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Louis Armstrong — Savoy Blues
Album: Hot Fives & Sevens Box Set
Avg rating:
7.8

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1343









Released: 1928
Length: 3:23
Plays (last 30 days): 0
(Instrumental)
Comments (113)add comment
 niseywee wrote:

Louis Armstrong is always a 10 for me




I  Agree!   GREAT TUNE!!   Thanx RP!      
 ExpatLarry wrote:

I can't even imagine what it must have been like for someone alive in 1928 to have THIS laid on 'em. Talk about "Knocking their socks off"!




YES!!
I can't even imagine what it must have been like for someone alive in 1928 to have THIS laid on 'em. Talk about "Knocking their socks off"!
Louis with his Boston Terrier, General.
Louis Armstrong is always a 10 for me
 dlwalters wrote:
Small correction to announcer.   The old, 10-inch, 78 rpm discs were made of shellac, which was rather hard substance for recording, and consequently rather noisy after a few uses, since it would stress fracture, with little resilience to the stylus impact

From Wikipedia: "...Columbia Records introduced the LP in June 1948. But the 12-inch, 33 1/3 rpm record made its first debut September 17, 1931—nearly 17 years earlier—by RCA Victor."

W9DKI
 

FranLab has podcasts about this. Interesting.  I have some yellow 45s.   Fran says 45s were originally color-coded.  Yellow was for children
Small correction to announcer.   The old, 10-inch, 78 rpm discs were made of shellac, which was rather hard substance for recording, and consequently rather noisy after a few uses, since it would stress fracture, with little resilience to the stylus impact

From Wikipedia: "...Columbia Records introduced the LP in June 1948. But the 12-inch, 33 1/3 rpm record made its first debut September 17, 1931—nearly 17 years earlier—by RCA Victor."

W9DKI
Black Water by The Doobie Brothers to this funky Dixieland. I see what you did there, Bill!
No idea how to rate a song like this in the given context.  Basically all the brilliant music here arose from this foundation.  This song sounds great, but not as great as Hendrix, or  maybe even as the Cake I'm listening to now, but all of this came up and out of Louis Armstrong and his generation.  For what he was doing: beyond 10.  For the song Savoy Blues: 7 or 8 or so.  I can only compare it to other early jazz I like as much, more, or less.
Louis is always a 10 for me. 
Good ol' 78's
The Ken Burns documentary on Jazz has all kinds of great stuff on Mr Louis Armstrong-one of the all time greats.  Thanks for reaching way back on this one Bill and Rebecca!
90 years old -
and fresh as a today ...müsli...
 garyalex wrote:


Both Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie played with puffed out cheeks, which is considered a no-no in forming a good embouchure.  Of course, at their level such rules go right out the window.
 
Louis didn't do it as noticeably as Dizzy did though.
 nagsheadlocal wrote:
Not only a musical genius but one of the coolest people ever. 

I read in a recent bio that his distinctive tone came from the fact that his first horn had a distorted mouthpiece. He learned how to play "incorrectly" and never felt the need to correct himself. 
 

Both Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie played with puffed out cheeks, which is considered a no-no in forming a good embouchure.  Of course, at their level such rules go right out the window.
At some point in my upbringing I heard this.  That horn is unforgettable.  
This  collection of early Armstrong is well worth the money if you like this era of jazz..
 sid1950 wrote:
I want to give this an 11!

 
I think we should all be allowed eleven 11 rated songs....likewise eleven -11 songs too. 

I really came to comment on this example of early Jazz (as in near the beginning) to say that Louis and his hot 5s, 7s and 9s were the shit! If I could go back in time in American music history it would be a toss up between the early N.O. jazz scene, the 60s SF/hippy music days and those early years in the village when Bob Dylan started out. 

My favorite class at the Univ of Washington will always be Music 331 - the History of Jazz.  We learned so much in that class, led by Marc Seals who is a fantastic jazz pianist. I think the class consensus on when Jazz started was sometime between Joplin's "recordings" (as they were player piano rolls, rather ridged)  which influenced the work of Jelly Roll Morton, who added syncopation and rhythm to those "blue" notes.  

Of course for us RPsters, having a Jazz track intermixed is a treat and more for the flow of the (masterfully created) playlist from BillG - I still think that Jazz is my ultimately favorite type of music. And just like "rock" conjures an image, to me the Jazz image is just as clear (insert Miles Davis image here) 

Long Live RP! 

I love it when you play some of my Dad's sounds.  Can we hear some Kenny Ball as well ?
I want to give this an 11!
 treatment_bound wrote:

Season 5 was interesting (only 8 episodes), but a real rush-job by the producers.  A jump ahead to the early-30's with a lot of flashbacks to a Nucky "origin story" from the 1880's through his rise in the early 1900's.  The actor they got for a young Steve Buscemi was quite good.  But of course, I'd have rather seen them take on the 2nd half of the twenties, which had so much good stuff they could have shown.

Show Producer Terence Winter wanted to wrap things up quickly so he could get to his next series, "Vinyl", which tanked, and won't be back after one season.

 
Interesting. I got the feeling from glancing at the thumbnail previews of the season 5 shows that things didn't end well for a lot of characters, Nucky included. I was rooting for his ex-wife Margaret and the redhead who got married to Richard Harrow, but I saw that the story was jumping ahead into the Depression and didn't feel like paying to watch good people struggle and fall. 

Boardwalk Empire could have been a better series if Nucky had grown as a person instead of sealing himself off...Buscemi did a great job, though. 
 yofitofu wrote:
A Woody Allen movie is breaking out somewhere.

 
... How depressing ...
 kcar wrote:

Did you watch the final season? I watched all the others but skipped the last one after reading angry and disappointed reviews of it on Amazon...

Personally I got tired of watching Nucky become so emotionally hard and angry. The show lost a lot of pep with all the cynicism and joyless lives. I also thought that the writers dished out an unrealistic fate to Gillian Darmody at the end of season 4... 

 
Season 5 was interesting (only 8 episodes), but a real rush-job by the producers.  A jump ahead to the early-30's with a lot of flashbacks to a Nucky "origin story" from the 1880's through his rise in the early 1900's.  The actor they got for a young Steve Buscemi was quite good.  But of course, I'd have rather seen them take on the 2nd half of the twenties, which had so much good stuff they could have shown.

Show Producer Terence Winter wanted to wrap things up quickly so he could get to his next series, "Vinyl", which tanked, and won't be back after one season.
My dad saw Louis Armstrong in New York in 1943 on leave from the army.  Said it was the best live show he ever saw. Never sure what I wish from that story.  Seeing Louis at his peak or my dad when he was 24 before he went to war.

  
My first thought was that this was not my cup of tea, but it grew on me as it went - and it was cool hearing something recorded ten years before my dad was born, and about the same time as my building was built. Nice.
{#Bounce}10
1928, the year my house is build, my grandfather is born and this song is made. It must have been a great year.
If, in 2028, we are witnesses to an equally groundbreaking record (in whatever format), I surely do hope that I am around to witness the grumpy reception it will no doubt attract.
A Woody Allen movie is breaking out somewhere.
Glad this is working for you. Power of Radio Paradise. I am hoping the next song does get greater.
it just doesn't get any better than this...
 treatment_bound wrote:
I remember when this came out...HA! 

My mom just turned 85, and she wasn't even around when this came out.

Howeva, I do like to hear a little 1920's stuff now and then.  Is anybody else out there a little sad to see Boardwalk Empire ending later this year?

 
Did you watch the final season? I watched all the others but skipped the last one after reading angry and disappointed reviews of it on Amazon...

Personally I got tired of watching Nucky become so emotionally hard and angry. The show lost a lot of pep with all the cynicism and joyless lives. I also thought that the writers dished out an unrealistic fate to Gillian Darmody at the end of season 4... 
Louis was to the trumpet and jazz what Jimi Hendrix was to the guitar and rock n'roll. 
Everything changed after him and this song is a great example of why he was so special, his playing was so sweet, so powerful, his notes so high; it wasn't like that until he came along.

thanks Bill 
Bill:

Any chance you can add Potato Head Blues to the playlist?

Thank you! 
{#Clap} .... enjoying this fine tune from the year my Mum was born


 
I remember when this came out...HA! 

My mom just turned 85, and she wasn't even around when this came out.

Howeva, I do like to hear a little 1920's stuff now and then.  Is anybody else out there a little sad to see Boardwalk Empire ending later this year?
 Proclivities wrote:

It seems that the "greatest" anything is always a matter of opinion.  Perhaps "it's been said" by someone, but that doesn't make it so.

 
Not just opinion but mood. Sometimes a song just resonates the right way at the right time. The next time you hear it it may not buzz so well with what's on your mind.
 heliosweb wrote:
Nice.

I wonder if that might be Django Reinhart on guitar. Sounds like him, for sure... 

 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_St._Cyr
 Grammarcop wrote:
Most of the time RP is on for background. This one demands that I stop and listen. 

 
Yes, Bill doesn't always help my productivity at the office. But, wow, what great music. This is wonderful.
this is good horn and everything else
Nice.

I wonder if that might be Django Reinhart on guitar. Sounds like him, for sure... 
happy juneteenth!
Very cool... love the completely different mood this brings to the party
So good for the ears! I'm working away with a smile on my face {#Good-vibes}

marvelous Jazz Age music...

 

Everybody in my church loves this music...
 
 Cynaera wrote:
Just untangled myself from a really horrible political confrontation.  I came here, and the dulcet sounds of Mr. Louis Armstrong calmed me down immediately.  I fear I might be up all night, because my brain has kick-started and I feel the need to write, or dance, or rearrange my bedroom.

And then I'll probably crash for a couple of days with my bedroom window open wide (don't worry - I have flannel pajamas and twelve cats) (worry, because where there are available screens, available cats will do their best to shred them.)

I could listen to big-band music forever, however long that is. Louis Armstrong is the most amazing man I've ever heard, and he went through a lot to make his mark. I'm glad he's here.
 

Miss you so much, Cynaera...

love this Jazz Age music...
 
{#Clap}
The recording quality from this era gets me every time.  Since this was destined for retail sale, I'm going to assume it used the highest affordable "processes" available at the time.  Thank you to producer and the session engineer — if those roles existed back then.
 funkyalfonso wrote:
It's been said that 'West End Blues' on this album is the finest blues number ever recorded. Can there ever be a 'greatest' blues recording? I think not.
 
Yes, how could such a distinction as the "greatest" anything be applied?  It's always a matter of opinion.  Perhaps "it's been said" by someone, but that doesn't make it so.
Up goes the volume...

Trying to bring a little culture to my other cube mates.   One RP day at a time.
It's been said that 'West End Blues' on this album is the finest blues number ever recorded. Can there ever be a 'greatest' blues recording? I think not.
Now, if we could just figure out how to work Potato Head Blues into the mix.
way before my time, definitely Not normally to my taste, but gotta love this - not too familiar with the great Louis Armstrong musically but by name, yes.
Any Satchmo whereby he doesn't sing is OK be me....
Thank you RP for playing this great song.
Here's your funky Dixieland...
YES...! I wish I could wear a dinner jacket and have a dry martini on my hand, right now, but....
Same experience: had to stop and listen.   Takes me back, as well (and I was born in the 50s)

KristianGregory wrote:

!!!! yes, indeed, I'd barely noticed RP was on for the last hour, then this came on and suddenly I feel a wee bit of delight at the different sounds coming from my PC

This one takes me back to the fifties!

(disclaimer: I was born in the 80s) 
 


 januismer wrote:
Enjoy it a lot!  Waiting for Moe, Larry and Curly to show up.
 
PreStooges!
 Grammarcop wrote:
Most of the time RP is on for background. This one demands that I stop and listen. 
 
!!!! yes, indeed, I'd barely noticed RP was on for the last hour, then this came on and suddenly I feel a wee bit of delight at the different sounds coming from my PC

This one takes me back to the fifties!

(disclaimer: I was born in the 80s) 
Most of the time RP is on for background. This one demands that I stop and listen. 
All this song needs is a black and white cartoon!
One of the few pieces you play that actually warrants a higher number. That was a timepiece dipped in gold. 
Awesome to hear RP opening up the play list..guess our bitching was heard..thanks RP
 januismer wrote:
Enjoy it a lot!  Waiting for Moe, Larry and Curly to show up.
 

Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!!!
Not only a musical genius but one of the coolest people ever. 

I read in a recent bio that his distinctive tone came from the fact that his first horn had a distorted mouthpiece. He learned how to play "incorrectly" and never felt the need to correct himself. 
Now that's old timey...thanks for the diversity!{#Dance}
 JarrodG wrote:
Sorry...that was a snoozefest for me!
 
I just looked at your song ratings, and you must be, what - sixteen? Not a single song from before 1970. (I'm kidding about your age.)

You're stingy with your ratings, so I'll just suggest that you open your mind, be receptive to the history behind songs like this one, and remember that your dad or grandfather) probably fought in a war where this music played. And don't be sorry - you like what you like. Last time I checked, we all still have the right to voice our viewpoints. Cherish it.

And your snoozefest is my dance-party. Sorry. (not.){#Dance}
A great tune to hear just before I crawl to my car for my commute in the 108 degrees....oy savoy!

Sorry...that was a snoozefest for me!
Enjoy it a lot!  Waiting for Moe, Larry and Curly to show up.
Just untangled myself from a really horrible political confrontation.  I came here, and the dulcet sounds of Mr. Louis Armstrong calmed me down immediately.  I fear I might be up all night, because my brain has kick-started and I feel the need to write, or dance, or rearrange my bedroom.

And then I'll probably crash for a couple of days with my bedroom window open wide (don't worry - I have flannel pajamas and twelve cats) (worry, because where there are available screens, available cats will do their best to shred them.)

I could listen to big-band music forever, however long that is. Louis Armstrong is the most amazing man I've ever heard, and he went through a lot to make his mark. I'm glad he's here.
I bought a Best of Blues and Best of Jazz 3 CD sets at Walmart for about $6.
Louis has a couple of songs on the Jazz albums, and now my 11 year old daughter is familiar with him. Don't think she'd voluntarily play his stuff, but I think she can at least appreciate it.
Ohhhh, Louis.  Dad used to play his albums, and between them and various classical works from Offenbach and Debussy, I was a total brat. I loved it all - still do.  Thanks to whoever uploaded this - and thanks to Bill and Rebecca for playing it. {#Dancingbanana}
Listening to this just made my day.
Louis Armstrong's recordings introduced me to jazz when I was very young - it's been a love affair ever since!
Stroll  by  the bayou, anyone...?{#Whistle}{#Whistle}
 daveesh wrote:
i know that many have attributed the invention of jazz to satchmo - namely a certain pbs darling. yeah, he contributed immensely, but to attribute the invention of such a wide scope of music to just one person... i think it's an awful stretch.
 
Mr. Armstrong never claimed to have "invented" Jazz.  What contemporary "historians" assert is often not very relevant.

This one brings me back home.... I miss Miss New Orleans  {#Dance}
Just got in from Mardi Gras on this Ash Wednesday, editing my pics when this came on. Thanks again.


{#Sunny}

Thank you for this wonderful music!!! Perfect for a lazy September Sunday afternoon.

                    .. {#Yes} {#Yes}


 Leslie wrote:
Looney Tunes cartoon music!
 
But wonderful Loony Tunes cartoon music!!

wow... WOW {#Notworthy}

How can so "simple" music be so good?
Louis was a genius.
I wish I could rate this 1000. Or higher.

He was an absolute genius. Words cannot express.

{#Notworthy}  {#Dance}  {#Clap}
Unabashed genius.
coloradojohn wrote:
Reminds me of this time my buddy Mike and I drove all the way to Milton's Tap Room in downtown Kansas City, and the sign on the door said, Be 21. We were, just barely. The place was smoky, and dark, and there weren't but a few souls around, that we could see, anyway. Along the far wall were rack after rack of LPs, and a sign that said, No Requests. Another sign tacked up kind of lopsided underneath it said, Like, Man, It's Free... We ordered up some whisky, pulled out some stogies, and kicked back in the black leather lounge chairs that you could bump into rather than actually see. The tunes were jazz, all right. I asked the guy what was on, and he said, Savoy Blues, and we said, Oh yeah, by who, and he said, Satchmo, and we looked at each other, or tried to, and shrugged. We'd seen him do Little Green Apples on TV and stuff, and it didn't make any sense. Life is like that. It is only later that it does. Ya know? Great job of laying it all down, Bill, and I hear Neil now, and God it's perfect. I'm really going to miss this station all next month while I'm in Mauritius and Dubai...Thanks again!
Bragger. Get wireless and get real.
AWESOME!!!
Boss!!
Sweet cut, bill, from Madeleine Peyroux to this. Magical!
daveesh wrote:
i know that many have attributed the invention of jazz to satchmo - namely a certain pbs darling. yeah, he contributed immensely, but to attribute the invention of such a wide scope of music to just one person... i think it's an awful stretch.
Jelly Roll Morton claimed to have invented jazz and that's an equally long stretch of the imagination. Fwiw, Morton said that jazz is a musical style and any piece of music can be played in that style. Louis Armstrong did not "invent" the genre, however, he is credited with contributing to the early development of the improvised solo in jazz, i.e. the improvisation of a melody over a song's chord changes and rhythmic structure, as played by the other musicians in the ensemble. A young reporter approached the legendary trumpeter and bandleader and asked, "Mr. Armstrong, what is jazz?" Armstrong replied "If you have to ask, you're never going to know."
daveesh wrote:
i know that many have attributed the invention of jazz to satchmo - namely a certain pbs darling. yeah, he contributed immensely, but to attribute the invention of such a wide scope of music to just one person... i think it's an awful stretch.
I agree. My boyfriend got the first episode of Ken Burns Jazz in the mail and popped it in last night. Jazz is a long complicated story that was unfolding before Louis came along, but it's wonderful he was there in New Orleans to be a part of that movement and give so much back to it for future generations. KB's Jazz is definitely worth renting (unless you were Johnny of Johnny Hates Jazz or agree with that Johnny on the issue.)
Oy, enough already! Dump this.
Reminds me of this time my buddy Mike and I drove all the way to Milton's Tap Room in downtown Kansas City, and the sign on the door said, Be 21. We were, just barely. The place was smoky, and dark, and there weren't but a few souls around, that we could see, anyway. Along the far wall were rack after rack of LPs, and a sign that said, No Requests. Another sign tacked up kind of lopsided underneath it said, Like, Man, It's Free... We ordered up some whisky, pulled out some stogies, and kicked back in the black leather lounge chairs that you could bump into rather than actually see. The tunes were jazz, all right. I asked the guy what was on, and he said, Savoy Blues, and we said, Oh yeah, by who, and he said, Satchmo, and we looked at each other, or tried to, and shrugged. We'd seen him do Little Green Apples on TV and stuff, and it didn't make any sense. Life is like that. It is only later that it does. Ya know? Great job of laying it all down, Bill, and I hear Neil now, and God it's perfect. I'm really going to miss this station all next month while I'm in Mauritius and Dubai...Thanks again!
In jazz history class we were taught that Charlie Christian invented the single string guitar solo style in the thirties. This guitar player has it perfected, and this was cut, I'm assuming, in the twenties. So sweet.
a marvel!
Looney Tunes cartoon music!
i know that many have attributed the invention of jazz to satchmo - namely a certain pbs darling. yeah, he contributed immensely, but to attribute the invention of such a wide scope of music to just one person... i think it's an awful stretch.
dionysius wrote:
NOW we're talkin'! This is the Satchmo that created jazz as we know it, not the later and lesser pop stuff like "What a Wonderful World" and others that he is (irritatingly) best known for. The Hot Fives and Sevens cooked like master chefs; "Savoy Blues" has soul and swing to burn (mixing metaphors here of course--master chefs don't let things burn!). Listen to Armstrong's horn soloing here: the is the first time you heard anything like this anywhere. This is the origin, source and fount of all jazz that comes after this, and we owe everything to these recordings.
Amen, brother!
Quite nice variety
Louissss Satchmo Armstrong More please.
dionysius wrote:
NOW we're talkin'! This is the Satchmo that created jazz as we know it, not the later and lesser pop stuff like "What a Wonderful World" and others that he is (irritatingly) best known for. The Hot Fives and Sevens cooked like master chefs; "Savoy Blues" has soul and swing to burn (mixing metaphors here of course--master chefs don't let things burn!). Listen to Armstrong's horn soloing here: the is the first time you heard anything like this anywhere. This is the origin, source and fount of all jazz that comes after this, and we owe everything to these recordings.
Desmond!!! Wonderful, just Wonderful! Tu Tu!!!
very nice
Just what the Doctor ordered.
I have no appreciation for this kind of music.
... and the final two choruses are just heaven. (first time I post twice about the same song, sorry)
Now THIS is it! Finally, a real jazz masterpiece! Listen, you heathens, it does not get any better than this!
NOW we're talkin'! This is the Satchmo that created jazz as we know it, not the later and lesser pop stuff like "What a Wonderful World" and others that he is (irritatingly) best known for. The Hot Fives and Sevens cooked like master chefs; "Savoy Blues" has soul and swing to burn (mixing metaphors here of course--master chefs don't let things burn!). Listen to Armstrong's horn soloing here: the is the first time you heard anything like this anywhere. This is the origin, source and fount of all jazz that comes after this, and we owe everything to these recordings.
I gave it a 9 only because I like West End Blues better