The one guy I'll never mistake for any other jazz musician is good ole' Louis Armstrong! Even my 10-year-old twin daughters recognize his voice from countless cartoons and movies they've seen. Even his trumpet sound is pretty recognizable. I grew up in the 1970's living in Slidell, LA, a 45 minute ride across a long bridge to New Orleans. My dad was a news producer at Channel 8 and had access to meet many of his heroes. Being in the single digits, I was clueless and pretty much just assumed every household in America had Louis Armstrong records. Back then, it is not too far a conclusion to reach. He was the essence of New Orleans. I don't care how much anyone says he "sold out" and abandoned his hometown and old school jazz, he will always be a pioneer and King of the format.

    The first record I put on was, The Real Ambassadors. Even though I realize this is a Dave Brubeck project, Louis is involved. Is it okay if I say, I couldn't get through it? Another question that has popped in my mind is, how will I be able to tell if the jazz I'm listening to is bad. I don't think this is bad, but maybe a little too happy. Too boppy. I know I was in the right mood. It was Fat Tuesday and I was even wearing Mardi Gras beads. I love Dave Brubeck and went to his concert a couple of years ago when he played in our small Missouri town. I feel like I have to explain why I didn't like it, but I can't.

    Next up, Hello Dolly. These are standards. Many of Satchmo's songs are standards. And he is the one who made many of them famous. I feel like this was a record he did because, maybe executives told him to. Nothing wrong with these songs, but I knew the next two records would satisfy my thirst for the real deal.

    Ambassador Satch lighted me, my kids and the rest of the Fat Tuesday evening on fire! But what is this? The name, Donald Guttringer is written on the back. Who is that? Dad must have picked this one up used. Or maybe, he stole it from someone in college. So, Donald, if you are reading this, I got your record and you cannot have it back!

    One thing led to another and I let a day go by to recoup from the festivities of Fat Tuesday. And let me tell you in Springfield, Missouri, that really doesn't mean much and just goes to show you that I've become a light weight in my old age. Today, Valentines Day, I've got Louis Armstrong, V.S.O.P (Very Special Old Phonography) on my refurbished turntable and it gives me chills. Armstrong in the 1930's, when he was being criticized for straying away from traditional jazz and giving the popular tunes a go, is as sweet as this day is. I love the primitive recording sound and I can hear Louis' youth. Bravo to Dan Morgenstern, the writer of the liner notes. Dad loved Louis, New Orleans and Jazz, and this record is why.

    I threw on the Gilberto & Jobim record because I recognize Gilberto from the Stan Getz research, last week. I can't tell you how exciting it is to start to know who these people are. Unlike much of what I've heard so far, aside from the Armstrong, this samba record is most definitely not improvised. I'm still not sure if I can put samba in the same category as jazz. Maybe it is like Bob Marley gets played on rock radio stations. Rock artists love Marley and throw in a little reggae into their songs every now and then. Samba is just too preorchestrated for me to consider it jazz. But, I'm new to this. Anyway, my dog, Biscuit, a Sheltie, loves samba. He nips at my legs and forces me to dance every time I play a samba sound. Cute, huh?