of You

62. Muggles

63. I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good

64. You Rascal You (with Louis Jordan)

65. I Ain't Got Nobody (from Satchmo Plays King Oliver)

66. Potato Head Blues

Whew, there it is! Oh damn, what about "St. James Infirmary"? "I've Got the World on a String"? "Cornet Chop Suey"? "What a Wonderful World"? Impossible to even keep it to 100 but I'll quit here....and think I'll have a little Louis listening session of the above!

So what did I miss? Tell me in the comments section below!