17A: Louis Armstrong
“Jazz” is a form of music that originated in African-American communities in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 1800s and early 1900s. While vocals are often used, it’s most often played as an instrumental. Here’s a trailer for a documentary about jazz.
One of the most influential musicians in jazz was a trumpet player named Louis Armstrong. He was born in 1901 in New Orleans. His nicknames were “Satchmo” and “Pops.” His personality could light up a room. Everybody loved Satchmo!
New Orleans is known for music, and no musician is more beloved there than Louis Armstrong.
When he was young, Louis heard early jazz in the saloons and dancehalls around New Orleans, by artists like Joe “King” Oliver. Here’s what Louis may have heard — part ragtime, part blues.
His first job as a musician was when he was 17, in a brass band on a riverboat. Wanting to expand his horizons, he soon moved to Chicago, then to New York, then back to Chicago. But wherever he went, he told stories of New Orleans.
Louis’s career took off when he formed the Hot Five. One of his first songs was “Potato Head Blues.” This was recorded in Chicago in 1927. It has a very distinctive New Orleans sound. (The first part is an interplay between the clarinet and trumpet. Louis has a great trumpet solo starting at 1:50. )
Although he made his name as a trumpet player, by 1930 Louis was growing as a singer. With a friendly, gravely voice and an animated smile, it soon became one of his most distinctive features. Here’s one of his first vocal performances, “Ain’t Misbehavin’.”
The trumpet can be very hard on your lips – especially if you play it as aggressively as Louis. During a tour of Europe in the 1930s, he had a lip ulceration so bad, he had to take a year off. Over his life, he repeatedly used salve on his lips to protect them.
He toured constantly. In the 1940s he played up to 300 performances per year, usually at smaller venues.
One of the songs most identified with New Orleans is “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Here’s Louis’s version from a TV show in the 1960s.
Louis Armstrong had several popular songs. Some, like “What a Wonderful World,” were popular even among people who usually didn’t listen to jazz. It became his signature song. Here, he sings it in 1967.
Louis Armstrong died in 1971. One of his last performances was at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Here, one of his proteges talks about hearing that performance.