Louis Armstrong was considered an almost saintly figure by those who were content to ignore his industrial pot-smoking and occasional lapses of temperament. It is entirely fitting that one of the founders of modern jazz should have explored some of the music’s root materials.

In the role of a stylized preacher, which Louis embodied to perfection, and surrounded by the choir of gospel singers of Sy Oliver and his own group, the legendary All Stars, he combines his unique voice and trumpet playing and achieves an amazing depth of interpretation.