It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of Louis Armstrong. Jazz’s first genius, Armstrong emerged from King Oliver’s band in 1924 and soon became the dominant force in jazz. His solos have the emotional power of from the gut blues and the elegance of ballrom dances, he taught the music world what swing was and what jazz could become. His solos seem direct, inevitable, clear, and yet they continually surprise. The prestige of his Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings of the mid-twenties made it inevitable that jazz would become a soloist’s art. He extended the range and technique of the trumpet, and he was one of jazz’s definitive singers.
Armstrong was born in what was called the “Back o’ Town” district in
New Orleans. He grew up in grinding poverty, and was raised by his
mother Mary Ann, known as Mayann, and by his grandmother. He always said
his birthdate was July 4, 1900, but was in fact August 1, 1901. His wide
mouth earned him the nickname Satchelmouth, later shortened to Satchmo.
In his early teens, Armstrong sang tenor in an informal vocal quartet; a group of boys who sang on streetcorners for change, but he didn’t play an instrument until after New Year’s Day of 1913, when he was picked up by the police for firing a pistol the night before, and was sent to the Coloured Waifs’ Home, a relatively benign reform school. There Armstrong was allowed to join the band, and was eventually given a cornet. He probably learned to play the usual marching band repertoire, and perhaps was exposed to the typically florid cornet solos popular at the time. He said he enjoyed recordings of opera arias as well. After his release in 1914, Armstrong worked at a variety of menial jobs, and played cornet on the side.
Armstrong’s first break came in 1917 when King Oliver left the Kid Ory
band, then the hottest in New Orleans, giving his chair to his protégé.
Armstrong seems to have been an instant success: “The first night I played
with Kid Ory’s band, the boys were so surprised they could hardly play
their instruments for listening to me blow up a storm".
In November 1918, Armstrong started working the riverboats. Around the same time, he entered into his first, short-lived marriage. By September 1921, he was back in New Orleans, which he would leave again in the summer of 1922, when he got his big break, a telegram asking him to join Oliver’s band in Chicago.
In November 1925, he entered the OKeh studios to record for the first time under his own name, beginning the renowned series of records called the Hot Fives or Hot Sevens, depending on the size of the group. In 1926, Armstrong recorded an unexpected hit, “Heebie Jeebies,” which features an inane lyric that only Armstrong could save. Even he loses patience–he often played fast and loose with lyrics–and he suddenly starts to scat, singing nonsense syllables that seem to make more sense than the original song. A myth developed that the song sheet slipped out of Armstrong’s hand, forcing him to improvise.
The twenties was a period of intense experimentation in jazz. By the end of the decade the music’s vitality and importance were recognized, at least among musicians. Louis Armstrong was its acknowledged “king”–he seemed to influence every jazz musician, no matter on what instrument.
As the years wore on, Armstrong's popularity only grew, as his swinging
style and unique, gravelly voice dominated the radio airwaves, making him
the most famous jazz musician. In the mid-'30s he toured Europe, the first
of many foreign tours that introduced the entire world to America's most
vital new musical style. Armstrong's trumpet style and vocal phrasing became
enormously influential for both jazz musicians and pop singers; in addition,
his prominent solos transformed jazz from an ensemble form of music to
one based heavily on solos and the interplay of individual musicians. Unfortunately
by the mid-1940s jazz had begun to shift towards "bop," and Armstrong's
style was no longer considered current. Breaking up his big band, Armstrong
founded a sextet called the All-Stars, a Dixieland/swing group with a humorous
stage-presence, and continued touring until his death in New York on July
6, 1971. As popular as ever, Satchmo has been honored on a postage stamp,
and his music remains widely available, with nearly ever cut he ever recorded
available on countless loving reissues.
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