Panel 5: Touring with Louis Armstrong
Audio Clips for Panel 5
1. Milt Hinton discussing Louis Armstrong:
2. Selections from “Muskrat Ramble,” “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans,” and “Pick & Pat” from The Best of Louis Armstrong’s All Stars in Concert, vols. 1 and 2 (recorded live at Cornell University: February 25, 1954), Rarities 18-19:
Accessible Text
Following is the complete text of the Panel 5 image.
Touring with Louis Armstrong
Though Milt cherished time with his family in Queens, work was scarce as he established himself in the New York scene after years on the road. So when Louis Armstrong came calling in 1953, Milt took the job even though it meant going back on the road. He signed a one-year contract but stayed only eight months, touring with Armstrong across the U.S. and Japan.
An opening in the house band for the Robert Q. Lewis television show in New York motivated Milt to leave the Armstrong tour. Not even the discouragement he received from Joe Glaser, Armstrong’s intimidating manager who was known to have ties to organized crime, could keep Milt from returning home to his wife and child.
Louis Armstrong and Milt Hinton, 1953
Upper banner from left to right:
Milt’s datebook for January 15&ndash18, 1954; Milt’s publicity photograph for the Armstrong band; concert program selections for Armstrong’s 1953–1954 Japan tour, including Milt’s biography
Lower banner from left to right:
Milt’s reply to Joe Glaser’s January 22 letter; Milt’s datebook for January 27–30, 1954; January 15, 1954 telegram from Mona to Milt with advice on leaving the Armstrong band
Letter from Dr. A.J. Warren offering medical justification for Milt leaving the Armstrong band
Joe Glaser’s response to Milt’s initial request to be released from his contract
First page of a January 30 letter from Milt to Mona regarding leaving the Armstrong band