Watch: The only known footage of Louis Armstrong in the recording studio
Words: India Gladstone
Footage of Louis Armstrong recording “I Ain’t Got Nobody” has been revealed after it was unknowingly placed in a storage unit since 1959. The footage, which was originally commissioned by the album’s producer, Sid Frey, changed hands multiple times – without anyone knowing what it was – until it was recovered recently by Frey’s daughter, Andrea Bass.
The 33-minute, 16mm film captures Armstrong recording his 1959 album Satchmo Plays King Oliver in Los Angeles for Audio Fidelity, the record company Armstrong was signed with. The recording has spent the last 6 decades changing hands before it eventually ended up tucked away in a storage unit – the contents of which nobody knew about. Bass did not discover that there were even original masters from Audio Fidelity until she visited a website chatroom where someone claimed they owned them. The two met, and after negotiation after negotiation, Bass finally acquired the recording, which now belongs to the Louis Armstrong House Museum. Dan Morgenstern, the former longtime director of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University.
“Capturing Louis in the act of recording is a unique and welcome discovery augmenting what we know about his artistry in an invaluable manner, proving that he was a leader in the true musical sense of that word”
Become a Gentleman’s Journal Member?
Like the Gentleman’s Journal? Why not join the Clubhouse, a special kind of private club where members receive offers and experiences from hand-picked, premium brands. You will also receive invites to exclusive events, the quarterly print magazine delivered directly to your door and your own membership card.
Further reading
Industry's Sagar Radia: "Riz Ahmed is doing things that show other South Asians what is possible"
Charlie Rowe on Wolf Hall, fashion week and working with George Clooney
