Louis Wishes You a Cool Yule

Beloved around the world just like Santa Claus himself, Louis ‘Satchmo’ Armstrong devoted his life to ‘the cause of happiness’, as he once put it, giving the gift of joy every time he put his trumpet to his lips or crooned with his gravel voice. Since his passing, his music has become synonymous with the holiday season, his golden trumpet tone still able to cut through the din of even the most bustling shopping mall. And he never released a holiday album! ‘Louis Wishes You a Cool Yule’, is the first Louis Armstrong Christmas record ever and presents his holiday tracks as cohesive body of work for the first time. Includes: six Decca singles from the 1950s, a pair of duets with two of his favourite vocal partners, Ella Fitzgerald and Velma Middleton, and ‘What a Wonderful World,’ which has become something of a year-long hymn of hope. Includes a previously unheard recording of Louis’ touching reading of Samuel Clement Moore’s poem ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’ (also known as ‘The Night Before Christmas’), with fellow New Orleans jazz icon Sullivan Fortner providing a gorgeous musical underbed.