Swedish cornetist Bent Persson has carved out a unique niche for himself. His sound and style are remarkably close to Louis Armstrong's of the 1925-28 period. Although he is quite capable of recreating any Satch solo, Persson usually is creative within the boundary of the style, sounding as if Armstrong of that time were alive and playing today. Since the late 1960's, Persson has played and recorded with many trad jazz groups including Maggie's Blue Five, the Weatherbird Jazzband and his own Bent's Blue Rhythm Band. During the 1975-82 period he recorded four LPs of material that found him recreating the legendary "50 Hot Choruses" (actually 52 solos and 119 breaks) that were recorded by Armstrong for some long lost cylinders in 1927 and fortunately transcribed at the time for sheet music. Persson performs the solos and breaks as part of full-length performances by European trad all-stars, giving one an opportunity to hear what Louis Armstrong would have sounded like playing a variety of songs that he actually never recorded (including "Spanish Shawl," "Milenberg Joys," "Maple Leaf Rag" and "Grandpa's Spells"). The four LPs of material were reissued (along with additional versions) as three CDs by the Swedish Kenneth label in the 1990s. In addition, Bent Persson has appeared with a wide variety of groups that have been documented by Stomp Off. Although not well-known in the U.S., Persson is actually one of the top classic jazz musicians of the 1970s, '80s and '90s. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi