Louis Armstrong Research Paper

The air is thick with anticipation and a faint scent of whiskey. The warm spotlights beam onto the wooden stage. The crowd’s chatter subsides and a lone figure emerges from the curtains, his trumpet gleaming onto the stage. Louis Armstrong was born on August 4, 1990, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Growing up in a rough neighborhood, he joined the Colored Wafis House as a juvenile delinquent. There he learned the cornet and developed his passion for jazz. From 1925-1928, Armstrong became a jazz soloist creating hits like the Armstrong Hit Five and Hot Seven. Soon he changed to the trumpet and was truly unrivaled in his technique (McDonough). “Altogether, his immensely compelling swing; his brilliant technique; his sophisticated, daring sense of

In his 2021 article, “Heart Full of Rhythm: The Big Band Years of Louis Armstrong” Vincent Pelote wrote, “In 1937, as host of Fleischmann’s Yeast Hour, Armstrong became the first African American to host a commercial radio broadcast. The film Pennies from Heaven (1936) gave Armstrong the honor of being the first Black actor to get top billing. His popularity was such that he was the first African American jazz musician to publish his autobiography.” The full swing of jazz was not felt before Louis Armstrong, as noted in the 2018, “Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia”. Before Armstrong, jazz was comprised of collective improvisation, with multiple instruments played in an almost orchestral fashion, with each contributing to the improvisation. He changed jazz by bringing the soloist to the forefront. Furthermore, Armstrong defined the music itself, “in his 1920s recording groups, the Hot Five and the Hot Seven, demonstrated that jazz improvisation could go far beyond ornamenting the melody—he instead created new melodies based on the chords of the initial tune.” (Funk & Wagnalls New World

According to Yanow’s article in 2020, “New Orleans native Louis Armstrong moved to New York City in 1924, where he played the clubs and on Broadway, helping to spread the sound of jazz to a larger audience.” Louis Armstrong will impact the jazz game forever. “Armstrong's unique style took the world by storm. Instead of playing music exactly as it's written, jazz musicians often improvise.” “Riccardi and other experts say his impact can still be heard in the music of today--from rock to hip-hop.” (Green). Armstron’s impact is further shown in Yanow’s 2020 article, “Among those who became influenced by his phrasing while adapting it to their own musical personalities were Bing Crosby (who brought jazz phrasing into pop music), Billie Holiday, Cab Calloway and Ella Fitzgerald among countless others.” Furthermore, his legacy brought out the popularity of jazz. Before jazz was seen as nothing more than a novelty, but through his technique and style, he ensured that jazz would survive and thrive for the coming ages.