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LOUIS ARMSTRONG

Armstrong, Louis (1901-1971), American jazz, cornet, and trumpet player, singer, bandleader, and popular entertainer. Armstrong overcame poverty, a lack of formal education, and racism to become one of the most innovative and influential musicians of the 20th century, and one of the most beloved entertainers in the world.

Armstrong influenced not only trumpeters but, directly or indirectly, nearly all subsequent instrumental and vocal jazz music, as well as a wide range of popular music. He is perhaps best known for helping to pioneer a style known as swing, which later formed the basis for most jazz and rhythm-and-blues (R&B) music. In addition to his technical virtuosity and creative melodic ideas, Armstrong was renowned for playing and singing with passionate, joyful feeling and an exuberant tone. He established the expressive possibilities of the young art form of jazz and set fundamental standards for improvisation.

Born Louis Daniel Armstrong in New Orleans, Louisiana, he grew up in dire poverty and did not attend school beyond the fifth grade. As a youth, Armstrong joined a vocal quartet and sharpened his musical ear for harmony by singing with the group on the streets. From about 1912 to 1914 he was incarcerated for delinquency at the Colored Waifs' home in New Orleans, where he was given a cornet to play in the home's brass band. While there, he learned the cornet and other musical instruments and dedicated himself to becoming a professional musician.

About 1917 Armstrong attracted the attention of cornetist King Oliver, who played a style of jazz known as New Orleans, and began a fruitful apprenticeship with the respected musician. In 1922 Armstrong made his first recordings with Oliver the following year. Armstrong moved to New York City in 1924, where he joined the band of American pianist Fletcher Henderson and expanded his reputation as a leading soloist in the style of music known as hot jazz.

After 1925 Armstrong began leading his own band and also recorded with some of the most renowned blues singers of the time, including American singer Bessie Smith. From 1925 to 1928 he led a recording group called the Hot Fives.Their recordings include the songs “Cornet Chop Suey” and “Big Butter and Egg Man” in 1926; “Potato Head Blues” and “Struttin' with Some Barbecue” in 1927; and, in 1928, “West End Blues,” and “Weather Bird,” a duet with American pianist Earl Hines. In these recordings, which are considered some of the most seminal and enduring pieces in the history of jazz, Armstrong abandoned the traditional collective improvisation of New Orleans-style jazz and almost singlehandedly transformed the music from a group art into an art form for the individual soloist.

In 1947, prompted by the commercial decline of big-band music, Armstrong formed a septet called the All Stars. This band, which Armstrong led until 1968, became largely a vehicle for his own playing and singing Armstrong accumulated affectionate nicknames over the course of his career, including Dippermouth, Satchelmouth, Ambassador Satchmo, Satch, and Pops. He became an unofficial musical ambassador from the United States, performing all over the world.



Armstrong was one of the first artists to record scat singing (the singing of improvised wordless sounds rather than formal lyrics), in the song “Heebie Jeebies” (1926), and eventually his voice became one of the most recognizable of the 20th century. In part because of his vocals, a number of his records became hits, including “Blueberry Hill" (1956), “Mack the Knife” (1956), “Hello Dolly” (1964), and “What a Wonderful World” (1967). In 1976 a statue dedicated to Armstrong was erected in New Orleans and a park was named in his honor.

1. Answer the following questions:

1. Who was Louis Armstrong?

2. What was he renowned for?

3. How did he sharpen his musical ear for harmony?

4. Where did he learn the cornet?

5. What respected musicians did Armstrong play with?

6. What recordings of the Hot Fives are considered some of the most seminal pieces in the history of jazz? Prove it.

7. Did Armstrong have any nickname over the course of his career?

8. Where was a statue dedicated to Armstrong erected?

9. How do you understand the following expression “scat singing”?

10. What songs of Louis Armstrong did you listen to?


Date: 2016-03-03; view: 733


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