Milan BSIN01684437 (2 CD-Set)

Armstrong, Louis - The Katanga Concert

It seems that record labels will go to extremes to release "new" recordings by jazz legends who aren't around to contest them. The two-CD compilation The Katanga Concert, released in 2000, combines a previously unreleased concert from 1960 by Louis Armstrong in Katanga, Africa, with 17 tracks that were previously issued on one of two earlier Milan CDs, Blueberry Hill and What a Wonderful World: The Elizabethtown Concert. While Armstrong is his usual charming self, the recording quality of all three concerts ranges from barely acceptable to abysmal, with the master tapes full of wow, having occasional dropouts, and not being particularly well recorded in the first place. Almost all of the selections appear in better fidelity on other releases. The track labeled "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" is actually "Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey?" Another source of irritation is that there was room for all 23 of the tracks on this compilation, yet six songs are omitted, seemingly at random. Of course, this omission will be of little concern to anyone but the most obsessive collector of Louis Armstrong, as nearly everyone else can safely bypass this collection.(Ken Dryden)
Price: 19,90 EUR