Mack The Knife

Rate It! Avg: 4.5 (57 ratings)

We’re sorry. This album is unavailable for download in your country (United States) at this time.

ALBUM INFORMATION
EDITOR'S PICK // LIVE

Total Tracks: 11   Total Length: 44:35

eMusic Review

Avatar Image
Fred Kaplan

eMusic Contributor

04.22.11
Pops at his most upbeat, live with his sextet.
2000 | Label: Fantasy / Pablo

Recorded live at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival with his regular sextet (including the exuberant trombonist Trummy Young), this is one of Armstrong's most raucous albums, the one that reveals more consonance than many imagine between the old-time Dixieland and the then-emerging avant-garde. There's the same group improvisation, the overlapping dissonance, a freedom from set meter. Armstrong had just recently turned the title tune into a hit song, and he blares it, on his trumpet and with his voice, with a heady brio. The set includes old-time classics ("Indiana," "Mahogany Hall Stomp," "Sweet Georgia Brown") and the band tears into all of them.

Write a Review2 Member Reviews

Please log in before you review a release. Log in

user avatar

Satchmo

Virton

I got turned on to his music from "Good Morning Vietnam" and I love his songs.

user avatar

Killer set

OverTheHill

Such a powerhouse live set coloured with a bit of Satchmo banter in between. My favourite from the Master. Take a listen.

Recommended Albums

They Say All Media Guide

Before his appearance at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, Louis Armstrong learned that the promoters planned to shunt aside his regular band in favor of a group of his historical associates. Never a pushover and always protective of his sidemen, Armstrong threw a major temper tantrum that resulted in his regular show going on as usual. No hint of the turmoil can be heard during this swinging concert appearance, which features the trumpeter, trombonist Trummy Young, and clarinetist Edmond Hall romping through their usual program, highlighted by “Now You Has Jazz” (from the movie High Society), “Mahogany Hall Stomp,” some individual features, and Armstrong’s recent hit “Mack the Knife.” – Scott Yanow

more »