Good Old Louis

The Louis Armstrong recordings from 1928 that get the most attention are "West End Blues," "Muggles," "Weather Bird," "Squeeze Me" and "Tight Like This," but there is a gem of an Armstrong solo, and another by Earl Hines, on the piece called "Knee Drops," which is less often played or discussed. Click here to hear the piece in its entirety, not in the greatest possible fidelity, but perfectly listenable. In better sound, it is also on this CD, part of Columbia's invaluable Armstrong series. Fred Robinson is the trombone soloist, Jimmy Strong the tenor saxophonist. Zutty Singleton, restricted by the engineering limitations of the day to cowbells and cymbals, nonetheless manages a charming, if strange, "drum" solo.