The 1920’s was a time of new music and new artists. It was during this era that many new artists entered the musical world, and many of them were jazz musicians who brought attention to the genre. Louis Armstrong was one of these impactful musicians. Louis, born in 1901, was raised in a southern family where he was exposed to music at an early age (Brown 14). Friends of his formed a quartet at a young age, and his relationship with the musical world was born. He managed through a rough boyhood and got a job on a steamboat playing a cornet. From here his popularity only grew. He played in all kinds of gigs and even in his own band called Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five (Kallen 10). He played in many shows and radio gigs, and rose to his acclaimed …show more content…
Another important jazz artist of the time period was pianist and composer Duke Ellington. Born and raised in a musical family, Duke’s parents planned and integrated his childhood into music and saw him as a gifted child from an early age. He started performing professionally at the age of 17. In the 1920’s Ellington had taken the role of a bandleader of a sextet, or band that has ten members (Collier 52). This band famously performed on broadway under Ellington's lead. Duke looked for people with unique playing styles to bring into his band and perform. Such musicians included Bubber Miley who was one of the first to introduce using a plunger as a mute, Joe Naughton who gave the world his trombone growl, and Johnny Hodges who was a famous alto saxophonist (Kallen 40). Duke’s recruitment of unique jazz sounds helped spread the popularity and exposure of the music. This was even more effective as Duke’s work was shown on such a large stage as Broadway. With Duke’s bandleading a lot more people were introduced to the sound of jazz. Jelly Roll Morton, a well known jazz pianist, is known for influencing the formation of jazz in the