Louis Armstrong & Friends - What a Wonderful Xmas (1997)

Yes, this is a compilation album (a collection of tracks from different albums rather than one issued complete by the artist), but who cares? This is a collection of fine Christmas tunes by great artists from the era of the big bands, jazz, and swing. Besides, anytime you can hear Louis Armstrong make music is a time to be happy and that seems particularly appropriate to the Christmas season.
On this album, the tracks given to Mr. Armstrong are "Christmas in New Orleans", "White Christmas", "Christmas Night in Harlem", "Cool Yule" (particularly fun!), "'Zat You, Santa Claus" (yes, the tune covered by Buster Poindexter), and "Winter Wonderland.
You also get to hear a young Mel Torme in a live performance of his now standard "The Christmas Song" (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire). Particularly worthwhile.
And we get Christmas songs by Dinah Washington, Peggy Lee, Eartha Kitt, and Lena Horne. The other friends are tracks by Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington (a rousing big band instrumental of Jingle Bells), and Louis Jordan.
This is a great album to have filling your house over the Christmas Season.
Amazon

Tracks:
01. Christmas In New Orleans - Louis Armstrong
02. White Christmas - Louis Armstrong
03. Silent Night - Dinah Washington
04. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) - Mel Torme
05. Christmas Night In Harlem - Louis Armstrong
06. It's Christmas Time Again - Peggy Lee
07. Cool Yule - Louis Armstrong
08. Merry Christmas, Baby - Lionel Hampton
09. Zat You, Santa Claus? - Louis Armstrong
10. Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt
11. Jingle Bells - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
12. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Lena Horne
13. May Everyday Be Christmas - Louis Jordan & His Orchestra
14. Winter Wonderland - Louis Armstrong

D/L Link:
http://www.ftp2share.com/file/7859/laxmas.zip.html

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What a Wonderful Christmas (Hip-O Records) hit #4 on the Jazz chart when issued in 1997, bringing together the largely '50s recordings on to one album for the first time. As if Satchmo solo weren't enough on "Christmas Night In Harlem," "Christmas In New Orleans," "Cool Yule," etc., there are stellar performances with Peggy Lee, Eartha Kitt, Lena Horne, Duke Ellington, Dinah Washington, Mel Torme, Lionel Hampton and Louis Jordan. Part shrill exploitation and part joyful noise, What A Wonderful Christmas is a case study in modern seasonal marketing. On the one hand, it's a various artist package masquerading as a Louis Armstrong album - probably because the guys in the art department liked the picture. Plus, it doesn't even contain the song it is named after, "What A Wonderful World," Satchmo's warm signature tune that has become a holiday favorite (even though it's not a Christmas song). On the other hand, the music in-and-of-itself is incredible - the brightest lights in jazz celebrating the season - and it compiles all six sides of the three Christmas singles Armstrong cut for Decca Records in the mid-50's. Despite the crass come-on, What A Wonderful Christmas is as good a compilation of jazz and pop Christmas music as you're gonna find, containing a number of rare tracks and several bona fide classics. And, the cover shot is pretty cute.... Satchmo's Decca sides were waxed long after his salad days as an jazz innovator, but they remain highly enjoyable if not strictly accomplished. On his Christmas sides (as with the rest of his latter-day music), Armstrong vacillates between between hepcat whimsy ("'Zat You Santa Claus?"), nostalgic ballads ("Christmas In New Orleans"), and reasonably serious swing ("Christmas Night In Harlem"). Toss in some traditional Christmas fodder ("White Christmas"), and you've got a solid EP. The other artists included on What A Wonderful Christmas are exemplary, as well, though I wonder why Dinah Washington's formal "Silent Night" was included rather than her playful (and exceedingly scarce) "Ol' Santa" - it would have been much more appropriate to the collection. But, special mention goes to Eartha Kitt's mercenary "Santa Baby." Essentially a novelty, it triumphs on pure chutzpah and hubris, and I never tire of hearing the sultry Kitt purr in Ol' St. Nick's ear, "Hurry down my chimney tonight!" Released by Hip-O (Universal's bald attempt to trump Rhino Records) in 1997, What A Wonderful Christmas samples almost entirely from Universal's enormous catalog - mainly from Decca Records, a big player in the fertile 1950's jazz and lounge scene. Paramount among these plums is Peggy Lee's "It's Christmas Time Again", the rare b-side to her 1953 Decca single, "Ring Those Christmas Bells. But, Hip-O also cherry picks gems from labels outside the Universal orbit, including Columbia (Duke Ellington), United Artists (Lena Horne), and RCA (Eartha Kitt). Note also that Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song" (which he coauthored) is a small combo rendition recorded live in 1955 - the earliest of several times he committed his greatest hit to vinyl. In the end, What A Wonderful Christmas is a flawed masterpiece, but a masterpiece nonetheless - brief, unfocus, but brilliant. Simply, I can't think of a better single-disc set of Christmas jazz. (Note that in 2003, Universal deleted What A Wonderful Christmas, replacing it with an all-but-identical disc entitled 20th Century Masters: The Christmas Collection.) http://www.randysrodeo.com/christmas/artists/armstrong.php

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