Leave It All Behind You: A Louis Armstrong Birthday Party with James Williams

($20-30 + DICE Fees | 6:30pm & 8:30pm Shows) Born in New Orleans on August 4, 1901 (but would celebrate on July 4!), Louis Armstrong reshaped jazz and popular music broadly over a career spanning five decades. His Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings of the 1920s set the blueprint for improvisation. His voice and phrasing were as distinctive as his trumpet playing. By the time of his death in 1971, he had performed in nearly every corner of the world and left a catalog that still holds up.

To mark his birthday, trumpeter James Williams leads a live tribute drawing from across Armstrong’s career, from the early New Orleans sides to the Great American Songbook recordings that brought him to global audiences.

**James Williams & The Swamp Donkeys West**

James Williams (trumpet & vocals) Kevin Ravellette (saxophone & clarinet) Rob Boone (trombone) Colin McIlrath (bass) Sly Slipetsky (piano) Ray Templin (drums)