How did the cultural and social context influence New Orleans music in the late 1800’s?
New Orleans from the beginning had always been a culturally diverse city in America. This goes back as far as the late 18th century, when cultures would come together for one afternoon a week to try and battle the harsh southern heat. City leaders allowed for black slaves to gather together in what is known as Congo Square. They would bring everything from drums to bells and any other musical instruments and gather around, roughly by african tribes, to sing and dance. New Orleans was unlike many other cities in America who, at this time, tried to remove any remains of African culture.
It was also common in the city for many different races to live together which meant that cultural interaction was very common in the communities. New Orleans wasn’t diverse just in terms of white people and African
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Born and raised in New Orleans, Armstrong left school at a young age to support his family. He had various jobs including selling coal and working at a tailor’s shop on South Rampart Street that is still seen today. Armstrong was even arrested for firing a gun as a dare from his friend. It would be during his sentence that he would begin learning the cornet. Louis Armstrong’s first cornet was given to him by Joe “King” Oliver, a bandleader, who was Armstrong’s idol and mentor. Armstrong began performing in musical clubs of “Black Storyville” in New Orleans with the likes of King Oliver and trombonist Kid Ory. In 1919 when King Oliver made his way to Chicago, Armstrong took over his position in Ory’s band. It would only be 4 years later that King Oliver would ask Armstrong to come to Chicago to play in his Creole Jazz band, by this point Armstrong was an accomplished musician who had made it known that New Orleans was the epicenter of jazz in