Louis Armstrong was a legendary innovative trumpeter, a vocalist who had a profound impact on jazz singing, and a dynamic entertainer–and he got a chance to showcase all these aspects of his talent in 28 full-length films and several short features in which he appeared between 1931 and 1969. We’ll celebrate Armstrong’s birthday this weekend with a program that includes music from the films New Orleans, High Society, A Man Called Adam, The Five Pennies, and more, including the outtake “Ain’t It the Truth” from Cabin in the Sky.

There are few recorded encounters of Armstrong and one of his most fervent admirers, Billie Holiday. Watch the two of them perform “Farewell to Storyville”

from the 1947 film New Orleans.

Watch Armstrong  battle Sidney Poitier and Paul Newman

in the 1961 movie Paris Blues.

In addition to Krin Gabbard’s nearly-40-page treatise on Armstrong in his cinematic-jazz book Jammin’ at the Margins (pg. 204-238), here’s some more background on Satchmo’s celluloid career:

Louis Armstrong’s film roles (includes several video clips)

Michael Meckna: Louis Armstrong in the Movies, 1931-1969 (PDF file)

An online essay about “New Orleans”.

Air date: August 4.

Read More: Billie Holiday, film, jazz vocals, Louis Armstrong

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