Born in New Orleans, trumpeter and vocalist Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) was the first big Jazz-star. Some of the best and rarest albums by the Jazz superstar, incl. recordings available on CD for the first time. Original albums with his most important recordings and rare collaborations with Dave Brubeck, The Mills Brothers or Bing Crosby including two recordings, never before released on CD: the original album “Lil Armstrong - Satchmo And Me” and a supremely funny promotional single for a shavercompany from 1959.

After replacing King Oliver in Kid Ory’s band, he soon followed his teacher to Chicago, the Jazz center of the 1920s. Armstrong was one of the first musicians to emerge as a soloist from the collective improvisations of early Jazz with his own style and stretched out soloing.

In New York, pianist Fletcher Henderson led the best African-American orchestra, to which Armstrong would belong in 1924 for a significant period of 14 months. In addition he recorded with the great blues singers like Ma Rainey

and Bessie Smith. From the 1930s on, Armstrong was a world-acclaimed star trumpeter and singer who recorded successful records with a wide repertoire and mostly in big band accompaniment, appeared in many films and toured extensively around the world with his All Stars.