by Dan Bloom, producer
When examining the career of Jazz great Louis Armstrong, many critics exalt his early recordings and deride his later years, but author and historian Ricky Riccardi is on a mission to buoy the honor of Satchmo’s twilight.
In 1947, Louis Armstrong gave a landmark concert at New York’s Town Hall. Ricky Riccardi describes that event as a major turning point in his Armstrong’s career, marking a shift away from the Big Band era and toward a smaller group with whom ‘Ambassador Satch’ would continue to tour until his final years.
‘On the Sunny Side of the Street’ was one song recorded on that famous night at Town Hall.
Ricky Riccardi is the author of What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong’s Later Years. He serves as archivist for the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens and writes the blog ‘The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong.’