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Louis Armstrong, one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th Century, exuded joy and exuberance as a trumpet player and singer. He rose from poverty in New Orleans, before achieving worldwide fame. In this 1928 album, a young Satchmo shows the extraordinary inventiveness that put him on the map.

In 1956, Louis Armstrong was an international star at the height of his popularity. He also was one of the first to sing in "scat" style, essentially trying to sound out the notes instead of the words. Among many treats, The Best of the Decca Years has one of the best scat solos of all time — "Up a Lazy River."

"A Night in Tunisia" is frequently called Dizzy Gillespie's greatest composition. The Complete RCA Victor Recordings has two versions of it, as well as titles such as "Hey Pete! Let's Eat More Meat" that capture the playful humor of Dizzy Gillespie's Big Band. The album tracks Gillespie's development from 1937-1949, when he rose from an experimental soloist to a jazz legend.

Americans have been observing Labor Day since 1894, through cycles of economic good times and bad times. Here are five songs by great blues and soul artists on the subject of work — and, whenever possible, the avoidance thereof.

Welch is best known for her roles in Fantastic Voyage and One Million Years B.C. She is survived by her son and daughter.

Kristopher Jansma's debut novel is a hypercomplex meditation on the boundary between truth and lies. Heller McAlpin says the book "reaches a dizzying complexity that borders on the tiresome."

Gratuitous, gore-soaked and reveling in poor taste, Chase Novak's Brood is a true B-movie sequel — and just as fun. But despite its body count, the book still could have used a little more blood.

Connie Willis' near-future tale of oversharing gone wrong follows a woman whose fiance wants to get an empathy-inducing brain operation for couples. The book aims for frothy farce, but falls flat.

As a prisoner of war in the "Hanoi Hilton," Air Force fighter pilot John Borling spent years composing and memorizing poetry that he tapped to fellow prisoners, like the future Sen. John McCain, using a special code.

How much do we read into ourselves when we write a diary? Author Patrick DeWitt recommends the dark, deep journal of a man suffering from a nervous breakdown.