Louis Armstrong & Fletcher Henderson - The Complete Recordings: 1924-1925 (1992)

Tracklist

CD1:

01. Manda (3:16)
02. Go 'Long Mule (3:08)
03. Tell Me Dreamy Eyes (3:09)
04. My Rose Marie (2:52)
05. Don't Forget You'll Regret Day by Day (3:15)
06. Shanghai Shuffle (3:22)
07. Words (3:06)
08. Words (3:04)
09. Copenhagen (3:02)
10. Copenhagen (2:59)
11. Shanghai Shuffle (2:53)
12. Naughty Man (3:18)
13. Naughty Man (3:20)
14. One of These Days (2:55)
15. My Dream Man (3:03)
16. My Dream Man (3:01)
17. The Meanest Kind of Blues (3:08)
18. Naughty Man (3:03)
19. How Come You Do Me Like You Do? (3:10)
20. How Come You Do Me Like You Do? (3:06)
21. How Come You Do Me Like You Do? (2:52)

CD2:

01. Araby (3:10)
02. Everybody Loves My Baby (3:03)
03. Everybody Loves My Baby (3:09)
04. Naughty Man (2:42)
05. Prince of Wails (3:12)
06. Prince of Wails (3:10)
07. Prince of Wails (3:10)
08. Mandy Make Up Your Mind (3:13)
09. Mandy Make Up Your Mind (3:10)
10. I'll See You in My Dreams (2:57)
11. Why Couldn't It Be Poor Little Me? (3:04)
12. I'll See You in My Dreams (3:07)
13. I'll See You in My Dreams (3:06)
14. Why Couldn't It Be Poor Little Me? (3:02)
15. Why Couldn't It Be Poor Little Me? (3:02)
16. Why Couldn't It Be Poor Little Me? (3:02)
17. Bye and Bye (3:04)
18. Play Me Slow (3:11)
19. Play Me Slow (3:15)
20. Alabamy Bound (3:13)
21. Alabamy Bound (3:13)
22. Alabamy Bound (3:06)

CD3:

01. Swanee Butterfly (3:16)
02. Swanee Butterfly (3:13)
03. Swanee Butterfly (3:12)
04. Poplar Street Blues (3:05)
05. 12th Street Blues (3:00)
06. Me Neenyah (3:01)
07. Memphis Bound (3:05)
08. When You Do What You Do (3:09)
09. I'll Take Her Back If She Wants to Come Back (3:11)
10. Money Blues (3:07)
11. Money Blues (3:05)
12. Sugar Foot Stomp (2:53)
13. What-Cha-Call-Em Blues (2:57)
14. I Miss My Swiss (3:04)
15. Alone at Last (3:13)
16. You Dirty Mistreater (3:02)
17. Come on Coot, Do That Thing (3:01)
18. Have Your Chill, I'll Be Here When Your Fever Rises (3:02)
19. Find Me at the Greasy Spoon (3:08)
20. Find Me at the Greasy Spoon (3:02)
21. TNT (2:56)
22. Carolina Stomp (3:13)

Rarely has one musician made such a difference. When Louis Armstrong moved from Chicago to New York in September 1924 to join Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra, the Henderson group was ranked as one of the top black dance bands although it was not on the level of the top Chicago jazz groups.
Its musicians were proud of their ability to read music but most of them were actually rhythmically awkward players, their solos were full of flashy effects, and the band rarely swung. The addition of trombonist Charlie Green had helped a little but, when Armstrong arrived, it soon became obvious that he was years ahead of the other musicians, even Coleman Hawkins.
The instrumentalists and arranger Don Redman listened closely as Armstrong displayed a beautiful tone, “told stories” during solos that built up as they progressed, and emphasized impeccable timing in his playing, knowing how to use silence dramatically. His year with Henderson not only changed the sound and style of the orchestra but it altered the way that other New York musicians played and ultimately all of jazz itself.
The three-CD set Louis With Fletcher Henderson compiled by the Forte Record Productions in France back in 1992 has the complete story with all of the 65 performances (including the alternate takes plus five numbers with a small group backing the vaudeville team of Coot Grant and Kid Wilson) that were recorded by Armstrong during his year with Henderson.
While this music has come out in piecemeal fashion ever since, this is still the most complete reissue. Most intriguing are the numbers such as “How Come You Do Me Like You Do,” “Mandy Make Up Your Mind,” and “Alabamy Bound,” where Armstrong emerges from a stodgy arrangement to shine a beacon of light that moves the music ahead by a decade.
Near the end of Armstrong’s period with Henderson, the band was recording such swinging numbers as “Sugar Foot Stomp,” “What-Cha-Call-Em Blues,” and “TNT.” Jazz would never be the same again.