single most powerful figure in the historynof this music, can be studied andnenjoyed in every major phase of his artisticngrowth. There are other LouisnArmstrong collections besides thenBook-of-the-Month Club’s Louts Armstrong:nRare And Unreleased Performancesn(BOMC 21-6547), but none ofnthem is more entertaining or morenbroadly representative of Armstrong’snability to transform even banal materialninto glorious music. Some of his propheticnphrases—evident in much of thenincluded Okeh material—^were yearsnahead of musical developments. No instrumentalistnhas been able to invokengreater emotion than Armstrong. Hisnmuted opening chorus on “In ThenGloaming” is concentrated passion. Innother pieces in the same album, thentransformations he works upon straightnmelody with the straight mute amountnto alchemy.nWhile most of the BOMC collection isnmade up of previously released material,nmany of the selections are, as advertised,nrare. The final LP of the three-record setnconsists of unissued performances bynthe Armstrong All-Stars of the 1950’s. Itnincludes superb trumpet work, fetchingnvocals by Armstrong with the misunderstoodnand maligned Velma Middleton,nan unlikely—but charming—duet withnLotte Lenya on “Mack the Knife,” and ancollaboration with Dave Brubeck andnCarmen McRae in which Brubeck’sn”The Duke” is given lyrics and becomesn”You Swing, Baby.” Armstrong andnMcRae melded well; it is unfortunatenthat they did not record together morenoften.nArmstrong is also featured on threenperformances inA’iMi^or?(ColumbiaCSn38262), unreleased material recordednat various Newport Jazz Festivals of then1950’s and 60’s. “Rockin’ Chair” reunitesnhim with trombonist/singer Jack Teagarden,nhis ideal foil and soul mate. There’sna stirring “On the Sunny Side of the Street”nfrom 1958 with Armstrong fronting anbig band made up of European musicians.nThe album has superior music by RexnStewart, Ben Webster, Duke Ellington,nBenny Goodman, Willie “The Lion”nSmith, and Teddy Wilson. There are alsonappearances by Dave Brubeck, MilesnDavis, Thelonious Monk, and GerrynMulligan, who were then in the frontnranks of jazz modernists. Their work ofnthe period has now become part of thenmainstream tradition.nFollowing Armstrong in the stylisticndevelopment of jazz trumpet was RoynEldridge. Little Jazz and the JimmynRyan All-Stars (Pablo 2310-869) presentsnEldridge at the helm of the bandnwith which he worked until recently atnthe New York club, Jimmy Ryan’s.nRecorded in 1975, Eldridge played withnall the fire and combativeness of hisnyouth. If his control was diminished, hencompensated with a depth of harmonicnwisdom and with great good humor innhis playing and his blues singing, whichnis elemental. Joe Muranyi, a formernArmstrong clarinetist who has longnbeen underappreciated, is in top formnhere. The rhythm section of drummernEddie Locke, bassist Major HoUey, andnpianist Dick Katz, is superb.nApproaching 80, Doc Cheatham is annelderly trumpeter whose technical abilitiesnare the envy of players less than halfnhis age. Cheatham was harmonicallynadvanced in the 1920’s. He continues tonnnplay with uniquely bittersweet inventivenessnand a clean sound that has only anhint of vibrato. In Black Beauty (Sackvillen3029), Cheatham and 75-year-oldnpianist Sammy Price play 10 songs bynblack American composers. The trumpeter’sntone ranges fi”om airy when henuses a straight mute on “Travelin’ AllnAlone” to brilliant when he opens thenhorn for his buoyant second solo onn”Some of These Days.” Price, a pianist ofngreater range than his boogie-woogienlabel indicates, accompanies Cheathamnpropulsively in rhythm pieces and withnan uncloying sweetness in ballads. Thisnis one of the most satisfying duo recordingsnof recent years.nSackville has also issued, belatedly, annalbum recorded in 1973 by the Canadiannsoprano saxophonist Jim Gallowayn{Three Is Company, Sackville 2007), innwhich he and pianist Dick Wellstood explorensome of the traditional repertoire,nas well as original compositions andnstandard songs. Drummer Pete Magadininaccompanies with grace and taste.nGalloway can be heard to emulate SidneynBechet, the Prometheus of the sopranonsax, in the ferocity of his attack, althoughnhe does not attempt the master’s whipsawnvibrato. He is particularly energeticnin Fats Waller’s “Minor Drag,” with Wellstoodnchurning and striding in support.nBechet’s “Broken Windmill” is given anperfect unison reading by Galloway andnWellstood and has first-rate solos by each.nStrangely, Galloway has harmonic difficultiesnon the simple “Lulu’s Back innTown.” Many of the passing tones in hisnimprovisation are inappropriate to thenchords. But by and large, his work isnmore than respectable. On Jelly RollnMorton’s “Buddy Bolden’s Blues,” Gallowaynspins a sinuous line that remains innthe memory. Wellstood plays typicallynhere, that is, with a deep sense of the jazznpiano tradition, unfailing swing, an improbablenbut satisfying melding of stridenpatterns and modem harmonies, andngreat wit. Galloway’s clarinet work onn”I’d Climb the Highest Mountain” is reminiscentnof the idiosyncratic playing ofnthe late Pee Wee Russell.nAugust 1983n