William McCarren, the press club's director, found one of the old records in the club's archive still wrapped in plastic. When he and others at the club bought a record player and heard how good it sounded, they started thinking about how to release it to a wider audience.
"There was just something kind of wrong about the idea that 300 people ... heard this record and heard the concert and then nobody heard it for 40 years," he said.
On Friday, the album was among the five highest-selling jazz albums on iTunes and Amazon.
Armstrong played trumpet in only two songs. But he also offered up some spirited singing, scat and stories for the audience. One special moment is his "Boy from New Orleans," which he only really sang toward the end of his life.
"I wanted the neighborhood to be proud of their Louis," he sang. "Now all through the years, folks I've had a ball. Oh, thank you Lord. And I want to thank you all. You were very kind to old Satchmo... Just a boy from New Orleans."
In retrospect, knowing that it was the end of his life, Riccardi said it does sound like a goodbye "and one final thank you to the fans who made him what he was."
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Smithsonian Folkway Recordings: http://www.folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx?itemid=3370
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Follow Brett Zongker on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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