Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Blue Engine Records announces the release of The Wonderful Word of Louis Armstrong, a vibrant new album from Wynton Marsalis offering fresh interpretations of Louis Armstrong’s classic Hot Fives and Hot Sevens recordings, committed to wax a century ago by Armstrong, the revered musician, global icon, and voice for civil rights.
Sub-titled Jazz Summit: Wynton Marsalis & Vince Giordano Play on the Hot Fives and Sevens, The Wonderful Word of Louis Armstrong will be available on all major streaming platforms on April 24, 2026. It was originally recorded by Wynton Marsalis, Vince Giordano, and members of their ensembles on Dec. 26–31, 2012, during an historic, highly celebrated run at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club in New York, NY.
For more information and to pre-order The Wonderful Word of Louis Armstrong, please visit jazz.org/wonderful.
The music Louis Armstrong created in the 1920s with his small groups, The Hot Five and the Hot Seven, remains among the most influential, timeless, and joyous in the history of American music. The NY Times called Armstrong “one of the first great pop figures of the 20th century,” and he is celebrated worldwide as the beloved entertainer behind classics like “What a Wonderful World” and “Hello, Dolly.” It was the groundbreaking The Hot Five and the Hot Seven recordings he made a century ago that transformed jazz from a collective style into a soloist’s art form—changing the course of popular music forever.
The Wonderful Word of Louis Armstrong is the third album in a series from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Blue Engine Records exploring jazz’s ethical relationship to democracy, freedom, and collective life. It follows We The People (released on Feb. 27, 2026) and Let Freedom Swing (released on March 27, 2026).
The albums are part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s initiative JazzCall for Freedom which advances the proposition that jazz is one of America’s most powerful models for democratic practice.
The civic significance of this project lies not only in Armstrong’s life and music—which helped define jazz as a shared American language and a fine art—but also in the composition of the ensemble itself. By bringing together artists across racial, generational, and stylistic lines, it reflects Armstrong’s belief in human equality, liberty, and our shared responsibility to care for one another.
The Wonderful Word of Louis Armstrong
Track List
- Hotter Than That
- The Savoy Blues
- Cornet Chop Suey
- Heebie Jeebies
- Ski-Dat-De-Dat
- Jazz Lips
- I’m Not Rough
- Ory’s Creole Trombone
- Melancholy Blues
- 12th Street Rag
- Weary Blues
- Potato Head Blues
- Knozz-Moe-King
PERSONNEL:
Wynton Marsalis – trumpet
Jon-Erik Kellso – trumpet
Chris Crenshaw – trombone
Victor Goines – tenor & soprano saxophones, clarinet, bass clarinet
Vince Giordano – bass saxophone, tuba
Andy Stein – violin
Ken Salvo – banjo, guitar
Dan Nimmer – piano
Carlos Henriquez – bass
Ali Jackon – drums, tambourine
Foundational support of Blue Engine Media is provided by
John and Jody Arnhold
and Lisa and David Schiff.
Leadership support was provided by Dan and Karen Pritzker.
Press Inquiries:
Zooey Tidal Jones
Senior Director, Public Relations & External Communications
Jazz at Lincoln Center
[email protected]
212-258-9821
Madelyn Gardner
Assistant Director, Public Relations & External Communications
Jazz at Lincoln Center
[email protected]
212-258-9868