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Louis Armstrong Biography
Louis Armstrong Fine Art Print
Louis Armstrong Biography presentsthe "Father" of Jazz! This was the dude that ot the ball rolling folks! Louis Armstrong is "JAZZ MUSIC"...You dig? Louis Armstrong Biography: Louis Daniel Armstrong was born in New Orleans on August 4, 1901. He was one of two children born to Willie Armstrong, a turpentine worker, and Mary Ann Armstrong, whose grandparents had been slaves. As a youngster, he sang on the streets with friends. His parents separated when he was five. He lived with his sister, mother, and grandmother in a rundown area of New Orleans known as "the Battlefield" because of the gambling, drunkenness, fighting, and shooting that frequently occurred there. It's amazing that a young cat could survive mentally with all that ugly stuff going on in his neighborhood... but the little guy survived it, with the Louis Armstrong Biography you see that! In 1913 Armstrong was arrested for firing a gun into the air on New Year's Eve. He was sent to the Waif's Home (a reform school), where he took up the cornet (a trumpet-like instrument) and eventually played in a band. The young dude was saved by fate... lucky for him because it was hell in his part of town back then! After his release he worked odd jobs and began performing with local groups. He was also befriended by Joe "King" Oliver, leader of the first great African American band to make records, who gave him trumpet lessons. Armstrong joined Oliver in Chicago, Illinois, in 1922, remaining there until 1924, when he went to New York City to play with Fletcher Henderson's band.Jazz pioneer When Armstrong returned to Chicago in the fall of 1925, he organized a band and began to record one of the greatest series in the history of jazz. These Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings show his skill and experimentation with the trumpet. I feel this was the best of Armstrong! The cat played with no restraint and the band was on fire! You fot to check out the Hot Five recordings! In 1928 he started recording with drummer Zutty Singleton and pianist Earl Hines, the latter a musician whose skill matched Armstrong's. Many of the resulting records are masterpieces of detailed construction and adventurous rhythms. During these years Armstrong was working with big bands in Chicago clubs and theaters. 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 style. The dude could sing in a way that made his voice an extension of his trumpet! When you hear the cat you want to smile and dance! He was also the inventor of scat singing (the random use of nonsense syllables), which originated after he dropped his sheet music while recording a song and could not remember the lyrics. Maybe Louis invented rapping? He was such an innovator that we forget how he influenced ALL MUSIC baby! By 1929 Armstrong was in New York City leading a nightclub band. Appearing in the theatrical revue Hot Chocolates, he sang "Fats" Waller's (1904–1943) "Ain't Misbehavin'," Armstrong's first popular song hit. From this period Armstrong performed mainly popular song material, which presented a new challenge. Some notable performances resulted. His trumpet playing reached a peak around 1933. His style then became simpler, replacing the experimentation of his earlier years with a more mature approach that used every note to its greatest advantage. He rerecorded some of his earlier songs with great results. The dude was smart! He knew people wanted to hear his classica so why not "remix" it with another version of the same song! Louis just rerecorded the same song and it sold! Armstrong continued to front big bands, often of lesser quality, until 1947, when the big-band era ended. He returned to leading a small group that, though it included first-class musicians at first, became a mere background for his talents over the years. During the 1930s Armstrong had achieved international fame, first touring Europe as a soloist and singer in 1932. After World War II (1939–45) and his 1948 trip to France, he became a constant world traveller. He journeyed through Europe, Africa, Japan, Australia, and South America. He also appeared in numerous films, the best of which was a documentary titled Satchmo the Great (1957). The man was an "Ambassador of Jazz"! He did great things taking Jazz throughout the world, and he created the blueprint that other musicians followed! The cat was "DADDY JAZZ"! The public had come to think of Louis Armstrong as a vaudeville entertainer (a light, often comic performer) in his later years—a fact reflected in much of his recorded output. But there were still occasions when he produced well-crafted, brilliant music. He died in New York City on July 6, 1971. Satchmo was the father and teacher of Jazz. All Jazz music comes from him! The map of Jazz music starts with him!
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