Louis made records with everyone - here are some Decca sides with Ella, Billie and Louis Jordan and a bonus - one track from a Bing Crosby radio show featuring Louis, Bing and Ella doing "Memphis Blues"

Recreation of Louis 1928-34 big band sides with an orchestra directed by Sy Oliver along with the All-Stars - Trummy Young, Billy Kyle, Edmond Hall, Squire Girshback, Barrett Deems . .done for the Louis Armstrong Autobiography project on Deccca.

Al Cooper's Savoy Sultans were the house band at the legendary Savoy Ballroom in New York City from 1937-1946 and so must have pleased the pickiest dancers in the world!  While their music (between a combo and a big band) was not subtle or sophisticated, it swung hard and was the bane of many better known groups who came up against it.  Here are most of their Decca sides from the period, featuring the leader on clarinet, Rudy Williams on alto, George Kelly, Ed McNeil and Irving Brown on tenor, Pat Jenkins and Sam Massenburg on trumpets, Cyril Haynes on piano, Grachan Moncur on bass and Alex Mitchell on drums

Extended recordings made for the V Disc program during WWII (1944 and 45) by Herman's First Herd - features for Sonny Berman, Ray Wetzl, Neal Hefti and Conte Candoli (trumpet), Bill Harris (trombone), Flip Phillips (tenor), Ralph Burns and Tony Aless (piano), Billy Bauer (guitar), Chubby Jackson (bass), Dave Tough (drums), Frances Wayne (vocals) and the leader Woody Herman playing some outstanding clarinet and alto along with a vocal or two.

Jamaican alto saxophonist Joe Harriott had a fascinating career in London during the 1950's and 60's - he recorded with big bands, trad bands, vocalists and others, but perhaps his greatest contribution was with his "Abstract Jazz" - much like the Free Jazz experiments Ornette Coleman was making at the same time.  Here is his quintet on a series of albums in the early 1960's with Shake Keane on trumpet, Pat Smythe and Harry South on piano, Bobby Orr and Phil Seaman on drums and others!

1927 sides featuring the Hot Seven (Louis Armstrong, John Thomas, Johnny Dodds, Lil Armstrong, Johnny St. Cyr, Pete Briggs and Baby Dodds) and Johnny Dodd's Black Bottom Stompers (Armstrong, both Dodds, Earl Hines, Barney Bigard, Bud Scott and Roy Palmer)

Louis Armstrong featured with three legendary pianists in the 1920's (Earl Hines), 50's (Oscar Peterson), and 60's (Duke Ellington)

The mostly forgotten tenor sax of Lucky Thompson was very prominent in the 1940's with Count Basie, Charlie Parker and on his own.  By 1956 he was becoming disillusioned with the music business and was shortly to move to Paris for several years.  Just before that he worked with the Milt Jackson Quintet (on Savoy) and Sextet (on Atlantic) to produce several exceptional recording sessions featuring those two along with Wade Legge, Hank Jones, John Lewis, Kenny Clarke, Wendell Marshall, Oscar Pettiford and Skeeter Best.

Red Norvo and His Orchestra was one of the most innovative and tasteful groups of the Swing Era - which accounts for its lack of commercial appeal and memory!  These are most of the instrumental recordings done by the group between 1936 and 1942 and feature great arrangements by Eddie Sauter and possibly the leader with Norvo taking the bulk of the solos on xylophone.  Also featured are Hank D'Amico and Slats Long on clarinet, Andy Russo on trombone, Frank Simeone on alto, Herbie Haymer, Jerry Jerome and George Berg on tenor, Stew Pletcher, Jack Palmer, Zeke Zarchy and Steve Lipkins on trumpet, Joe Liss, Bill Miller and Billy Kyle on piano and George Wettling and Maurice Purtill on drums

Great sides for Atlantic in the middle 1950's featuring the trumpet player/arranger/composer Shorty Rogers leading two groups - one, a quintet featuring Jimmy Giuffre on clarinet, baritone and tenor saxes, Lou Levy or Pete Jolly on piano, Curtis Counce or Ralph Pena on bass and Shelly Manne on drums.  The other is a larger group with the same quintet with added alto (Bud Shank), trombone (Bob Enevoldsen), tuba (Paul Sarmento) and french horn (John Graas).  West Coast Jazz, but with a lot of differences!