Louis Wishes You A Cool Yule (Verve/UMe)
Louis Armstrong
Re-released in 2022
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lTxyzNkI5ppcb-B_zh_Dy43xP1WfDY2yk
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2KquMleTyS3Ykm7440PjL6?si=ouPvkF0-RXuj-6UzaPNPIQ
About:
For the very first time, Louis Wishes You A Cool Yule presents Louis Armstrong’s Holiday recordings as a cohesive body of work, marking his first-ever official Christmas album. This new collection includes nearly all of Satchmo’s Holiday offerings plus a previously unreleased recording of the classic holiday poem, “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” set to newly recorded music by Sullivan Fortner
Much like Santa Claus himself, Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong devoted his life to “the cause of happiness,” as he once put it, bringing joy to audiences around the globe every time he put his trumpet to his lips or crooned with his instantly-recognizable, gravelly voice. Yet, while Satchmo’s holiday recordings have become standard yuletide fare, he never released a Christmas album during his lifetime.
Since his passing in 1971, Armstrong has become one of the most oft-played artists during the holiday season, his golden trumpet tone is still able to cut through the din of even the most bustling shopping mall. Louis Wishes You A Cool Yule features nearly the entirety of Armstrong’s Holiday output and also features duets with two of Pops’ favorite vocal partners, Velma Middleton on “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” and Ella Fitzgerald on “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm.”
Rounding out the collection is the artist’s signature hit, “What A Wonderful World,” which has become something of a year-round hymn of hope and celebrates its 65th anniversary this year, plus a very special gift to fans – a previously unreleased reading of Samuel Clement Moore’s poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” popularly known as “The Night Before Christmas.” Paired with a newly-recorded musical underbed by New Orleans pianist Sullivan Fortner, the poignant recording marks the first new Louis Armstrong track in more than 20 years and is notable for being the last recording he ever made. Perhaps it’s his love of Christmas that accounts for Armstrong’s somewhat mysterious reading of “A Visit From St. Nicholas.” Captured months before his death, on February 26, 1971, the recording was made by the ailing artist, alone on his home reel-to-reel tape recorder. Whether Satchmo was giving fans one final present, or simply finding comfort in his favorite Holiday, it is certain that the recording, and this album, will deliver plenty of Christmas magic.
Louis Wishes You A Cool Yule also includes new liner notes from Grammy Award winning writer, Ricky Riccardi, author of two Armstrong biographies and Director of Research Collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum. Additionally, all tracks have been mixed in immersive Dolby Atmos and hi-res audio.
Track Listing:
1. Cool Yule (Steve Allen) 2:55
2. Winter Wonderland (Felix Bernard / Dick Smith) 3:01
3. I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (Irving Berlin) featuring Ella Fitzgerald 3:10
4. ‘Zat You, Santa Claus? (Jack Fox) 2:48
5. Christmas in New Orleans (Richard Sherman / Joseph Van Winkle) 2:53
6. White Christmas (Irving Berlin) 2:38
7. Christmas Night in Harlem (Mitchell Parish / Raymond Scott) 2:38
8. Baby It’s Cold Outside (Frank Loesser) feat. Velma Middleton 2:40
9. Moments to Remember (Al Stillman / Robert Allen) 3:07
10. What a Wonderful World (George David Weiss / Bob Thiele) 2:17
11. A Visit from St. Nicholas (poem from Clement Clarke Moore, read by Louis Armstrong with accompaniment by Sullivan Fortner on piano) 6:21
Personnel:
Louis Armstrong: vocals, trumpet
The Commanders Big Band (1, 4)
Ella Fitzgerald: vocals (3)
Benny Carter: clarinet (5, 7, 9)
Gordon Jenkins & His Orchestra (6)
Velma Middleton: vocals (8)
Track 11 poem recorded by Louis Armstrong at his home on February 26, 1971, Sullivan Fortner’s piano accompaniment recorded May 17, 2022 at Sear Sound, New York City.
The narration is one of two tapes of it recorded by Armstrong and this one is unedited and released for the first time.
Recorded at Sear Sound, NYC, USA
Recording Engineer: Chris Allen
Mixing Engineer and Mastering: Seth Foster
Producer: Ken Druker
Art Direction & Design: Ryan Rogers
Review:
Given Louis Armstrong’s great success with pop and novelty songs, you might think he recorded a lot of Christmas songs. Not so — the 11 tracks on his first Yuletide collection, singles from the 1950s and ’60, are about it. Satchmo’s inimitable gravelly vocals and to a lesser extent on this collection his Gabriel’s horn give him the magnetism to have mastery of, say, “White Christmas” and zany “Zat You, Santa Claus?” The one and only Ella Fitzgerald adds to the toasty vibe of “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm” and singer Velma Middleton joins Satchmo for laughs on “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”
Frank-John Hadley (DownBeat)
