If the world ends someday, this song will be the credits. What A Wonderful World was first recorded and popularized by Louis Armstrong in 1967. Although there have been many recordings by other significant performers, Satchmo’s rendition continues to stand above the others. This arrangement is a mellow jazz instrumentation rather than the more common version with strings. While it isn’t really a jazz tune, I defy anyone to tell me it shouldn’t be included here.
In 1965 The Cold War was raging and the Berlin Wall stood strong, not to keep people out, but to keep people in! On March 22nd, despite the political tensions and human oppression, the ambassador of jazz Louis Armstrong, gave a legendary concert in East Berlin at the Friedrichsstadt Palast. The bottom two videos, Mack The Knife and When The Saints Go Marching In are just two of the powerful performances from that evening.
