Louis Armstrong - The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings

We all know who Louis Armstrong is, even if you aren't exploring music all that much (shame on you sir). His music and voice brings an unique atmosphere whenever it's present. I don't think the Fallout 2 intro would be so popular if his song was not present in it. Although he is/was popular there is another side of him that is often kinda overlooked by the listener. Apart from being a great showman and a singer he was also one of the best trumpet players of his time. It had a very warm and powerful sound and a really loud one. This is especially noticeable (or felt) when he plays the blues.

The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings is basically all the known recordings of Armstrong when he was still at the beginning of his career. He was fresh out of King Oliver's troupe and filled with ideas. It's still ragtime but his distinct and powerful trumpet mastery can be heard on every song and that's the joy of these recordings (at least for me). The main difference from these recordings and his later works is that he sings a lot less and obviously the compositions themselves are much more improvisational and wilder. In any case this a great collection of ragtime and hot jazz classics that any jazz fan should have (or at least listen).

Part 1
Part 2