Louis Armstrong – Hot Fives & Sevens Volume 2 [JSP]

There seems to be a general consenus on the internet that John R T Davies' 1991 remasterings of the Louis Armstrong Hot Fives and Hot Sevens  on the JSP label are still the best-sounding versions of these seminal recordings (see the discussions on Steve Hoffman's forum and dippermouth.blogspot.com). However, one user on the latter forum reports 'ear fatigue' after prolonged listening to the JSP discs, which is similar to my own experience. So how about improving these remasterings, which are now 33 years old?

I took Davies' versions as a starting point, tried to improve the overall equalization and applied the modern methods available today. I tried to match the equalization to Louis' All-Stars recordings from the 1950s. It turned out that I had to deviate quite a bit from Davies' equalization choices. The mid-range around 1-2 kHz was clearly too pronounced there, which may explain the phenomenon of listening fatigue. I also decreased the noise level (78s surface noise) by 6 dB. 

The results sound very convincing to my ears. The instruments have a natural, balanced sound, and the whole thing sounds as if it had been recorded yesterday. You can hear much more detail than in previous versions, and it just sounds sweet.

Be warned: In the remastering I used Zynaptiq's Unchirp, which reconstructs missing frequencies in the treble with sophisticated algorithms. Those who consider this to be the devil's work should steer clear of it. Everyone else can let their ears be the judge.

Recording Details [JSP Records JSP100B]:

Louis Armstrong and His Hot Seven

Louis Armstrong - Cornet, Vocal; John Thomas - Trombone; Johnny Dodds - Clarinet; Lil Armstrong - Piano; Vocal; Johnny St. Cyr - Banjo, Guitar; Pete Briggs - Brass Bass; Baby Dodds - Drums

80847-C Willie The Weeper
80848-C Wild Man Blues

Chicago, May 7, 1927

Louis Armstrong, Bill Wilson - Cornets; Honore Dutrey - Trombone; Boyd Atkins - Clarinet, Soprano Sax, Alto Sax; Joe Walker - Alto Sax, Baritone Sax; Albert Washington - Tenor Sax; Earl Hines - Piano; Rip Bassett - Banjo, Guitar; Pete Briggs - Brass Bass; Tubby Hall - Drums; Carroll Dickerson - Director

80851-C Chicago BreakDown

Chicago, May 9, 1927

Louis Armstrong and His Hot Seven: 

Personnel as for tracks 1, 2; Louis Armstrong Vocals (on 9, 10)

80854-B Alligator Crawl
80855-C Potato Head Blues
M862-A Melancholy Blues
80863-B Weary Blues
80864-A Twelfth Street Rag
80889-A Keyhole Blues
81126-B S.O.L. Blues
80877-D Gully Low Blues
80884-B That’s When I’ll Come Back To You

4, 5: Chicago, May 10, 1927
6 - 8: Chicago, May 11, 1927
9, 10: Chicago, May 13, 1927
11, 12: Chicago, May 14, 1927

LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS HOT FIVE: Louis Armstrong - Cornet, Vocal (on 13, 15, 19, 20); Kid Ory - Trombone; Johnny Dodds - Clarinet; Lil Armstrong - Piano; Johnny St. Cyr - Banjo, Guitar (on 19 - 21); Lonnie Johnson - Guitar (on 19 - 21)

81302-B Put ‘Em Down Blues
81310-O Ory’s Creole Trombone
81317-A The Last Time
82037-B Struttin’ With Some Barbecue
82038-B Got No Blues
82039-B Once In A While
82040-B I’m Not Rough
82055-B Hotter Than That
82056-A Savoy Blues

13, 14: Chicago, September 2, 1927
15: Chicago, September 6, 1927
16, 17: Chicago, December 9, 1927
18, 19: Chicago, December 10, 1927
20, 21: Chicago, December 13, 1927