Louis Armstrong was an immeasurable gift for the millions of listeners, fans and musicians who felt themselves born along the decades by the irresistible force of his trumpet playing and singing. From the revolutionary power and audacity of the '20s to the awe-inspiring essentiality of the last recordings from the very end of the '60s, his musical traverse is crisscrossed and underpinned by a generosity and expressiveness unmatched throughout the history of Jazz.
Naturally, the "Satchmo" of the '50s is no longer he of the Hot Five, the Hot Seven, the fabulous orchestra of the early '30s or even the flights of "Swing That Music" with Jimmy Dorsey's 1936 orchestra. But what moves us beyond words in the voyage of Louis and his “All Stars” is his perpetual quest to reunite with his roots as a kid from New Orleans – the galvanizing and formative sounds that he searches for in every corner of improvisation as if it were only now in these powerful memories that he finds himself completely.
In 1952 his sextet had changed a bit, even if the rhythm section was the same as the one that propelled Earl Hines, Jack Teagarden and Barney Bigard many years before. Texan Bob McCracken does an excellent job throughout the concert as an earthy and efficient “goodmanian”, and as well knows perfectly how to place himself at an ideal distance from the microphone so that we can appreciate his clarinet sound... as if we were there! Trummy Young is the delicate charmer that we all know, powerful and expressive in his solo interventions, ideal twin of Louis in certain vocal improvisations and delicate “counter-singer” behind his… Master’s voice! For his part, Marty Napoleon clearly appears “imperial” (noblesse oblige), and delivers a few solos with communicative dynamism. In this regard, his remarkable trio version of Saint-Louis Blues poses the question as to why Marty never really enjoyed the reputation that he deserved to have? As for the rhythmic tandem Arvell Shaw/Cozy Cole, it works like clockwork, providing the combo with an impeccable and brilliantly catchy foundation from start to finish. We sense in the relationship between the double bassist and his “big brother” Louis a sort of complementarity and friendship which evokes the type of role and complicity that Freddie Green had for Basie or Harry Carney for Duke... We should also mention that Arvell, creator that evening of a delicious version of “The Man I Love”, felt almost at home, since his wife was from Vevey – a town about twenty kilometers from the venue.
Saving the Lady for last... Dame Velma Middleton brings to the party her impertinent banter and habitual good humor, even taking off on a few flights of fancy, notably in "Lover Come Back To Me" and "Can Anyone Explain", which could probably be counted among the singer's best recorded performances. We also see a Satchmo in excellent mood, mischievous and good-naturedly bawdy, together playing off of each other to the audience’s delight. Carried away by the high spirits of the moment, he even makes a nice little slip of the tongue by presenting the first of the two themes, calling it “Lover Come Black To Me”! Not to mention the double entendres and the rather nimble play on words that Velma comes back with when Louis mentions a friend from Maine and that she nicknames “Bangor”, which of course can be understood in two very different ways…
As for Mister Satch… well! What can we add that hasn’t already been said? Except that this performance in Lausanne appears to us to be of the highest and most beautiful quality, and that from start to finish Louis is overflowing with feeling and passion, managing to present these tunes that he’d repeated a thousand times as if he were offering them a new life with each fresh interpretation. Additionally, the overall high quality sound recording allows you to slip magically into the ambiance of the concert and feel a presence that is quite rare for testimonies from this period.
Finally, let us not forget that while certainly, quite a few critics will have spoken at length about the repetitive side of the repertoire and of the “Armstrongian” approach of this period, the public and fans who discovered Louis' music in concert for the first time were literally amazed by the power and the “Truth” that emanated from it. We know people who were there, and still speak to us today about this evening with tears in their eyes. For some, this moment was so revealing and salient that it determined their future life choice, which could be nowhere else than in music!
Dizzy Gillespie, speaking about Louis Armstrong, made it quite simple: “No him, no me.” And when Louis died in 1971, Diz said, “Louis Armstrong’s station in the history of Jazz is unimpeachable. If it weren’t for him, there wouldn’t be any of us.” Miles Davis, for his part, summed it up very clearly: “You know you can’t play anything on a horn that Louis hasn’t played – I mean even modern.”