Music such as jazz was commonly used mediums where African American musicians sought fame and fortune. Many influential artists took to the stage in clubs such as the Cotton club. Notorious gangster Owney Madden took over as the owner, where he used the club’s popularity as a platform to sell his alcohol in the face of prohibition. It came to be known as a hub for alcohol, drugs, marijuana, and interracial sex. Despite being a white-only establishment, this Harlem nightclub lent itself to some of the greatest African American performers of all time. It was the first time in history in which white and black people had interacted in a non hostile environment. Jazz became the “in” music of the time. The new genre looked at an instrument as a …show more content…
This song painted a grotesque scene of the lynchings in the south. Despite the controversy of her music, it got the word out that there was such a separation between white and black people and this trench that had been dug between them could lend itself only to violence. Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) may be one of the most iconic jazz musicians, who climbed his way from the age of eleven to taking over one of the most popular bands in New Orleans, the heart of jazz music. As a child, he was arrested for firing a gun and was nearly immediately taken to a correctional facility where he fell in love with music. As a student of Joe “King” Oliver, he soon overtook him in Kid Ory’s Band, one of the most successful jazz bands in the area. He popularized the skill of scat, or improvisations, over top of some never-before-seen rhythmic stylings. Cab Calloway dazzled audiences with his vast range and mastery of scat. “The Hi De Ho Man”, as he soon became known, was often seen as a charismatic man with a love for his craft. Unlike the other two musicians, Calloway grew up comfortably in a middle class household where his parents actively supported his skills through private lessons. His breakout solo, “Minnie the Moocher” still reigns as one of the most iconic jazz pieces in history. For those that had the great fortune of seeing him perform live, it was clear that he had mastered the jazz stylings of call and response and scat; no two of his performances were
The second generations of Jazz musicians were some like Joe “King” Oliver, Kid Ory, and Jelly Roll Morton. These people formed a small band and started to reshape the way the original Jazz music was played. They have made it into a different style with more complications and twists and turns. And so it became known as “Hot Jazz”. King Oliver found a young artist by the name of Louis Armstrong. He soon grew to become the greatest Jazz musician anyone has known. He is still a big star in the world today. By the 20th Century, African-American musical styles became the dominant force.
Louis Armstrong was the greatest of all Jazz musicians. Armstrong defined what it was to play Jazz. His amazing technical abilities, the joy and spontaneity, and amazingly quick, inventive musical mind still dominate Jazz to this day. Only Charlie Parker comes close to having as much influence on the history of Jazz as Louis Armstrong did. Like almost all early Jazz musicians, Louis was from New Orleans. He was from a very poor family and was sent to reform school when he was twelve after firing a gun in the air on New Year's Eve. At the school he learned to play cornet. After being released at age fourteen, he worked selling papers, unloading boats, and selling coal from a cart. He didn't own an instrument at this time,
If one was to go out into the street, walked up to a random stranger and asked them if they knew who Louis Armstrong was, chances are that they would be able to answer you correctly. Louis Armstrong (Aug 4th, 1901 - Jul 6th, 1971) was an American trumpeter, composer, singer and occasional actor who became one of the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned many decades, from the 1920s to his death in 1971, and many different eras in jazz. He first came to prominence in the 1920s as a trumpeter and cornet player with no technique as well as being very skilled in scat singing, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, influencing many later jazz artists as well as shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance.With his very well-known and recognizable gravelly voice, a technique that was later named “crooning”, Armstrong was an incredibly influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser by bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes on demand. Renowned for his charming and incredibly charismatic stage presence and voice almost as much as for his trumpet and/or cornet playing, Armstrong 's influence extends far beyond jazz music, and by the end of his career in the early 1970s at his death, he was widely regarded as a deep and profound influence on popular music in general. Armstrong was one of the first very popular
Buddy’s playing married all of the contemporary popular styles of music, creating something never before heard, Jazz. “Jazz music emerged from the confluence of New Orleans’s diverse musical
Louis Armstrong learned at a young age, not to let negative views direct your life. At the age of seven he worked for a Jewish family, and noticed how the whites treated them. It was not just the blacks in the early 1900’s that dealt with racial issues. But Louis saw one thing that left a long time mark on him. Many of the Blacks wanted Pity, but this family of Jews he worked for, did not, they made their way. This was something Louis would carry with him the rest of his life. Louis Armstrong’s influence was the style, structure, and joy of his art. It is something that can be seen in many musicians that listened to him. Listen to a Miles Davis cd, and you will hear the Great Satchmo. Yes it is Miles Davis, but the influence of Louis is there to be heard. Many of the musicians today you will also hear Louis’s influence, and not only in Jazz, Swing, Blues, but in any form. Louis Armstrong’s influence is one of the most powerful that has ever been, and may ever be.
After WWI, black people began to portray pride and respect for their race, sparking “The New Negro.” This revolutionary movement is more commonly known as the Harlem Renaissance- a social, cultural, and artistic explosion that took place Harlem, NY. Harlem became the cultural center and attracted many black writers, artists, musicians, photographers, poets, and scholars. Those from the South began to flee from its’ oppressive caste system to escape cruelty. The goal of this movement was to face all the hate they received by accomplishing their freaks and desires without anyone getting in their way.
Louis Armstrong's diversity and adaptability is widely recognized as one of the most influential aspect in jazz music. Louis Armstrong's musical influence is still the fundamental base for modern jazz today. "Louis Armstrong is jazz. He represents what the music is all about.” — Wynton Marsalis perfectly sums up his contributions. His diversity sets him apart from other jazz artists because he managed to stay relevant throughout different musical eras like, the ENOJ era, The Swing Era, Blues etc., until the end of his career. The accomplishments he has achieved throughout his life and the hardships he has gone through has shaped his persona, contributing to how he will become as an artist. His instrumental style, singing, career throughout musical eras, accomplishments, and etc., contribute to how adaptable and diverse he is.
Many great performers have come out of the jazz industry, but the most widely known is Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong. Louis began playing at a young age when he was growing up in New Orleans. His greatest inspiration was Joe “King” Oliver. He began following him and eventually Oliver became Armstrong’s mentor. Armstrong practiced his instrument and eventually he became the jazz great everyone knows today. Armstrong’s unique singing and masterful improvisation transitioned jazz from the traditional style to a newer, more rhythmic style. He popularized scat singing and was the first musician to have his solo on a recording (Rodgers 85). The solos Armstrong performed along with his popular scat singing helped make jazz musicians more popular along with making the fans take notice of Armstrong and jazz itself (Rennert 8).
Many people knew Louis Armstrong as the “first real genius of jazz”(Shipton 26). He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 4, 1901. Louis was the illegitimate son of William Armstrong and Mary Est “Mayann” Albert. He was abandoned by his father, a boiler stoker, shortly after his birth and was raised by his paternal grandmother. Then, at the age of five, he was returned to the care of his mother, who at the time worked as a laundress. Together with his mom, they moved to a better area of New Orleans. This is where Armstrong first fell in love with music; he would listen to people playing any chance that he would get(Tirro). He would attend parades, funerals, churches and go to cheap cabarets to be able to hear some of the greats play
There were many jazz musicians. Louis Armstrong is one of the most important jazz figures. Louis Armstrong is one of the first great soloists in the 1920’s musicians. His career rose in New Orleans. He influenced other jazz musicians by his fearless trumpet styles and distinctive vocals. Louis gave jazz music a purpose. He spread jazz throughout the world. Fletcher Henderson also influenced jazz music. He was an extraordinary musician and he impacted jazz music immensely. Without the jazz musicians, jazz music would not have been possible. With the assistance of the jazz musicians, the music industry
Aside from the typical cultural, social, and political factors influencing any musician’s style, an early life filled with poverty and hardship also shaped Louis Armstrong’s musical development. Some even theorize that it was Armstrong’s difficult upbringing that made his music so wise, so unique, and so revolutionary. Armstrong was an African American child growing up in the slums of New Orleans, close to abandonment, impoverished, and with too few constant people, resources, or homes. However, had his upbringing been different, his musical talents may never have been established to grow and thrive into one of the most internationally influential jazz musicians ever. When Louis Armstrong was placed in a boys’ home as a young boy, he was presented with the opportunity to play the cornet. He took up work in Joe (King) Oliver’s house, doing chores in exchange for musical lessons, developing into a
Louis Armstrong is a man of many talents and skills known for creating a new environment, especially in his home town of New Orleans. He was born into poverty on August 4, 1901 in the streets of Back o’ Town (Meckna). He’s a professional jazz performer who played with Oliver and Henderson. He started as a soloist for Henderson after marrying Lil Hardin. He has many nicknames in which some are Satchmo and Pops. He also played as a second trumpet for King Oliver. He interprets and contributes to the genre of jazz, creates great form through his performance in the “Hot Chocolates,” and his work represents a whole for equality and the civil rights movement.
It goes without saying that Jazz as a music genre was influenced very much by the New Orleans musicians. Almost every jazzman accepts the fact that he was somehow influenced by the classic jazz tunes, melodies and improvisations of the old New Orleans. Thus, this period of time, when New Orleans was one of the greatest centers of jazz music should be described and analyzed accordingly. First, it should be noted that the early jazz musicians used to perform in venues throughout New Orleans, especially across the bars and/or brothels (Cooke, 1999). The mixture of the bands playing there was of the highest diversity, as numerous dance bands were playing along with the marching bands. Nevertheless, all these bands were mostly arranged and organized
At the mention jazz music, that person will first think of is likely to be a great figure with a clown image, nicknamed Satchmo. The man was Louis Armstrong. He is a husky singer, often with a trumpet in his hand. He played dramatic works of simple structure in Orleans jazz style and with the accompaniment of Dick jazz music. Each of the books on jazz music will mention his name. Louis Armstrong was to jazz music what Bach is to classical music, Presley is to rock music (Berrett 230). This essay will have an introduction of the king of jazz music -- Louis Armstrong and his great influence on jazz history.
Louis Armstrong’s recording of “(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue” is a great opportunity for us to learn several important facts about jazz in the 1920’s. The first is probably the most obvious: it provides us with an audio representation of the popular characteristics of jazz. Secondly when compared to the original it allows us to see in what ways Armstrong altered it to make it a suitable vehicle to express not only his ideas but his pains and struggles. Finally by understanding how Armstrong was able to alter the tune from the original we are able compare it to Armstrong’s position on race relations.