4 August marks the 110th birth anniversary of one of the most important
musicians in the history of jazz - Louis Armstrong. Satchmo By Satchmo,
the first of two Radio 2 programmes marking this occasion, takes a visit
to the jazz legend's private tape vault.

Broadcaster and journalist Paul Sexton sets the scene for
a unique review of great man's life and times - unique because it's
by Louis himself, talking about his life and times in largely unheard
home recordings. Armstrong was one of the first artists to embrace reel-
to-reel home tape technology. He loved to record his own voice for
posterity, whenever the occasion allowed, from around 1950 (when he had
already been an artist for some 30 years) until shortly before his death
in 1971.

The tapes make for an extraordinary and often hilarious first-hand
commentary on a singular life. Satchmo looks back on his earlier career,
talking about recording in the 1920s with Joe "King" Oliver, "Empress of
the Blues" Bessie Smith and others, and describes the contemporary events
in his life in this fascinating audio diary.

Download File Size:49.52 MB

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