Stompin' At Mahogany Hall

"Stompin' At Mahogany Hall" is a rousing SATB vocalese New Orleans swing treatment of Louis Armstrong's recording of Mahogany Hall Stomp . It is based on Louis Armstrong's recording for Decca on May 18th, 1936. It is suggested that singers study this recording for nuance and articulation. 

The vocal arrangement and lyric is by Alan Paul of The Manhattan Transfer. Mahogany Hall was an octoroon hall, employing prostitutes of mixed races, located at 235 Basin Street in Storyville. Alan wrote a conversation about differing points of views on the place.  

There are four vocalese solos, the first one by Louis Armstrong himself. And the piece ends with Louis’s climactic solo, played with an open trumpet. It's a great example of how he could bring lightning-bolts into any performance at just the right moment!