Louis Armstrong was a brilliant Jazz musician, singer and above all, a great trumpeter. At the time, there was some rivalry on the music charts between The Beatles and himself. Louis Armstrong released this album back in 1964, and the album and corresponding EP itself knocked The Beatles (just for once) off the music charts in the 1960s. Therefore, this must be a decent listen to observe, so without further delay, let’s hear this album.

Hello, Dolly! launches this album with some gorgeous piano, what sounds like a ukelele and some subtle string sections in the background. Louis Armstrong sings away in a deep and throaty voice, and he simply does a good job here. There is a gorgeous and divine trumpet solo in the middle of this song, and it just sounds very nice and energetic. A really cool mixture of sounds and melodic playing, this is really excellent. Louis Armstrong delivers an extraordinarily good listen, nice job dude.

It’s Been A Long, Long Time begins with some interesting trumpet and other brass based instrumentation. Louis Armstrong sings deeply about love and romance. Indeed, this is another great song that still stands tall today. The trumpet solo towards the middle of the song is audibly delicious and irresistible. All in all, a great and wonderful tune that still sounds terrific here. Awesome, joyful and wonderful, Louis Armstrong sounds very good on this tune. The end is fantastic with a sustained vocal from Louis Armstrong. Great stuff.

A Lot Of Livin’ To Do begins with lush piano, excellent wind instrumentation and is followed by Louis Armstrong singing about women being “chicks”, so to speak, which is a common phrase today for people to refer to women as. Nonetheless, this is another great song by Louis Armstrong. It is fairly clear that Louis Armstrong isn’t the world’s greatest singer, but he does the job extremely well regardless. There is a pretty trumpet solo in the second half, which makes this piece come alive. All in all, a really great tune and an awesome listen from start to finish.

A Kiss To Build A Dream On begins with piano in the right channel and guitar in the left channel. Soon enough, this tune gets going very nicely and sounds quite good. A pretty and smooth sounding piece, this is quickly followed by Louis Armstrong’s deep and gravelly singing that sounds really cool. All in all, this tune is very pretty, interesting and romantic sounding. This music certainly is very underrated, and it sounds really excellent. A pretty and extraordinarily euphoric romantic tune, Louis Armstrong follows this up with a neat trumpet solo in the second half that sounds gorgeously melodic. Soon enough, Louis Armstrong resumes singing very nicely, although he has a deep, Blues style wail. All in all, a fantastic piece of music to hear.

Someday begins with clarinet, piano and joyful trumpet. This tune sounds unbelievably excellent, and the playing on this number is spot on. The trumpet in particular sounds great. Soon enough, Louis Armstrong enters into this tune vocally and sings away about some relationship difficulties that one may have in life. Louis Armstrong sounds extremely joyous and cheerful in this tune, despite the subject matter. A remarkably excellent and Jazz based tune, it has some really classy and brassy playing towards the end. Louis Armstrong sings well towards the end again here, and this good tune concludes. Nice effort.

Hey Look Me Over begins with some great marching snare drum rolls, quickly launching into one of the better songs from this collection so far. It sounds super happy and joyful. There is a wonderful solo section present in this piece, especially so with a prominent trumpet and other delicious supporting instrumentation, such as the clarinet. All in all, this is marvellously superb. This is more along the lines of how music should be delivered, and it certainly sounds terrific. A great piece of music.

I Still Get Jealous arrives next and is a very normal sounding song for people in relationships with a lover. Indeed, this music is positive, joyful and uplifting throughout. A great listen, there is a gorgeous trumpet solo in the second half. This piece is very short at just over two minutes long. However, that is very much acceptable for Jazz standards. An uplifting and decent tune that makes perfect sense to the jealous types out there, and a good listen throughout.

Moon River begins with some subdued guitar and some other different sounds that are super pretty. This is a really classic tune to hear, which has been covered elsewhere by different artists. Still, a really lovely and pretty listen musically, this tune sounds really very incredible to listen to. A deep, meaningful and moving tune, this sounds really excellently well done. A really great listen throughout, this is really lively and upbeat. A slow burner like a cigar, but an awesome listen from start to finish. Great job.

Be My Life’s Companion begins with some lovely synchronised instrumentation before Louis Armstrong sings very deeply about being in love with someone who doesn’t grow old in one’s eyes. A really different, decent and awesome tune, this tune sounds very supercharged and euphoric, although there is some darker subject matter throughout. A clean and clear trumpet solo in the second half makes this quite lively listening. Great music, and another finely inspired Jazz tune to listen to. Excellent work.

Blueberry Hill begins with pretty piano and a gorgeous backing band. Soon enough, Louis Armstrong sings wonderfully about a metaphorical place where one can sit at night and stare at the moon. Some people may wonder why someone would do this, but it’s decent listening regardless. A wonderful, upbeat and very beautiful piece of music, this sounds really amazing and great. Although the music on these songs is very simple, it is very much amazing to listen to. Louis Armstrong sings nicely about romance at said location. The song concludes with some nice vocal harmonies, a sort of proto-Syd Barrett sounding part if you will. Great tune.

You Are Woman I Am Man begins with some excellent sounds, quickly launching into a rather old-school romantic song that, honestly nowadays, comes across as a little sexist and prejudiced. Still, this can be easily overlooked, the song is a short and melodic piece of music designed to get people swinging away on the Jazz dancefloor. A really cool listening experience, this is a really direct but decent listening experience. It has a great conclusion, with Louis Armstrong demanding that his lady should kiss him. Interesting.

Jeepers Creepers is the final song on this album. It launches straight into a piece with Jazzy horns and brass sections, along with a ukelele in the background. Nonetheless, this is a very pretty and decent tune to listen to, it just sounds really excellent and thoroughly good in terms of playing. This beats some of the Psychedelic Rock that was made later on in the 1960s. In addition, this still retains its freshness and a sense of accomplished musicianship. This is a Frank Sinatra piece that is covered on this tune, and it does sound really pretty and enjoyable. The lyrics are quite interesting, and Louis Armstrong does a decent musical performance, as does the rest of his band. This tune ends with some expert piano and nimble double bass playing, followed by trumpet. This album draws to a close with a trumpet solo, before the band concludes. Great work.

This is a good Jazz album overall. It’s more like Jazz Pop than most other styles out there. Still, Louis Armstrong’s voice isn’t the perfect match for this type of music, which is the main flaw of this album. Aside from that, this is very, very good and sounds very impressive. Jazz fans and even some casual mainstream 1960s Pop music fans will enjoy this, in particular.

All that Jazz.

8/10