Them There Eyes – 1970
Wild Bill Davison
Cornetist Davison plays a brief tribute to Louis Armstrong
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Wild Bill Davison was such a colorful cornetist and personality that he tended to make everyone else look a bit bland in comparison.
At the 1970 Newport Jazz Festival as part of a lengthy tribute to Louis Armstrong (who it was believed had just turned 70), Davison plays a brief but boisterous version of “Them There Eyes.”
One can see cornetist Bobby Hackett and trumpeter Jimmy Owens among the backup players and pianist Art Hodes has a brief solo, but this is very much a Wild Bill Davison showcase as he pays tribute to Armstrong by playing in his own exuberant style.
-Scott Yanow