The Louis Armstrong Hot Five and Hot Seven Sessions were recorded between 1925 and 1928 by Louis Armstrong with his Hot Five and Hot Seven groups. According to the National Recording Registry,[1] "Louis Armstrong was jazz's first great soloist and is among American music's most important and influential figures. These sessions, his solos in particular, set a standard musicians still strive to equal in their beauty and innovation." These recordings were added to the National Recording Registry in 2002, the first year of the institution's existence.
Ron Wynn and Bruce Boyd Raeburn, writing for the All Music Guide to Jazz, note that "these recordings radically altered jazz's focus; instead of collective playing, Armstrong's spectacular instrumental (and vocal) improvisations redefined the music."[2] Armstrong helped popularize scat singing in "Heebie Jeebies," and his solo on "Potato Head Blues" helped establish the stop-time technique in jazz.[2]