Louis Armstrong, king of the trumpet, whose freak lip and "hot" solos have amazed and delighted musicians for 10 years, will definitely resume his career the first week in July.

"My chops was beat when I got back from Europe," said the leather-lipped and balloon-lunged Louis. "My manager worked me too hard, and I was so tired when I got back that I didn't even want to see the points of my horn. And 'pops,' he wouldn't even let the 'cats' come backstage to visit me, and you know I'm always glad to see everybody."

All musicians are "cats" to Armstrong. He usually addresses his acquaintances as "pops" or "gate."

Armstrong has been resting in the Chicago home of his mother-in-law waiting for his contract with manager Collins to expire.

His inactivity and seclusion has started a score of rumors that he had "lost his lip," that he had a split lip, that his former wife [Lil Hardin Armstrong], now leading her own band, had tied up his earnings to satisfy the demands of her suit for alimony, and so on. Musicians all over the world wondered what the real truth was in Louis' "solitude."

"My chops is fine, now," Armstrong said, "and I'm dying to swing out again. They gave me a new trumpet over in Europe, and I've got a smaller mouthpiece than I had on my old horn. And my old first-trumpet man, Randolph, is making some swell arrangements. I'm all rested up and dying to get going again."

Asked what he thought of American dance bands after his two-year absence from the States, Louis said, "I think Benny Goodman and Casa Loma have mighty fine bands." His attention was called to Louis Prima, an Italian youth from his hometown of New Orleans, who is creating something of a sensation at the Famous Door in New York.

"I don't know Prima," Louis replied, "but his voice on phonograph records tells you that he's a mighty sweet boy. And say," Louis replied with a great deal of enthusiasm, "my old drummer, Zutty Singleton, has a nice little band right here in Chicago." Zutty plays nightly at the famous Three Deuces.