Music » New Orleans Music

A compilation of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band's Columbia recordings from 1976 to 1988, this 76-minute CD is an excellent introduction to the work of these senior New Orleans musicians. It also testifies to the band's durability as well as that of the music, with only a single change in personnel over the period covered. The disc concentrates on the most familiar repertoire, whether rags, blues, hymns, or popular songs, including "Tiger Rag," "St. Louis Blues," "Just a Closer Walk with Thee," and "When the Saints Go Marching In." There are also beautiful renderings of Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo," taking the tune back to its roots in a New Orleans blues song, and Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia on My Mind." --Stuart Broomer

Release Date: 2001-01-01, Audio CD, Sony Special Product

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For much of his life, Louis Armstrong was the embodiment of jazz for millions of people, both a great creative artist and a beloved popular entertainer. Whether playing trumpet or singing, adding his own definitive touch to a ballad or spearheading a hot New Orleans-style band, Armstrong was a uniquely compelling figure. It's hard to compress such a career into a single CD, but this one includes many of the milestones, reaching back to 1923 for "Chime Blues" with Armstrong playing in the band of his mentor, King Oliver. At the opposite end of Armstrong's life is 1967's "What a Wonderful World," which only became famous decades after it was recorded. In between are the creative peaks, including a good sampling of Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven bands from the late 1920s--the most influential of his recordings--and a superb small-group version of "Old Rockin' Chair" from 1947. Armstrong's 1931 version of Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust" retains its special luster seven decades later, and there's also a good selection of trademark hits from his later career, like "Mack the Knife" and "Hello, Dolly!" --Stuart Broomer

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Big Bad Voodoo Daddy did more than any other band to fuel the sing revival of the '90s, due largely to the group's appearance in the 1996 film Swingers. Since then, the craze has waned, although you couldn't tell it by BBVD. If anything, the combo has approaches their fifth album with more gusto and verve than ever, infusing their old-school jive and greasy horns with a New Orleans sensibility and panache and, in the process, creating their strongest album yet. Although their songs sound like they were lifted right out of the Zoot-suited '40s, the band writes all their own material, taking swing into a raw and modern direction. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy by rights will still be here when the next wave of swing arrives. --Jaan Uhelszki

Japanese only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) pressing. Universal. 2008.

Release Date: 1997-01-14, Audio CD, RCA

Release Date: 1996-02-22, Audio CD, Epm Musique

Release Date: 1996-07-16, Audio CD, RCA