How Did Louis Armstrong Influence Jazz

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.

The second generations of Jazz musicians were some like Joe “King” Oliver, Kid Ory, and Jelly Roll Morton. These people formed a small band and started to reshape the way the original Jazz music was played. They have made it into a different style with more complications and twists and turns. And so it became known as “Hot Jazz”. King Oliver found a young artist by the name of Louis Armstrong. He soon grew to become the greatest Jazz musician anyone has known. He is still a big star in the world today. By the 20th Century, African-American musical styles became the dominant force.

Louis Armstrong was the greatest of all Jazz musicians. Armstrong defined what it was to play Jazz. His amazing technical abilities, the joy and spontaneity, and amazingly quick, inventive musical mind still dominate Jazz to this day. Only Charlie Parker comes close to having as much influence on the history of Jazz as Louis Armstrong did. Like almost all early Jazz musicians, Louis was from New Orleans. He was from a very poor family and was sent to reform school when he was twelve after firing a gun in the air on New Year's Eve. At the school he learned to play cornet. After being released at age fourteen, he worked selling papers, unloading boats, and selling coal from a cart. He didn't own an instrument at this time,

Thesis: Although Jazz music was first introduced over 80 years ago, the genre still influences artists and the new music they make to this day.

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

Armstrong had elevated music and Jazz to a whole new level. “Armstrong’s contagious humor and flamboyant style made him an ideal goodwill ambassador for American music” (Copton, 632). His style encouraged soloist's art to assemble within jazz, which increased opportunities for black people. “People learned to appreciate both jazz, and African American music even more, because of this man... Armstrong played music up until the day he died at 70 years old, on July 6, 1971” (Musicians- The Harlem Renaissance). His ideas influenced millions of perspectives on African Americans and music, people started respecting his style of music and many also began acknowledging and admiring black people’s music to a new extent. Just like the others, Armstrong often faced racial inequality. However, a few others accompanied him and found a way to crack the racial barrier through music, art, and

This was a hard move for Armstrong because he did not want to leave his hometown of New Orleans, but he knew it was a move he needed to make(Tirro). He made his first ever recording with Oliver’s band in 1923 under the Gennett Label. Though, in 1924, Armstrong was given the opportunity to move to New York City. He did not want to make the move, but his wife convinced him it was best for his career, and he went. In New York, Armstrong was the third cornet in Fletcher Henderson’s band(“Louis Daniel Armstrong”). While performing in Henderson’s band, Armstrong made many more recordings, and was lucky enough to work with some famous jazz singers and instrumentalists; Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Alberta Hunter, and Sidney Bechet. But Armstrong became unhappy with the band because he was given few opportunities to solo and was rarely allowed to sing, which forced him away from Henderson’s band(Cogswell 18). Though he was only in New York for a year, this trip helped his talent become more nationally recognized. He built confidence, learned about showmanship, and improved his ability to read music(“Louis Daniel Armstrong”). Everybody in New York fell in love with him because not only was he a great musician, but his humor brought so much more to the performance(Shipton 26). He then returned to Chicago where he was given a spot in his wife’s band as the first chair cornet, his first time in

Out of the streets of New Orleans, a new form of music arose. This new type of music was not known as African or European, but simply American. It was jazz. In 1900 jazz first developed, but it wasn’t until the

There were many jazz musicians. Louis Armstrong is one of the most important jazz figures. Louis Armstrong is one of the first great soloists in the 1920’s musicians. His career rose in New Orleans. He influenced other jazz musicians by his fearless trumpet styles and distinctive vocals. Louis gave jazz music a purpose. He spread jazz throughout the world. Fletcher Henderson also influenced jazz music. He was an extraordinary musician and he impacted jazz music immensely. Without the jazz musicians, jazz music would not have been possible. With the assistance of the jazz musicians, the music industry

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

Louis Armstrong is a man of many talents and skills known for creating a new environment, especially in his home town of New Orleans. He was born into poverty on August 4, 1901 in the streets of Back o’ Town (Meckna). He’s a professional jazz performer who played with Oliver and Henderson. He started as a soloist for Henderson after marrying Lil Hardin. He has many nicknames in which some are Satchmo and Pops. He also played as a second trumpet for King Oliver. He interprets and contributes to the genre of jazz, creates great form through his performance in the “Hot Chocolates,” and his work represents a whole for equality and the civil rights movement.

Jazz is a music genre that has complex characteristics and history of development and thus many musicians and scholars face troubles in defining what jazz is. In general, jazz is believed to have born in New Orleans. Jazz developed for the pleasure of the social dancers. According to the “Understanding Jazz: What Is Jazz?” of John F. Kennedy center for the Performing Arts, Jazz was created mainly by Afro-Americans, and had elements of European and Afro-American culture. Also, it emphasizes few elements of Jazz, which are swing-feel, syncopation, and improvisation. These different culture and elements of jazz may be explained by how jazz

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.

Jazz is consider one of the most influential types of music an America History. Some of the greatest artist in the world have contribute to the success jazz have had not only on America History but throughout the world. This paper will explain the history of jazz, where it all came from and the effect it has had on the America Culture.

Dregni, Michael. Gypsy Jazz: In Search of Django Reinhardt and the Soul of Gypsy Swing. Cary, NC, USA: Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2008. ProQuest ebrary.