Search - Louis Armstrong :: I've Got the World on a String / Under the Stars

The work of Louis Armstrong was one of the formative influences on music of the twentieth century. Although Armstrong arguably cut his best sides in the '20s, he continued to be an important representative of jazz (earning him the name "Ambassador") right up until the '70s, when he died. During the late '50s and early '60s, he experienced a full-blown revival, partly due to a successful string of duets he cut with Ella Fitzgerald. It was also during this period that he originally cut these two LPs for Verve: I've Got the World on a String and Louis Under the Stars (released in 1957 and '58, respectively). Armstrong doesn't play a whole lot of trumpet here, because, at this point, he had been more or less enshrined as an institution and was getting by on personality and charisma alone. On these sides he was basically propped up before an orchestra--in this case one conducted by Russell Garcia--and left to do what he'd become best at: mainly, being Louis Armstrong. Which he does well, of course: his smoldering voice is still surprisingly supple, even at this stage in the game. This is especially true considering that all the tracks on this double CD were recorded on the same day, August 14, 1957. Typical of record company practices at the time, the session was fleshed out to make two albums. Here, it is restored in its original order and length, complete with alternate takes, liner notes, and original artwork. Just five days after Armstrong cut these sides, he performed his historic duet with Ella Fitzgerald on Porgy & Bess, which propelled him into perhaps the final great phase of his career. --Joe S. Harrington