The Real Ambassadors (hear “Remember Who You Are”)
This is a mostly out-of-print collaboration between Dave Brubeck and Louis Armstrong, along with a few other people. The liner notes claim that this is a musical written by Dave and Iola Brubeck, but many of the high points consist of Armstrong singing very Satchmoey tunes - I suspect he contributed compositionally.
He was clearly the kind of guy who turned any group of people into “Louis Armstrong and a bunch of other people”. It’s amazing to witness myself growing agitated listening to the chorus/Brubecky parts, only to be pulled right back into it by Louis. I love Brubeck, I used to listen to Time Out, Time Further Out, Quiet as the Moon (Brubeck playing the Peanuts music), a live album or two. It’s not that Brubeck fails (although the chorus does offer some screechy cacophonies), but that Armstrong is just such a bright light he casts shadows off everyone around him.
“Remember Who You Are” (side 1, track 4) is a killer. I love the drums. There’s so much reverb on the vocal, sounds like a plate reverb to me. Trombonist Trummy Young sings the second verse.
Side 1: http://www.mediafire.com/file/jyzdgqfdlji/real_ambassadors_side_1.mp3
Side 2: http://www.mediafire.com/file/yi5ogohxzmj/real_ambassadors_side_2.mp3
7 months ago
