Louis Armstrong a Biography free essay sample

Many Americans enjoy sitting back. Relaxing, and listening to the Jazz and swing rhythms of one of the best musicians of the 20th century, Louis Armstrong. Louis Armstrong is easily recognized by simply listening to his infamous raspy voice and legendary, creative skill on the trumpet. All Armstrong had to do to play beautifully was to play one note. Louis Armstrong had a strong Influence in music. HIS forte In jazz, ragtime, and swing was solo performing and improvisation. First, his dedication to music influenced Jazz music and then later all popular music.I chose Louis Armstrong because of his love for music as well as his charismatic attitude towards life. A question I want to Investigate more thoroughly Is how and why Louis Armstrong impacted Jazz and popular music. Overview and Significance Even though he was commonly believed to be born July 4, 1900, Louis Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901. Armstrongs father, Willie Armstrong, and mother, Mary Ann Armstrong, separated soon after Louis Armstrong was born (Cogwheels, 2003). This caused him to live with his sister, mother and grandmother in the poorest section ofNew Orleans known as the Battlefield (Cogwheels). Armstrong, also known as Catches and Catch due to his embouchure, spent most of his time with his friends singing for nickels and pennies and listening to local bands play in bars and brothels (Cogwheels). Armstrong expressed his interest and talent when he was young in his personal writings; After blowing the tin horn so long I wondered how would I do blowing a real horn, a cornet was what I had In mind. Sure enough, I saw a little cornet in a pawn shop window I saved 50 cents a week and bought the horn. All dirty but was soon pretty to me.After blowing into it a while I realized that I could play Home Sweet Home then here come the Blues. From then on, I was a mess and Tooting (Armstrong, 1999, p. 1). To attract customers for his Jewish employer, young Armstrong would play his tin horn on the streets of New Orleans, a place bustling with music- the blues, ragtime, and a new, emerging music described as Jazz (Wallace, 2007). On New Years Eve of 1913, Louis Armstrong made a mistake which turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. Armstrong was arrested for firing a gun into the air on as a celebration for the New Year (Cogwheels, 2003).As a consequence to shooting the pistol into the air, Armstrong was placed in the Colored Waifs Home (Appeal and Hemophilia, 2006). The waifs home was run by Peter Davis, the brass band leader who Introduced the cornet to Armstrong. Armstrong was a natural; he Joined the brass band and soon became the leader of the band (Bergen, 1997). After he was released from the Colored Waifs Home in 1914, Louis Armstrong worked in a variety of jobs including funerals, picnics, and dances and played in local bands (Cogwheels, 2003). Then the famous Joe King Oliver, leader of the first great AfricanAmerican band to make records, befriended Armstrong and gave him stand-in slots at orchestras and other venues. Oliver became Armstrongs mentor and sole musical influence (Cogwheels). Oliver moved north to Chicago and Kid ROR, leader of the band said that after Armstrong Joined them he, Improved so fast it was amazing. He had a wonderful ear and a wonderful memory. All you had to do was hum or whistle a new tune to him and hed know it right away (Bouquet, 1998, p. 21). In 1918, Armstrong married Daisy Parker, a prostitute he met at a dance hall he played at onSaturday nights (Cogwheels, 2003). The marriage ended four years later due to Parker beating Armstrong regularly (Collier, 1983). In 1919, after his experience with Kid Ours band, Armstrong received the opportunity to play in Fate Marbles Kentucky Jazz Band, which performed on a Mississippi riverboat. The riverboat traveled the Mississippi River from New Orleans to SST. Louis (Collier). When Armstrong left the riverboat in 1921, he was established as a professional musician who could meet the demands of any ordinary playing Job (Collier, 1983, p. 80).In 1922, Armstrong achieved an invitation from King Oliver to Join his band, the Creole Jazz Band, in Chicago, Illinois (Armstrong, 1996). Lillian Hardin, the bands pianist, immediately took an interest in Louis Armstrong and they married in 1924 (Cogwheels. 2003). Armstrong eventually surpassed his mentor and with Lanolins encouragement, moved to New York City to try his luck there (Collier, 1983). In New York City, Armstrong Joined Fletcher Henderson big band (Collier). In 1925, Armstrong lost interest in Henderson band. Armstrong went back to Chicago and organized a band (Cogwheels, 2003).Armstrong and the band recorded one of the greatest series in the history of jazz (Appeal and Hemophilia, 2006). These Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings show his skill and experimentation with the trumpet. His playing on these records earned him his acclaim and popularity for solos that were virtuosic and Joyfully melodic. The risks and liberties he took on the trumpet were exciting and unprecedented (Appeal and Hemophilia). His vocals, featured on most records after 1925, are an extension of his trumpet playing in their rhythmic liveliness and are delivered in a unique throaty Tyler.His husky voice became his recognizable trademark (Bergen, 1997). He was also the inventor of scat singing (the random use in nonsense syllables), which originated after he dropped his sheet music while recording a song and could not remember the lyrics (Collier, 1983). Appearing in the Broadway theatrical revue Hot Chocolate, in 1929, he sang Fats Wailers Anti Misbehaving, Armstrong first popular song hit (Cogwheels, 2003). From this period, Armstrong mainly performed popular song material. His trumpet playing reached a peak around 1933 (Collier, 1983).His style became simpler, replacing the experimentation of his earlier years with a more mature approach that used every note to its greatest advantage (Appeal and Hemophilia, 2006). In July of 1930, Armstrong traveled to California. Only after he had been in California for a few weeks, he was arrested at a nightclub for the possession of marijuana (Armstrong, 1999). Armstrong had a positive viewpoint toward marijuana stating, I smoked it a long time And I found out one thing First place its a thousand times better than whiskey. .. Friend a nice cheap drunk if you want to call it that Good (very good) for Asthma- Relaxes your nerves.. . Great for clearnesss (Armstrong, 1999, p. 114). The sentence, six months, was suspended after three days. At this time, Ill Armstrong and Louis Armstrong grew apart, separated, and no longer worked together (Bouquet, 1998). In 1932, the Hot Five split up (Bergen, 1997). Armstrong remained in California and starred in Rhapsody in Black visited various countries including France, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands where he was welcomed with open arms (Bergen, 1997).In 1935 Armstrong formed a commercial style big band with fifteen other musicians. For the next twelve years, he starred in various films and played with his new bands (Brown, 1993). While playing in his new big band, Armstrong material was becoming pop, rather than being blues or original instrumental compositions (Collier, 1983). His singing took on a more dominant role in his performances and recordings (Collier). Jazz critics find much of his output from the mid sasss forward to be of a lesser regard than his original efforts in the sasss.Armstrong continued to spread the appeal of Jazz, as popular music, around the world as no one else could (Collier). While some of his swing recordings from the sasss and sasss provided many with the opportunity to enjoy him in a more easy to relate to and popular manner, others see them as evidence of Armstrong selling out to popular music (Collier). It was until 1947 when Armstrong abandoned the big band scene and returned to the small band format. Louis Armstrong Joined a sextet Jazz band called the All Stars, which later became known as Louis Armstrong and His All Stars (Cogwheels, 2003).This small group, which consisted of Jack Degrade, George Wetting, Bid Side Cattle, Dick Cary, Peanuts Houck, Bob Haggard and himself, proved an immediate success and became the group that Armstrong played with until his death (Cogwheels).. Armstrong played with Deed Hall and his band at the Carnegie Hall Concert in 1947 (Levin, 1947). Even though Armstrong was said to have peaked in the mid sass, he could still play like no one else. One audience member named Teddy Wilson described Armstrong as If there is native genius in Jazz, this man is it (Levin, 1947, Para. ). Michael Levin (1947) describes Armstrong playing as trumpet playing with grace, sincerity, and emotion- caked tone which describes Armstrong playing style as a whole, throughout his career (Para. 8). Louis Armstrong was made Americas musical ambassador is 1955 (Bergen, 1997). He traveled throughout the world on the United States behalf and even made an album titled, Ambassador Catch (Bergen). All over the world he was respected and welcomed to perform nearly anywhere he chose. Hello Dolly, Armstrong most well known song was recorded in 1964.It hit number one on the Billboard charts (Appeal and Hemophilia, 2006). Hello Dolly was accompanied by one of the movies Armstrong starred in which it shared the same title. Two other films that Armstrong appeared in during the sass were Blueberry Hill and Mack the Knife (Cogwheels, 2003). In the heat of the Civil Rights Movement, Louis Armstrong was called Uncle Tom by blacks, referring to Harriet Beechen Stoles Uncle Toms Cabin (Brown, 1993). African Americans blamed Armstrong for not using his fame to speak out against the unjust treatment of his race in the United States.They also said he was holding his race back because he did not demand respect from whites. And he smiled too much in public (Brown). In Armstrong opinion he did not understand what he was doing wrong. He had ignored prejudice because he was taught to respect people unless they had personally disrespected him (Brown). His trumpet and his music were his way out of struggling with prejudice, as Armstrong stated, that horn, you see that horn? That horn anti prejudiced. A notes a note in any language (Wallace, 2007, p. 4). Louis Armstrong passed away on July 6, 1971. 2003). Armstrong has the honor of schools airports, stadiums and scholarships being named after him. As of now, Armstrong home in Queens, New York is a museum (Cogwheels). Conclusion Louis Armstrongs contributions to music will never be forgotten. His contributions to music impact areas such as instrumental technique, singing, rhythm, and improvisation. Louis Armstrong achievements started in New Orleans then moved to Chicago and New York City.