Hot Fives & Sevens


Hot Fives & Sevens is a 2000 box set collection of recordings made by American jazz trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong with his Hot Five, Hot Seven, and other groups between 1925 and 1930. First released on JSP Records on 22 August 2000, the set was subsequently reissued on Definitive in 2001. A four-disc compilation, the set has received a "crown" as an author's pick in The Penguin Guide to Jazz and is also included in the book's "core collection" recommended for jazz fans. AllMusic concurs that it is "beyond indispensable", adding that "you can't have a Louis Armstrong collection without this historic set" or "any kind of respectable jazz collection." Alternatively, Ben Ratliff, writing in 2002, preferred Columbia's release The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings.

Overview

The box set consists of four compact discs. The first and second discs, and part of the third, comprise the Hot Five and Hot Seven recording sessions from 1925 through 1928. The third and fourth discs compile tracks recorded by Carroll Dickerson's Savoyagers, Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra, and Louis Armstrong and His Savoy Ballroom Five between 1928 and 1930.

Critical reception

The collection has generally earned praise. Music critic Cub Koda, writing for AllMusic, notes that "Although this material has been around the block several times before – and continues to be available in packages greatly varying in transfer quality – this is truly the way to go, and certainly the most deluxe packaging this material has ever received with the greatest sound retrieval yet employed." The Penguin Guide to Jazz included Hot Fives & Sevens in its "Core Collection," and assigned its "crown" accolade to the album, along with a four-star rating. Penguin editors Richard Cook and Brian Morton remarked, "John R. T. Davies's remastering for JSP is superlative. Armstrong scholars argue over whether the Columbia 'definitive' edition – mystifyingly delayed – is superior, but it's hard to see anyone being disappointed with either." 2008's Jazz : The Basics is not as effusive, suggesting that other remasters may sound better and other packaging may be more complete, but the lower price of this set made it "an attractive package for recordings that are a necessary part of any CD collection." Ben Ratliff, by contrast, found the collection only a "tolerable alternative to Columbia's muffled-sounding initial CD reissue", but preferred Columbia Legacy's The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings for its greater "bright and present" sound.

Track listing

''Except where otherwise noted, all songs composed by Louis Armstrong.''

Disc one

  1. "My Heart" – 2:27
  2. "Yes! I'm in the Barrel" – 2:40
  3. "Gut Bucket Blues" – 2:45
  4. "Come Back Sweet Papa" – 2:32
  5. "Georgia Grind" – 2:36
  6. "Heebie Jeebies" – 2:56
  7. "Cornet Chop Suey" – 3:19
  8. "Oriental Strut" – 3:03
  9. "You're Next" – 3:17
  10. "Muskrat Ramble" – 2:34
  11. "Don't Forget to Mess Around" – 3:04
  12. "I'm Gonna Gitcha" – 2:46
  13. "Droppin' Shucks" – 2:54
  14. "Who' Sit" – 2:47
  15. "He Likes It Slow" – 2:44
  16. "The King of the Zulus " – 3:07
  17. "Big Fat Ma and Skinny Pa" – 3:02
  18. "Lonesome Blues" – 3:05
  19. "Sweet Little Papa" – 2:47
  20. "Jazz Lips" – 3:03
  21. "Skid-Dat-De-Dat" – 3:07
  22. "Big Butter and Egg Man" – 3:01
  23. "Sunset Cafe Stomp" – 2:47
  24. "You Made Me Love You" – 2:54
  25. "Irish Black Bottom" – 2:37

Disc two

  1. "Willie the Weeper" – 3:10
  2. "Wild Man Blues" – 3:13
  3. "Chicago Breakdown" – 3:21
  4. "Alligator Crawl" – 3:04
  5. "Potato Head Blues" – 2:58
  6. "Melancholy Blues" – 3:05
  7. "Weary Blues" – 3:01
  8. "Twelfth Street Rag" – 3:06
  9. "Keyhole Blues" – 3:29
  10. "S.O.L. Blues" – 2:55
  11. "Gully Low Blues" – 3:18
  12. "That's When I'll Come Back to You" – 2:58
  13. "Put 'Em Down Blues" – 3:17
  14. "Ory's Creole Tombstone" – 3:07
  15. "The Last Time" – 3:32
  16. "Struttin' With Some Barbecue" – 3:06
  17. "Got No Blues" – 3:26
  18. "Once in a While" – 3:19
  19. "I'm Not Rough" – 3:05
  20. "Hotter Than That" – 3:05
  21. "Savoy Blues" – 3:28

Disc three

  1. "Fireworks" – 3:09
  2. "Skip the Gutter" – 3:10
  3. "A Monday Date" – 3:15
  4. "Don't Jive Me" – 2:50
  5. "West End Blues" – 3:21
  6. "Sugar Foot Strut" – 3:23
  7. "Two Deuces" – 2:58
  8. "Squeeze Me" – 3:26
  9. "Knee Drops" – 3:28
  10. "Symphonic Raps" – 3:15
  11. "Savoyagers' Stomp" – 3:13
  12. "No, Papa, No" – 2:54
  13. "Basin Street Blues" – 3:16
  14. "No One Else But You" – 3:24
  15. "Beau Koo Jack" – 3:01
  16. "Save It, Pretty Mama" – 3:19
  17. "Weather Bird" – 2:42
  18. "Muggles" – 2:52
  19. "Hear Me Talking to Ya?" – 3:17
  20. "St. James Infirmary" – 3:14
  21. "Tight Like This" – 3:12
  22. "Knockin' a Jug" – 3:15

Disc four

  1. "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" – 3:26
  2. "Mahogany Hall Stomp" – 3:18
  3. "Ain't Misbehavin'" – 3:16
  4. "Black and Blue" – 3:03
  5. "That Rhythm Man" – 3:05
  6. "Sweet Savannah Sue" – 3:09
  7. "Some of These Days" – 2:55
  8. "Some of These Days" – 3:07
  9. "When You're Smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You)" – 2:53
  10. "When You're Smiling " – 3:25
  11. "After You've Gone" – 3:17
  12. "I Ain't Got Nobody" – 2:41
  13. "Dallas Blues" – 3:11
  14. "St. Louis Blues" – 2:58
  15. "Rockin' Chair" – 3:17
  16. "Song of the Islands" – 3:32
  17. "Bessie Couldn't Help It" – 3:24
  18. "Blue Turning Grey over You" – 3:31
  19. "Dear Old Southland" – 3:21
  20. "Rockin' Chair" – 3:16
  21. "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" – 3:27