Our Facebook page will be posting a YouTube gem from the jazz & blues archive every Wednesday. The first song to drop on our page is “West End Blues” by Louis Armstrong & the Hot Five, featuring Earl Hines (piano), Jimmy Strong (clarinet), Fred Robinson (trombone), Mancy Carr (banjo), and Zutty Singleton (hand cymbals). CD audio source, issued on 78rpm: OKeh 8597 & other labels – West End Blues (Oliver) by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five, scat vocal by Louis Armstrong, recorded in Chicago June 28, 1928,

Listen for Armstrong’s opening solo improv, his high note that extends for four measures in the chorus, his less than scratchy and more youthful vocal scatting, and the free and lovely piano playing of pianist Earl Hines, among other things.

Look for a monthly summary of our Wednesday Jazz Classics posted here!