Unknown Louis Armstrong Recordings Found : Rarities: Six tracks from 1929-30 are not damaged or worn. ‘They blast,’ says the producer who unearthed them.

For lovers of early jazz, the discovery of six previously unknown performances by trumpeter Louis Armstrong is akin to the discovery of King Tut’s tomb.

“A find like this comes along once in a lifetime,” said producer Michael Brooks, who ran across the Armstrong sessions serendipitously earlier this year. “Nothing new from this period has been found in 50 years. For a jazz record collector, it’s akin to finding another draft of ‘The Great Gatsby’ or the missing (edited) footage from ‘The Magnificent Ambersons’.”

The selections, from 1929 and 1930, include two versions of “After You’ve Gone,” two of “St. Louis Blues,” one of “Dallas Blues” and another of “I Ain’t Got Nobody.” The first two have just been reissued on “Louis Armstrong in New York, Volume 6” (Columbia Jazz Masterpieces). The remaining four will be issued in early 1991.

Brooks, who has been a free-lance producer at CBS for almost 20 years, came upon his gold mine when he was in the middle of a reissue project. He noticed that one of the production sheets for an Armstrong session had a penciled notation that had been erased. “I rubbed it out and found a set of matrix numbers which had nothing to do with Louis,” he recalled. “I went to the CBS files and found a card which showed we had a master of the tracks. I ordered the master up and found it was unissued Louis Armstrong material.”

The six tracks were originally recorded for the Odeon and Parlophone labels, offshoots of CBS that were started in England but were used in this country mainly to provide instrumental dance music for Latin American markets. After the initial find, Brooks called up all the Odeon and Parlophone masters--only about 100 existed, he said--and found the additional four Armstrong tracks.

Of particular interest is the fact that all the tracks are instrumental versions of songs released by Armstrong as vocals. On four of the newly found sides, Armstrong plays an interpretation of the song’s melody in place of his original vocal. But on “St. Louis Blues,” which will be released in February, trumpeter Red Allen plays the part originally taken by Armstrong’s vocal, then the maestro adds his own improvisation to climax the selection.

Brooks was astounded at his good fortune. “It’s amazing that these still existed, that they weren’t thrown out for scrap during World War II, when CBS scrapped tens of thousands of (the metal) parts (that early shellac 78 r.p.m. recordings were made from).”

Besides the thrill of simply finding these rarities, Brooks was ecstatic about the sound of the takes. “Nobody has played these,” he said. “They’ve never been pressed, so they’re not damaged or worn. They blast. They are magnificent records.”

GETZ HONORED: Saxophonist Stan Getz will blow his own horn and others will toot for him too, at “A Night in Hollywood,” the Hollywood Arts Council’s annual fund-raiser that takes places Saturday, 7 p.m., at A&M; Records, 1416 No. La Brea Avenue, Hollywood. Getz, who will perform with an all-star sextet that includes trumpeter Conte Candoli and pianist Lou Levy, will receive the HAC’s “Artist of the Year” award and be honored by Mayor Tom Bradley, who declared Saturday as “Stan Getz Day.” Proceeds from the bash benefit various HAC programs, including the Children’s Festival of the Arts and the Noontime Concert Series. Tickets: $150. Information: (213) 462-2355.

RIM SHOTS: Composer Johnny Mandel celebrates the release of his new “Johnny Mandel Songbook” (Hal Leonard) with an autograph-signing party Saturday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 2-4 p.m. at Pedrini Music, 230 W. Main St., Alhambra. Information: (213) 283-1932. . . . Pianist/arranger’s Nat Pierce’s 9-piece New Reno Club Orchestra, fashioned after the Count Basie band that played at the Reno Club in Kansas City, Mo., in the ‘30s, performs Sunday, 1:30-6 p.m., for Jazz Forum at the Viscount Hotel (9750 Airport Boulevard, near LAX). Information: (213) 378-6347, (818) 343-5777. . . . Singer Mike Campbell, backed by an ace quartet of Tom Garvin, piano, Tom Peterson, sax, Joel DiBartolo, bass and Peter Donald, drums, wails for lunchers today, noon-1 p.m., at “Music on the Mall” at the Erwin Mall, on Erwin Street, just west of Van Nuys Boulevard, Van Nuys. Information: (818) 904-9400. . . . Blues and more blues, will be provided by Guitar Shorty on Sunday, 9:15 p.m., at Vine Street Bar & Grill in Hollywood. Information: (213) 463-4375.