Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong Legacy Series

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If you wish to order all four releases together (total retail value of $125) you pay just $99.99.

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Discover never before heard recordings from Louis Armstrong's personal collection

The Louis Armstrong Legacy Series:

In 2017 Dot Time Records reached an agreement with the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation to release four albums of previously unreleased music from the Louis Armstrong Collection. The albums are being released on CD, Vinyl and Digital platforms. The releases will feature selections of recordings of concerts that date back to the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s, including the 1948 Nice Jazz Festival and 1952 Berlin show, which will be a double CD release. Some of the musicians that performed with Louis on these concerts were Jack Teagarden, Earl Hines, Cozy Cole, Edmond Hall and Trummy Young just to name a few.


The Collector’s Edition

In addition to the regular releases, available in stores, we are also offering a Limited Collector’s Edition featuring, exclusive packaging and a 20-page booklets written by Ricky Riccardi – Director of Research Collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum and author of best selling book “What A Wonderful World.” These booklets also contains rare photo material held in the Louis Armstrong Collection.

Vol 4 “Live In Europe” has just been completed and is on sale now!

About the origin of the recordings

During his lifetime Louis Armstrong amassed a huge collection of recordings. From live concerts to studio and broadcast recordings, the range is extensive. The majority of these recordings along with other Armstrong Artifacts are held in the Louis Armstrong Collection at Queens College in New York. The Louis Armstrong Legacy Series will bring a selection of these recordings from Louis’s personal collection to the public for the first time ever.

Series producer, Jerry Roche said “Producing this music will mean people can connect again with the greatness of Louis Armstrong.”

Vol. 1 The Standard Oil Sessions

The first release in the series is titled “The Standard Oil Sessions”. This 50+ minute recording was recorded in San Francisco, California on January 20, 1950 by the Standard Oil Company for their radio show, “Musical Map of America.” The recording was episode 19, “Musical Story of New Orleans,” and featured Louis Armstrong, Jack Teagarden and Earl Hines. For reasons not known, the broadcast was never made and Louis was personally given the acetate discs of the sessions.

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'The Standard Oil Sessions' - Samples

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Vol. 2 The Nightclubs

This compilation contains selections from five different nightclub engagements—Bop City in New York in 1950, Club Hangover in San Francisco in 1952, Storyville in Boston in 1953, Basin Street in New York in 1955 and the Brant Inn in Ontario in 1958–featuring five different iterations of Armstrong’s All Stars, featuring top sidemen such as Jack Teagarden, Barney Bigard, Earl “Fatha” Hines, Arvell Shaw, Cozy Cole, Marty Napoleon, Milt Hinton, Barrett Deems, Edmond Hall and more. No matter the venue or the backing band, Armstrong is peak form throughout, most noticeably showing off at the Hangover with disciple Billie Holiday in the audience, first performing the legendary “West End Blues,” a song that had a formative influence on the young Holiday, then following it with an absolutely on fire version of “A Kiss to Build a Dream On.” Holiday can be heard shouting her approval throughout, just as audiences now will be cheering on this important release that once again demonstrates with finality that Pops was always tops.

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'The Nightclubs' - Sampletracks

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Vol. 3 Sparks, Nevada

When the Beatles came to America in 1964 and took over the number one spot on the charts for 14 straight weeks, it must have seemed like their reign would last forever. Surely someone would topple them at some point–but who would it be? Few, if any, would have placed their bets on a 62-year-old legendary trumpeter and vocalist from New Orleans but that’s just what happened when “Hello, Dolly!” improbably became the number one record in the country on May 9, 1964.

Armstrong sounds positively energized by the popularity of his hit record on
this previously unissued set from the Circus Room of the Nugget Casino in Sparks, Nevada in June 1964.
People who discovered Armstrong when “Dolly” became a hit had no idea that Armstrong was such a staggering musical genius, but as this set makes clear, if you went to see him perform during this period, you got a pretty complete picture of the wide array of Armstrong’s talents: the warmth of “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South” and “Blueberry Hill,” the fiery instrumentals of “Indiana” and “Tiger Rag,” the swinging hit show tunes of “A Lot of Livin’ to Do” and “Hello, Dolly!” each one establishing to all the kiddies in the audience that this fun-loving old entertainer was also a ferociously talented musician.

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'Sparks, Nevada' - Sampletracks

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Vol. 4 Live in Europe

Armstrong: Live in Europe features the audio from two recordings of quintessential European performances which were recovered from the archives of the Louis Armstrong House Museum. Armstrong in Europe feature the audio from a 1948 performance recorded from Louis Armstrong and His All Stars ’ run at the Nice Opera House. This historical concert marked Armstrong’s performance at the first ever Nice International Jazz Festival.

Also featured is the audio from a Titania Palast, Berlin recording of Louis and his All Stars which was initially broadcasted on RIAS (Radio in the American Sector). The Nice Opera House performance features a 46-year-old Louis Armstrong in his musical prime, with Jack Teagarden on trombone and vocals, Barney Bigard on clarinet, Earl “Fatha” Hines on piano, Arvell Shaw on bass, and Sid Catlett on drums. Armstrong’s band in 1952, features Trummy Young on trombone, Bob McCracken on clarinet and vocals, Marty Napoleon on piano, Arvell Shaw on bass, Cozy Cole on drums and Velma Middleton on vocals.

Both European performances demonstrate Armstrong’s stunning musicality, expert showmanship and ferocious leadership.

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'Live in Europe' - Sampletracks

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About The Collector's Edition

Each of the four releases in the “Legacy Series’ will also be available in a limited edition collector’s version. featuring, exclusive packaging and a 20-page booklet written by Ricky Riccardi – Director of Research Collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum and author of best selling book “What A Wonderful World.” This booklet also contains rare photo material held in the Louis Armstrong Archive.

Known as the “21st century’s foremost expert on Louis Armstrong”, Riccardi is immersed in all things Armstrong. He runs the website, “The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong,” at and has given lectures on Armstrong at venues around the world. With a Master’s degree in Jazz History and Research from Rutgers University, he has taught a “Music of Louis Armstrong” graduate course at Queens College and a six-week “Swing University” course on Louis Armstrong at Jazz at Lincoln Center.