On August 4, 2023, on what would have been Louis Armstrong’s 122nd birthday—although many celebrate the trailblazer on July 4, as he was lovingly hailed as a “firecracker baby” by his mother—Blue Engine Records proudly releases Wynton Marsalis Plays Louis Armstrong’s Hot Fives and Sevens. Featuring an all-star band led by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and Jazz at Lincoln Center Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, the live album will be available on all major streaming platforms. Performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater in 2006, Wynton Marsalis Plays Louis Armstrong’s Hot Fives and Sevens recreates the magic of Armstrong’s seminal ensembles. The lineup, which includes many longtime Marsalis collaborators, features Wycliffe Gordon (tuba, trombone, bass, vocals), Vincent Gardner (trombone), Victor Goines (clarinet), Walter Blanding (saxophones), “Papa” Don Vappie (banjo, guitar), Jon Batiste (piano), Carlos Henriquez (bass), and Ali Jackson (drums).
Originally recorded in the 1920s, Louis Armstrong’s Hot Fives and Hot Sevens sides are still hailed as some of the greatest and most influential jazz sessions ever captured; musicians obsess over their warmth, wit, and joy to this day. Now, Marsalis—another acclaimed New Orleans trumpeter—reimagines classics from those sessions like “Basin Street Blues,” “St. James Infirmary,” and “Heebie Jeebies” for a whole new generation of audiences.
There are perhaps no better interpreters of Armstrong’s legacy than Marsalis and his fellow musicians; and, through transposing the timeless music of the 1920s to the 21st century, these expert players deliver technically flawless performances and prove Marsalis’ assertion that all eras of jazz are integrated.
TRACKLISTING:
1. Potato Head Blues
2. Twelfth Street Rag
3. Skid-Dat-De-Dat
4. Jazz Lips
5. St. James Infirmary
6. Weary Blues
7. Melancholy Blues
8. Heebie Jeebies
9. Once in a While
10. Ory’s Creole Trombone
11. Basin Street Blues
12. Savoy Blues
13. Cornet Chop Suey
14. Fireworks
PERSONNEL:
Wynton Marsalis – Trumpet & Vocals
Wycliffe Gordon – Tuba, Trombone, Bass & Vocals
Vincent Gardner – Trombone
Victor Goines – Clarinet
Walter Blanding –Tenor & Soprano Saxophones
“Papa” Don Vappie – Banjo & Guitar
Jon Batiste – Piano
Carlos Henriquez – Bass
Ali Jackson – Drums
About Blue Engine Records
Blue Engine Records, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s platform that makes its vast archive of recorded concerts available to jazz audiences everywhere, launched on June 30, 2015. Blue Engine Records releases new studio and live recordings as well as archival recordings from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s performance history that date back to 1987 and are part of the R. Theodore Ammon Archives and Music Library. Since the institution’s founding in 1987, each year’s programming is conceived and developed by Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis with a vision toward building a comprehensive library of iconic and wide-ranging compositions that, taken together, make up a canon of music. These archives include accurate, complete charts for the compositions – both old and new – performed each season. Coupled with consistently well-executed and recorded music performed by Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, this archive has grown to include thousands of songs from hundreds of concert dates. The launch of Blue Engine aligns with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s efforts to cultivate existing jazz fans worldwide and turn new audiences on to jazz.
For more information on Blue Engine Records, visit blueenginerecords.org.
Leadership support for Blue Engine Records is provided in part by the Arnhold Family and Jay Pritzker Foundation.
Generous support is provided by Helen and Robert Appel, Diana and Joseph DiMenna, Leonard and Louise Riggio, and Lisa Schiff. A very special thanks to Jody and John Arnhold for their extraordinary support of Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Leadership support for Jazz at Lincoln Center is made possible through America’s Cultural Treasures, a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
Leadership support is also provided by Howard Gilman Foundation, Inc. and Mellody Hobson and George Lucas.
Leadership support for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is provided by Michele and Mark Mandel, the Perry and Donna Golkin Family Foundation, and the Zou Family Fund.
Leadership support for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s concert season is provided by Lynne and Richard Pasculano. Major support is provided by Abrams Foundation; The Ambrose Monell Foundation; Manitou Fund; and Seedlings Foundation.
Generous support is provided by the Charina Endowment Fund
and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten, GRoW @ Annenberg.
Generous support is also provided by the New York State Council on the Arts
with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
The Movado Group Foundation is The Official Timekeeper of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Jazz at Lincoln Center proudly acknowledges its major corporate partners: The Movado Group Foundation,
Bloomberg Philanthropies and The Coca-Cola Company.
Press Inquiries:
Madelyn Gardner
Assistant Director, Public Relations and External Communications
Jazz at Lincoln Center
[email protected]