How Did Louis Armstrong Influence Jazz

“All you need to survive on the road is your trumpet and a photo of Louis Armstrong” Trumpet player from Benny Goodman’s band (Burns 2000). This quote is one which encompasses the strong impact which Louis Armstrong had on jazz musicians. Louis Armstrong has influenced many early and contemporary jazz musicians including, Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Ray Nance. Louis Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901 and began playing the trumpet at a very young age. Armstrong was able to begin his professional playing career by playing with King Oliver in his band. Louis Armstrong, through his trumpet technique and skill would be able to become one of the most prolific Jazz musicians of the 20th century. Louis Armstrong influenced jazz in many ways, however one of his largest contributions to the style of jazz was his

One of the forms of improvisation which Louis Armstrong influenced was the style of group improvisation, changing it from centered around polyphony improvisation to focusing the group on a soloist. Prior to Louis Armstrong bands performed Jazz in a combined improvisational style. This meant that all the people performing would be improvising their set responsibility to the song. A group who exemplifies this style of Jazz improvisation is the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. They consisted of a trumpet, trombone, clarinet, piano, bass and drummer, all of which would play one on top of another, as heard in their song, “Livery Stable Blues”. In this song the clarinet plays on top of the trumpet and trombone when they play their rhythmic pieces. Louis Armstrong moved away from this style of group