Louis Armstrong's Influential Career
Louis Armstrong’s Influential Career Louis Armstrong was the most successful and talented jazz musician in history. His influence and expansive career continues to make waves in the jazz world. That is what made him become what he is to many today – a legend. Born on August 4, 1901, in the poorest section of New Orleans, Armstrong grew up with his grandparents due to his parents’ separation. On January 1, 1913 he made a mistake which turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. At a New Year’s celebration in downtown New Orleans, Louis Armstrong, also known as “Satchmo” and “Satch”, fired a pistol into the air and was placed in the Colored Waifs’ Home. It was there that he was
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When Armstrong reached the City and began playing everyone went wild. No where had they ever heard anything like him. Before this time, he had only played instruments but he was soon encouraged to begin singing. It was then discovered that Armstrong had a natural extension of his trumpet abilities, which was singing. His gravelly voice was something new that had never been heard (Sadie 600). Armstrong formed a studio band in 1925 called the Hot Five. The band included Johnny Dodds, Kid Ory, John St. Cyr, Lil Armstrong, and himself. These recordings were some of the most famous made by Armstrong, including “Mandy Make Up Your Mind” and “Money Blues” (Bergreen 96). A year later the Hot Five made their only public appearance at the Chicago Coliseum. The Chicago Defender spoke of “Louis Armstrong, the miracle with steel lips,” (Boujut 27). For the next few years Armstrong recorded with the Hot Five and played with other musicians in New York and Chicago. He then traveled to California, in July of 1930, where he starred in his first film, Flame. Only after he had been in California for a few weeks he was arrested at a nightclub for the possession of marijuana. The incident obviously caused a lot of controversy across the world. The sentence, six months in prison, was suspended after only three days. Mainly due to Armstrong’s addiction to marijuana, Lil separated from him and they no longer
As Jimi Hendrix matured, he turned to his guitar skills when nothing else was working for him. He joined a blues and rhythm circuit that traveled around playing at different restaurants in Nashville. Jimi was only a sideman and was making only a little money, if any at all. Hendrix was sick of being a sideman and decided to move to New York City to try and make it big. Being unfamiliar with New York City, Hendrix met Fanyne Pridgeon, a local Harlem native. She and Hendrix grew close over the years as she introduced him to other musicians such as the Allen twins. The Allen Twins played a big part in Hendrix's early career as the pushed him to succeed because they knew that he had talent. Because of the help of the Allen twins and Fayne Pridgeon, Hendrix won his first prize in the Apollo Theater. Later on, Jimi met a man named Curtis Knight who was the lead singer of Curtis Knight and the Squires. Hendrix and Knight quickly became close friends. Knight knew the music industry and helped out Hendrix. Though Knight helped Hendrix, he also hurt him. Knight introduced Hendrix to Greenwhich Village. This is where all the music was, but that's not all. Marijuana, Cocaine, and pep pills were all introduced to Hendrix and became apart of his daily life, as he
In June of that year he returned to New Orleans for the first time since he left in 1922 to join King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. Armstrong was greeted as a hero, but racism marred his return when a White radio announcer refused to mention Armstrong on the air and a free concert that Louis was going to give to the cities' African-American population was cancelled at the last minute. Louis and Lil also separated in 1931. In 1932 he returned to California, before leaving for England where he was a great success. For the next three years Armstrong was almost always on the road. He crisscrossed the U.S. dozens of times and returned to Europe playing in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Holland and England. In 1935 he returned to the U.S. and hired Joe Glaser to be his manager. He had known Glaser when he was the manager of the Sunset Cafe in Chicago in the 1920s. Glaser was allegedly connected to the Al Capone mob, but proved to be a great manager and friend for Louis. Glaser remained Armstrong's manager until his death in 1969.
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
Louis Armstrong learned at a young age, not to let negative views direct your life. At the age of seven he worked for a Jewish family, and noticed how the whites treated them. It was not just the blacks in the early 1900’s that dealt with racial issues. But Louis saw one thing that left a long time mark on him. Many of the Blacks wanted Pity, but this family of Jews he worked for, did not, they made their way. This was something Louis would carry with him the rest of his life. Louis Armstrong’s influence was the style, structure, and joy of his art. It is something that can be seen in many musicians that listened to him. Listen to a Miles Davis cd, and you will hear the Great Satchmo. Yes it is Miles Davis, but the influence of Louis is there to be heard. Many of the musicians today you will also hear Louis’s influence, and not only in Jazz, Swing, Blues, but in any form. Louis Armstrong’s influence is one of the most powerful that has ever been, and may ever be.
During this time Coltrane's heroin addiction increased. Once, while on tour with Gillespie's band, Coltrane passed out and had to be revived by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation by another band member (18). He pawned items for money to buy drugs, and he would many times show up late for gigs. At a show in Canada, Coltrane didn't even show up (19). He finally left the band in May 1950 (Wild).
The person I chose to do my project on is Louis Armstrong. I chose Louis Armstrong because I wanted to do my project on a singer as well as a musician. I chose him because he was one of the few people that I knew about, also because I did some research on him and listened to his music and I thought that he was interesting to write about. My main three things that I’m going to discuss about Louis Armstrong will be his life, his music and influence on others. I’m going to describe how and where Louis Armstrong’s grew up and how he started out his career as a trumpeter. I’m also going to write about how he went through life and how that affected him in the future. Lastly, I’m going to discuss with you how he had an influence on others. I’m going to explain how he impacted the world with his music and how that affected so many people to this day. Louis Armstrong made a great impact in the world and I’m going to teach you all about it.
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.
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
One of the most influential rock bands, Led Zeppelin, not only influenced American musicians, but also influenced the American culture with their combined rock, heavy-metal, blues, and folk to create an outstanding and timeless sound which can be followed from the origins of the band, through the height of the band's career, to the legacy they left behind.
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
From their time of birth, no two people could have seemed less likely to cross paths than Bix Beiderbecke and Louis Armstrong. Coming from radically different backgrounds, both musicians drew upon their influences to make music that revolutionized jazz, creating two separate legacies interwoven among each other in the peak of jazz popularity. Both Beiderbecke and Armstrong used their trumpets and their unique styles of playing, ranging from hot jazz to cool jazz, to fuel political, cultural, and social movements, inspiring individuals inside and outside of the jazz profession.
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.
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.
Before watching this concert, I knew of Armstrong due to playing a jazz instrument in middle school. Armstrong is a very well known musician in the jazz community and he is very talented. During the concert, Armstrong transferred from playing his trumpet to singing many times. He also had a trombone player on stage as
When historians look at history and at reasons why society changed many focus on conflicts like wars, civil rights, and poverty. However, there is so much more that over time changed America. One of the most influential subjects that helped this change was Elvis Presley. Through his music, which was influenced by black artists, he allowed white Americans to view a new group of performers. He tested social boundaries that helped him change American culture. His appearance and singing would end up changing the teenage world by introducing new trends in fashion and music. Presley was the reason why we have Rock-N-Roll. As a business and a singer, he brought America together into a new type of society; therefore he is a