What wonderful world jazz in Jazz Vocal Music

"What a Wonderful World" (07/16/2003) Jazz General Claude Dorsey, Musical Moon

"What a Wonderful World" (03/30/2004) Jazz Instrument Armstrong, Louis, Decca (USA)Personnel includes: Louis Armstrong (vocals); Tyree Glenn (trombone); Joe Muranyi (clarinet); Marty Napoleon (piano); Buddy Catlett (bass); Danny Barcelona (drums). Recorded in New York, New York and Las Vegas, Nevada in 1968. Includes original release liner notes by John F. Szwed & additional liner notes by Bob Thiele. Personnel includes: Louis Armstrong (vocals); Tyree Glenn (trombone); Joe Muranyi (clarinet); Marty Napoleon (piano); Buddy Catlett (bass); Danny Barcelona (drums). Recorded in New York and Las Vegas, Nevada in 1968. Includes liner notes by John F Szwed & Bob Thiele. Digitally remastered by Glenn Meadows (Masterfonics, Nashville, Tennessee). Japanese reissue. Miniature LP sleeve packaging. Gold disc. Only the most hardhearted of cynics could resist the melancholy sweetness of this album's beloved title track. The song was a hit in 1968 and only became the opening cut on this wonderful album some 20 years later. This well-known recording of the tender ballad--complete with a 16-piece string section--is lovely enough. But it is Pops' gravelly voice and inimitable signature delivery that really bring out its beautiful, aching quality. Also included are such hits as "Cabaret," "Dream A Little Dream Of Me," and the Mills Brothers' "I Guess I'll Get The Papers And Go Home." New songs such as "The Home Fire and "Give Me Your Kisses" show that Armstrong, even in his later years, was still bursting with personality and the essence of jazz. One of his best-selling albums ever, WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD is, well, wonderful! This disc acts as a fond tribute to one of the most important figures in American music.

"What a Wonderful World [RCA]" (11/04/2003) Jazz Instrument Armstrong, Louis, BMG (distributor)Personnel includes: Louis Armstrong, Leon Thomas (vocals); Oliver Nelson (arranger, conductor); Robert Ashton, Ray Beckenstein, Daniel Bank, Jerry Dodgion, Billy Harper (saxophone); Thad Jones, Jimmy Owens, Ernie Royal, Marvin Stamm (trumpet, flugelhorn); Garnett Brown, Bill Campbell, Al Grey, Quentin Jackson (trombone); James Spaulding (flute); Frank Owens (piano); Kenny Burrell, Sam Brown (guitar); Richard Davis, George Duvivier (acoustic bass); Chuck Rainey, John Williams, Jr. (electric bass); Pretty Purdie (drums); Gene Golden (congas). Recorded on May 26-29, 1970. Includes liner notes by Stanley Dance. All tracks have been digitally remastered. 1988 edition. This album, recorded during a three-day session in May 1970, several weeks prior to Armstrong's seventieth or sixty-ninth birthday (accounts differ) and just over a year before he died, is a peculiar though fascinating period piece. The title track (be warned that it is NOT the hit single version) begins with a gentle lecture from "Pops" to the young people who had taken him to task as to whether a world of war, poverty and hate was in fact wonderful, before easing into a stripped-down, heartbreaking rendition of Armstrong's signature tune. Other "with-it" tunes include "Everybody's Talkin'," "We Shall Overcome," a surprisingly funky "Give Peace A Chance" and a hypnotic take of Pharoah Sanders' "The Creator Has A Master Plan (Peace)" featuring guest vocalist Leon Thomas. The arrangements have that distinctly late-60s feel, making the album essential both to Armstrong fans and those fond of post-Bacharach 60s jazz-pop.