# Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five — West End Blues

Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five’s West End Blues (1928) is No. 1 in our Jazz ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1928
- **Label:** OKeh
- **On one list:** Jazz
- **Updated:** 2026-08-30
- **Artist:** [Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five](https://waxonia.com/artist/louis-armstrong-and-his-hot-five/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/louis-armstrong-and-his-hot-five--west-end-blues/

## What we say

### No. 1 in [Jazz](https://waxonia.com/genre/jazz/)

The opening cadenza is twelve unaccompanied seconds that reorganised the music around the individual soloist. Everything about jazz as a personal statement starts in that phrase.

## Analysis

6 sections, the first drop at 1:19, 40% of the way in.

- **Tempo:** 86.1 BPM — holds throughout
- **Dynamic range:** 10.5 dB — wide open — the quiet parts are genuinely quiet
- **Length:** 3:17

- `0:00` A · **peak**, instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: other
- `0:14` B · **lift** (bar 5), instrumental — a short rise that does not resolve — a fill or a transition, not a build — playing: other
- `1:25` C · **breakdown** (bar 31), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: vocals, other
- `1:55` D · **breakdown** (bar 42), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: other
- `2:33` E · **peak** (bar 55), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: other
- `2:57` D · **outro** (bar 64), instrumental — the closing fall — playing: other

**Drop** at 1:19 (bar 29). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Louis%20Armstrong%20and%20His%20Hot%20Five%20West%20End%20Blues) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=BTxhgmk_ofk)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.