Black And Blue Synthesis

For this analysis on Louis Armstrong’s West End Blues, I am going to concentrate on Louis Armstrong and how influential he was in the birth of Swing. He was extremely innovative in the way he played his instrument. Louis Armstrong had a brilliant trumpet sound. His power, range, and his rhythmic approach are all trademarks of his playing in the 1920s and 1930s. West End Blues is still considered one of the most influential and classic pieces in the Jazz Industry. I will explain why by breaking down the song utilizing the five elements of music; form, harmony, texture, melody, and rhythm.

If one was to go out into the street, walked up to a random stranger and asked them if they knew who Louis Armstrong was, chances are that they would be able to answer you correctly. Louis Armstrong (Aug 4th, 1901 - Jul 6th, 1971) was an American trumpeter, composer, singer and occasional actor who became one of the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned many decades, from the 1920s to his death in 1971, and many different eras in jazz. He first came to prominence in the 1920s as a trumpeter and cornet player with no technique as well as being very skilled in scat singing, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, influencing many later jazz artists as well as shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance.With his very well-known and recognizable gravelly voice, a technique that was later named “crooning”, Armstrong was an incredibly influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser by bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes on demand. Renowned for his charming and incredibly charismatic stage presence and voice almost as much as for his trumpet and/or cornet playing, Armstrong 's influence extends far beyond jazz music, and by the end of his career in the early 1970s at his death, he was widely regarded as a deep and profound influence on popular music in general. Armstrong was one of the first very popular

Buddy’s playing married all of the contemporary popular styles of music, creating something never before heard, Jazz. “Jazz music emerged from the confluence of New Orleans’s diverse musical

Jazz to me is one of the inherent expressions of Negro life in America: the eternal tom-tom beating in the Negro soul-the tom-tom of revolt against weariness in a white world, a world of subway trains, and work, work; the tom-tom of joy and laughter, and pain swallowed in a smile. Yet the Philadelphia club woman , turns up her nose at jazz and all its manifetations-likewise almost anything else distinctly racial... She wants the artist to flatter her, to make the white world believe that all Negroes are as smug and as near white in soul as she wants to be. But, to my mind, it is the duty of the younger Negro artist, to change through the force of his art that old whispering "I want to be white, hidden in the aspirations of his people, to "Why should I want to he white? I am Negro-and beautiful"

This review is about the Studio Big Band and their performance in the Casa Loma Room at the University of Redlands on Thursday, February 23rd at eight in the evening, under the direction of Prof. David Scott. The concert was made up of the following tunes: “High Maintenance” by Gordon Goodwin, “Four” by Miles Davis (arr. Dave Bardhun), “Nica’s Dream” by Horace Silver (arr. Frank Mantooth), “Witchcraft” by Cy Coleman (arr. Sammy Nestico), “Footprints” by Wayne Shorter (arr. Mat Harris), “Category 4” by Jeff Jarvis, and “Giant Steps” by John Coltrane (arr. Mark Taylor). The music on this program was very relevant for the eras we are covering or will be covering soon in the class, and to this end, the piece I will be focusing on

Louis Armstrong's diversity and adaptability is widely recognized as one of the most influential aspect in jazz music. Louis Armstrong's musical influence is still the fundamental base for modern jazz today. "Louis Armstrong is jazz. He represents what the music is all about.” — Wynton Marsalis perfectly sums up his contributions. His diversity sets him apart from other jazz artists because he managed to stay relevant throughout different musical eras like, the ENOJ era, The Swing Era, Blues etc., until the end of his career. The accomplishments he has achieved throughout his life and the hardships he has gone through has shaped his persona, contributing to how he will become as an artist. His instrumental style, singing, career throughout musical eras, accomplishments, and etc., contribute to how adaptable and diverse he is.

Many people knew Louis Armstrong as the “first real genius of jazz”(Shipton 26). He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 4, 1901. Louis was the illegitimate son of William Armstrong and Mary Est “Mayann” Albert. He was abandoned by his father, a boiler stoker, shortly after his birth and was raised by his paternal grandmother. Then, at the age of five, he was returned to the care of his mother, who at the time worked as a laundress. Together with his mom, they moved to a better area of New Orleans. This is where Armstrong first fell in love with music; he would listen to people playing any chance that he would get(Tirro). He would attend parades, funerals, churches and go to cheap cabarets to be able to hear some of the greats play

Louis Armstrong’s interpretation of “(What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue” emphasized what Jazz had become through the 1920s. He made the song into a shorter, more precise version of the original. Cutting back the lyrics and some of the instrumentation, in order to create a piece that would mold the nightclub scene. His interpretation of the piece also had a much stronger emphasis on the blues undertones. He accomplished this through the use of blue notes and harmonic patterns that are similar to those of the 12-bar blues. Armstrong’s rendition of Black and Blue may even be responsible for contributing to the changing views of civil rights for African-Americans.

Before Armstrong had a great influenced on jazz music there was the Dixieland. So, before Louis Armstrong came around everyone was playing the Dixieland style of music. Dixieland style was more of the classical orchestrated structures. Within the bad everyone knew their roles and that wasn’t change. Everyone knew that the Bass was there for the low-pitched walking baseline which outlined the harmony. That the piano provided the syncopated commentary along with comping and the guitar provided the solos. While the drums provided things like swing, kicked of the solos and many more. Dixieland was

After “Indiana” was performed, the chamber orchestra transitioned to a more dolce and pesante “Black and Blue.” Throughout this song, each performer played softly, keeping the dynamic at a piano level until Armstrong’s trumpet began to raise the dynamic to a more mezzo piano level. The song’s

Aside from the typical cultural, social, and political factors influencing any musician’s style, an early life filled with poverty and hardship also shaped Louis Armstrong’s musical development. Some even theorize that it was Armstrong’s difficult upbringing that made his music so wise, so unique, and so revolutionary. Armstrong was an African American child growing up in the slums of New Orleans, close to abandonment, impoverished, and with too few constant people, resources, or homes. However, had his upbringing been different, his musical talents may never have been established to grow and thrive into one of the most internationally influential jazz musicians ever. When Louis Armstrong was placed in a boys’ home as a young boy, he was presented with the opportunity to play the cornet. He took up work in Joe (King) Oliver’s house, doing chores in exchange for musical lessons, developing into a

Armstrong’s heartfelt ballad about the woes of being black in the 1920’s was one of the first cases of a musician utilizing his elevated status in order to achieve social justice. To Armstrong, his vision of the American Dream was being considered an equal among the white men of society. By saying that he is “white inside”, he is referring to his rise and acceptance into the white society because of his success as a jazz musician. However, he still faces inequality and oppression due to the masks and stereotypes that society places on him based on the superficial reason of his skin color. As a revolutionary historical movement for the African American community through many platforms, arguably one of the most important impacts of the “Harlem Renaissance was the wide range of political action taken by both organizations and individuals who demanded improvements in African American economic and educational opportunities”(Brown). The Harlem Renaissance began as a movement for music, but as it spread and the people began to watch the movement turned it into one with a political agenda and showed people how badly and shamefully African American were

His contributions “ended one jazz era and started a new one” (Louis). Armstrong contributed to jazz by incorporating his own style of music. He was a soloist who played the cornet, trumpet, and sung. He created the Blues scale and incorporated a new feeling called the “Bleusy” feeling to Jazz. Bleusy was different from of music because it was being expressed more than the music itself. His work was also improvised, which means that he did not have a planned piece to play if he was performing. The pieces he played were made up on the spot which makes his pieces more expressive and in the moment. He turned jazz into an individual improvisation which did not break away from the ensemble. While swaying from the standard jazz form, he also transformed jazz from polyphony to solos. One of his most famous songs “Hotter Than That”

One of the first great jazz musicians ever to live was Louis Armstrong, known for his singing, trumpet playing, and his creation of improvisation. Armstrong started playing at age 13 and ten years later married Lil Hardin who made a name for herself as a South Side song plugger and a jazz pianist before she met Armstrong. Harden was a very influential figure for Armstrong’s role in changing the way jazz way played. She “persuaded Satchmo to break away from the second-trumpet chair in Joe ‘King’ Oliver 's Creole Jazz Band; she was the one who encouraged him to move to New York and try his luck in Fletcher Henderson 's band; she was the one who cajoled him-a year later-into heading back to Chicago where, at long last, a star was born” (Reich). Hardin allowed Armstrong to come out of his comfort zone and pushed him to into new experiences which allowed “Satchmo” to discover

At the mention jazz music, that person will first think of is likely to be a great figure with a clown image, nicknamed Satchmo. The man was Louis Armstrong. He is a husky singer, often with a trumpet in his hand. He played dramatic works of simple structure in Orleans jazz style and with the accompaniment of Dick jazz music. Each of the books on jazz music will mention his name. Louis Armstrong was to jazz music what Bach is to classical music, Presley is to rock music (Berrett 230). This essay will have an introduction of the king of jazz music -- Louis Armstrong and his great influence on jazz history.