There's a poignant moment that comes toward the end of the set. Louis Armstrong had been invited to perform for the new president of the National Press Club, fellow New Orleanian Vernon Louviere, at his inaugural ball in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29, 1971. Armstrong is in the middle of singing a Dixieland-inspired number recounting the history of his life in jazz, when suddenly the band drops their swing, the music slows to a dirge and the narrative catches up with those present in the room:
Now, all through the years folks, I've had a ball.
Oh, thank you Lord, and I want to thank you all.
You were very kind to ol' Satchmo, yes …
Just a boy from New Orleans.
Sung with a smile, to the tune of that famous New Orleans funeral march "When the Saints Go Marching In," the words take on a richer meaning listening to them now. You wonder if Armstrong knew back then that his time was almost up, and that this would be one of his last concerts. He'd been ill for a while. He was under orders not to play his trumpet at all that night – singing only, and for no more than 10 minutes.
"But he was performing for an audience which loved him," writes Ralph de Toledano in the record’s liner notes, "and there was no getting him off the stage … In that half hour, those of us who knew could hear the echoes of the Louis of the Hot Five and Hot Seven, the Louis who brought greatness to jazz."
Following Louis Armstrong's death on July 6, 1971, the National Press Club issued a commemorative record of his performance at the Louviere inauguration. According to the Press Club, it was the last recording of Armstrong playing the trumpet ever released. But most fans never got the chance to hear it. Only a few hundred copies were ever made, and those were given to Press Club members.
With so few copies in existence, it would have taken a garage sale miracle of unimaginable proportions to get your hands on a copy of this rare vintage Armstrong. Until now, that is. Thanks to a project for the Smithsonian's Jazz Appreciation Month, Smithsonian Folkways has been able to secure the rights to re-issue Satchmo at the National Press Club: Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours making it available to the general public for the first time today.
Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours
The menu that night at the ball, featuring some of the classic dishes of his home state of Louisiana, may well have played a part in Armstrong's remarkable performance. Food meant a great deal to "ol' Satchmo," as suggested by the eccentric sign-offs he used in his letter writing: "Yours Soul Foodly," "Am Ricely and Chickenly Yours," etc. So when the National Press Club decided to issue their recording of this historic event, it was in very good taste that they called it Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours, and included dozens of Armstrong's best-loved recipes from New Orleans.
Special thanks to the Smithsonian for making all the original liner notes available, with all those recipes by chef Christopher Blake – such an important part of the whole package. I’m looking forward to trying the po’boy sandwiches, the New Orleans pussy fingers and maybe a Sazerac cocktail or three. But when I'm looking for a Monday night fix for a Creole craving, I think I may just stick with Satchmo's own recipe for red beans and rice that he perfected with his wife Lucille: "Pops Favorite Dish."
Do you have any food-related jazz memories? Please add them to our jazz community potluck in the comments section below.
Related links:
Red Beans And Ricely Yours: The Culinary Habits Of Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong House Museum
Eco tips for jazz lovers from CBC Music and Earth Day Canada