Gold : [Original recording remastered]

Satchmo’s contribution to modern music & pop culture is legendary. He was a great trumpeteer & influential jazz singer. He was already 63 years old when he had his first and only #1 hit ˝Hello Dolly˝. He is also believed to have started what’s known as scatting. The story is during the recording of ˝Heebie Jeebies˝ (the last track in this collection) the sheet music fell to the floor so he just started vocalizing without using actual words.
The set starts with his last and probably most popular hit ˝What A Wonderful World˝ which didn’t become a hit until 1988, almost 17 years after his passing. The rest of the collection runs in reverse chronological order spanning four decades down to his years with the Hot Five and Hot Seven. There are also collaborations with Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Louis Jordan, and Billie Holiday. There’s one track previously unreleased in the US: ˝St. Louis Blues˝.

If you’re new to Satchmo, then you found a great place to start. Even if you may have other collections from him, this is still highly recommended. It’s just a great listen.