Now You Has Jazz

by Louis Armstrong

Product Description:

Personnel includes: Louis Armstrong (vocal, trumpet); Jack Teargarden, Bing Crosby (vocals).

Compilation producers: George Feltenstein, Bradley Flanagan.

Includes liner notes by Will Friedwald.

Digitally remastered by Doug Schwartz (Audio Mechanics, Los Angeles, California).

For all of Louis Armstrong's musical genius and his importance as a jazz innovator, his popularity as an entertainer was just as much a part of who he was. Given his personality and his presence, the unmistakable sound of his voice, and his sheer joy in playing to the audience, it's only natural that Hollywood came calling. And it hardly seems odd that in more than 30 films, he rarely played anyone other than himself.

NOW YOU HAS JAZZ is a collection of music Armstrong performed in five MGM musicals between 1943 and 1965. It includes not only memorable performances such as HIGH SOCIETY CALYPSO from the Cole Porter-penned musical, but also outtakes that didn't make the final cut, as in the case of AIN'T IT THE TRUTH from THE STRIP, with Armstrong laughing wickedly through the lyrics before kicking off a cut-time trumpet solo. While it's apparent that Armstrong was often cast in these films as something of a gold-plated minstrel, his performances were completely his own. Matters of exploitation aside, he surely gained as much from his film career as producers did from his participation. Indeed, NOW YOU HAS JAZZ demonstrates that the relationship was a perfect match.