Jazz history came full circle last fall as New Orleans’ own Wynton Maralis got the chance to play a trumpet that belonged to one of the city’s original jazz greats: Louis Armstrong.

The 1946 Selmer trumpet, which was made in Paris after WWII, eventually found its way into the hands of The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, whose curators has it restored to working condition. Instead of letting the relic sit idly on display, the museum invited Marsalis to give it whirl during a ceremony last year.

“It sounded better than I thought it would sound,” Marsalis told The Smithsonian’s online publication. “In terms of music, his horn sounded good because of him. When he’s not playing, you don’t think you’re going to pick up Louis Armstrong’s trumpet and sound like him.”

The trumpet will be among the first pieces to be displayed at The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture when the new facility opens its doors on September 24. Until then, you can check out The Smithsonian’s video of Marsalis playing Armstrong’s horn below.