Louis Armstrong - Plays W. C. Handy - Limited 180-Gram Blue Colored Vinyl

Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy is the 1954 meeting of jazz's most joyful trumpeter and the Father of the Blues, pressed here on limited 180-gram blue vinyl as a Spain import.

Recorded over three days in July 1954 with producer George Avakian, the album pairs Armstrong and his All Stars with the songbook of W.C. Handy, the composer who carried the blues from Southern streets onto sheet music and into dance halls across the country.

"St. Louis Blues" stretches out to nearly nine minutes, with Velma Middleton trading vocals with Satchmo, while "Yellow Dog Blues" and "Beale Street Blues" swing with relaxed authority. "Atlanta Blues" brings a tender, low-down warmth that shows just how much feeling Armstrong could pack into a few simple phrases.

The All Stars are in peak form, with Trummy Young's growling trombone, Barney Bigard's liquid clarinet and the rhythm section of Billy Kyle, Arvell Shaw and Barrett Deems giving Armstrong a plush cushion for his golden tone and gravelly, grinning vocals. The playing is relaxed but never lazy, and the band clearly loves this material.

Widely considered one of Armstrong's finest records of the 1950s, it remains an essential stop for anyone exploring the place where jazz and blues meet.