Dec 23rd, 2008 · Her father was Louis Armstrong's musical director in the 1930s. Her mother still plays the bass. So it's no surprise that Russell has chops. She sings a set of bluesy numbers and standards for Mountain Stage.
Jul 27th, 2008 · One of the most quintessentially American composers of the 20th century was not an American. But as a boy in Argentina, Schifrin discovered George Gershwin and Louis Armstrong, setting him — and his celebrated film scores — on a path to fame.
Jun 11th, 2008 · Her father was Louis Armstrong's music director and a noted bandleader in his own right; her mother was a member of the iconic International Sweethearts of Rhythm. Critic Nat Hentoff says that pedigree — and her own unmistakable chops — make Cat Russell "the real thing" in a crowd of jazz wannabes "who couldn't lasted through a chorus in a contest with Ella Fitzgerald or Betty Carter."
Dec 15th, 2007 · Not one note of recorded sound exists to document Buddy Bolden's genre-defining music. Still, rock musician Dan Pritzker is making not one, but two movies about him. The nearly mythic "King of Jazz" influenced Louis Armstrong, a key character in both films.
Nov 2nd, 2007 · A quest that begins with a trashed trove of publicity photos leads to a former lounge singer and a retired photo archivist who knew photographer James J. Kriegsmann. Kriegsmann's studio produced portraits of Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra and many unknowns.
Sep 22nd, 2007 · In September 1957, Louis Armstrong canceled his tour of the Soviet Union to protest the injustices in Little Rock, Arkansas. Scott Simon talks with Larry Lubenow, the then-student journalist who broke the story 50 years ago.
Aug 8th, 2007 · By the early 1930s, Louis Armstrong had already revolutionized jazz. Through the next four decades, he would continue to reinvent himself. Along the way, he produced landmarks of the 20th century in American music and entertainment.
Aug 1st, 2007 · He is the most important jazz musician of all time, and even that's an understatement. Louis Armstrong defined American popular culture in the 20th century as a musician, an actor and an entertainer. As a singer and trumpeter, he taught the world to swing.