This set of two CDs follows on the heels of Armstrong's Hot 5's and 7's records. Recorded between April 1930 and March 1932, it showcases Armstrong at his peak. The sound is fuller, due to the accompaniment of 9-10 musicians, and the arrangements seem more professional and mature. Packed with masterpieces, such as Lazy River, Chinatown, My chinatown and Stardust, it surpasses the Hot 5's & 7's in pure listening pleasure.

The CDs come in two standard jewel cases, each with a 4-page 'booklet' including tracklisting, personnel, recording dates and interesting liner notes. The CDs are collected in a 'box' of thin cardboard.

The sound is impeccable. Remastered by John R.T. Davies, it leaves in all the available information, in addition to some surface noise. I had a chance to compare with songs from the Columbia-issued Ken Burns' Armstrong compilation, and while there are subtle differences, the sound quality on both is excellent.

I highly recommend this set.

These are not ensemble pieces, like the earlier Hot Five recordings were, and the marvelous recordings with Earl Hines on piano. From the 20s. Rather, these are display pieces -big band settings for Louis's trumpet playing and above all, his singing, which was sellable to black and white audiences alike. There is no other first rate soloist on these recordings except for Louis. A young Lawrence Brown on trombone (CD A, cuts 7-11) is twenty-two at the time and plays pretty well. An even younger Lionel Hampton (twenty-one) drums enthusiastically but not all that well. Hamp also takes his first recorded solo on vibes --I wish I liked it better because I love Hampton's later work, but he's a pretty anemic soloist at this stage. The other soloists, the few there are, sound dated now. Band arrangements vary between mediocre to awful: these were house bands, fronted for the occasion by the trumpeter but not truly his own band.

But Louis shines on even the worst material. He is a force of life. This is a slightly older Louis than in the famous Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings of the `20s. He takes things a bit slower, for the most part, but he can still ascend to the stratosphere when needed and he plays those incredible stoptime passages with consummate ease. That's the first thing about Louis: he was a consummate technician. The second thing about him was his incredible musical intelligence: he played off chord structures when other soloists still basically embellished the melody. The third thing about him was his power. He was always exciting.

There are occasional flubs on these two discs. He gets into trouble early in his solo on "Dinah" (cut 5, CD A), which is played at breakneck tempo, but recovers with a phenomenal solo with runs, grace notes, and bravura on the even faster tempoed "Tiger Rag", which follows next (cut 6). And, of course, there's the singing. Louis's singing on these CDs is a marvel, both when he sings lyrics and when he scats.

These are essential recordings for the jazz lover, despite their flaws. Because, believe me, Louis was a force of life.

I looked high and low for a collection of Satchmo's work of this genre; flagged this CD on my Wish List; wish came true from my daughter. I couldn't be happier. Some--but not all--of the numbers appear on the great Columbia series, but there were multiple new surprises.

The sound is wonderful, better than I expected. Good liner notes. What's more--great value for two hard-to-find CDs.

These CDs in my opinion represent a critical bridge in Armstrong's development--the end of the Sixes and Sevens and NY periods, and before Decca. His voice is perhaps at its greatest. The sidemen are superb (you will well recognize many of them).

As with many Armstrong songs, the pure joy for me is not so much in the substance of the words sung, as it is in the delivery, and the segues and developments within numbers. We hear Armstrong testing, experimenting, utilizing bigger bands, happy to let others strut their stuff too. The result is a singular and timeless listening wonder!