Culled from fairly representative 1959 live recordings of two different versions of Satchmo's All Stars band, SINGIN' AND PLAYIN' suffers from poor sound quality.

As always, however, Armstrong's joy and exuberance manage to shine through.

The first three tracks are from the excellent Trummy Young/Billy Kyle version of the All Stars, arguably the band best matched to Armstrong's unique combination of serious jazz and comedic routines.

Listeners interested in this lineup, however, would do well to also pick up the sublime MACK THE KNIFE or THE GREAT CHICAGO CONCERT 1956.

The remaining seven tracks feature an altogether different All Stars which included vibraphonist Tyree Glenn and clarinetist Marty Napoleon.

Although Glenn gives a fun vocal performance on "That's My Desire," and bassist Dale Jones provides several interesting boppish solos, the disc never really takes off in the same way as the above mentioned recordings and lacks the sense of recklessness that characterizes those tracks.

Also sadly missing are the always amusing bits of between-song patter that were essential elements of every Louis Armstrong performance.