One of my all-time favorite old flicks is “A Song is Born” (1948) starring Danny Kaye. A Song is Born staffs jazz greats like Lionel Hampton, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, the Golden Gate Quartet, Tommy Dorsey, Mel Powell, Louis Bellson, and Charlie Barnett and lets the viewer tune in to watch them tear away at [...]

Louis Armstrong’s music has the magical power to send me on an emotional rollercoaster. Lucky for us, a new edition of those tracks from the 1935-46 Decca recordings, mostly of his work with the big bands, has just been released by Mosaic. Listen or read a review of the release over at NPR. Jazz critic [...]