Louis Armstrong

Pops- Sweet Papa Dip. Satchmo. He had perfect pitch and perfect rhythm.

Like most of the great innovators in jazz, he was a small man. But the extent of his

influence across jazz, across American music and around the world has such

continuing stature that he is one of the few who can easily be mentioned with

Stravinsky, Picasso and Joyce. Louis Armstrong was one of the greatest of all

Jazz musicians. He is not only probably the best-known musician of jazz but also

one of the foremost improvisers of jazz music. Armstrong defined what it was to

play Jazz. His amazing technical abilities, the joy and spontaneity, and the talented

and inventive musical mind still dominate Jazz to this day. Louis Daniel

Armstrong was born in the Storyville District of New Orleans, Louisiana, on

August 4, 1901. For many years it was thought that Armstrong was born in New

Orleans on July 4, 1900, a perfect day for the man who wrote the musical

Declaration of Independence for Americans of this century. But the writer Gary

Giddins discovered the birth certificate that proves Armstrong was born Aug. 4,

1901 (Morgenstern).

Like almost all early Jazz musicians, Louis came

from a very poor family. He grew up at the bottom class

of society, trying to bring something home to eat every

day and sometimes searching garbage cans for food that

might still be suitable for supper. His father Willie, a

laborer, left the family soon after he was born. His mother, a domestic servant and

part time prostitute called Mayanne, left Louis and his sister Beatrice, also called

'Mama Lucy', in the care of his grandma much of the time. The neighborhood that

he lived in, “was called the Battlefield because the toughest characters in town

used to live there, and would shoot and fight much. In that one block between

Gravier and Perido Streets more people were crowded than you ever saw in your

life" (Edward, 125). He sang with other boys on the streets for tips and begins to

develop his musical talents. Growing up in critical conditions, Armstrong,

however, always believed that the love of his family helped him make it through

those rough times.

During New Year’s Eve of 1913 Louis discharged a borrowed pistol into

the air and was arrested. This was a very fortunate incident for Louis himself and

for Jazz as history revealed. He was admitted to the City's Colored Waif's Home

for Boys, where he came under the very capable tutorship of Peter Davis, the

music instructor at the home (Levin). First vocals, then percussion, then he

became the home bugler, and finally cornet Louis had some background in

harmony singing, as a natural ability, and the experience of singing on the streets,

but under Mr. Davis he began to study music.  Upon being released from the

Waif's home at age fourteen, Louis worked by selling papers, unloading boats, and

selling coal from a horse and cart. He also listened to bands at clubs like the Come

Clean Dance Hall, Funky Butt Hall, and Mahogany Hall, in Storyville. Joe

"King" Oliver with the Kid Ory Band was his favorite and Oliver quickly became
young Louis's mentor. Joe "King" Oliver was his favorite and the older man

acted as a father to Louis, even giving him his first real cornet, and instructing him

on the instrument. By 1917 Louis was playing in various groups at dive bars in

New Orleans' Storyville section (Levin).

In 1919 he left New Orleans for the first time to join Fate Marable's band in

St. Louis. Marable led a band that played on the Strekfus Mississsippi River Boat

lines. When the boats left from New Orleans, Armstrong also played regular gigs

in Kid Ory's band. Louis stayed with Marable until 1921 when he returned to New

Orleans and played in Zutty Singleton's. He also played in parades with the Allen

Brass Band, and on the bandstand with Papa Celestin's Tuxedo Orchestra, and the

Silver Leaf Band (Morgenstern 157). When King Oliver left the city in 1919 to go

to Chicago, Louis took his place in Kid Ory's band from time to time. In 1922,

Louis received a telegram from his mentor Joe Oliver, asking him to join his

Creole Jazz Band at Lincoln Gardens (459 East 31st Street) in Chicago. This was a

dream come true for Armstrong and his amazing playmates in the band that soon

made him a sensation among other musicians in Chicago. Louis learned much

working with Oliver. While playing in Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, The experience

of playing second cornet helped to develop his ear and harmonies, and, the

importance of playing straight lead, as Oliver did, were lessons that he would use

for the remainder of his life. The New Orleans style of music took the town by

storm and soon many other bands from down south made their way north to

Chicago.
 While playing in Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, Armstrong met Lillian Hardin,

a piano player and arranger for the band. Lillian Hardin was one of the most

well-known women in early jazz. She played piano, composed, and arranged for

most of the important Hot Bands from New Orleans. Lillian was a very intelligent

and ambitious woman who felt that Louis was wasting himself playing in Oliver's

band. The two got married in 1924. By the end of 1924 she pressured Armstrong

to reluctantly leave his mentor's band. He briefly worked with Ollie Powers'

Harmony Syncopators before he moved to New York to play in Fletcher

Henderson's Orchestra for 13 months. During that time he also did tens of

recording sessions with numerous Blues singers, including Bessie Smith's 1925

classic recording of "St. Louis Blues". He also recorded with Clarence Williams

and the Red Onion Jazz Babies. In 1925 Armstrong moved back to Chicago and

joined his wife's band at the Dreamland Cafe (3520 South State Street). He also

played in Erskine Tate's Vendome Orchestra and then with Carrol Dickenson's

Orchestra at the Sunset Cafe at 313-17 East 35th Street at the corner of Calmet

Street (Brook 212).

Armstrong recorded his first Hot Five Band records that same year,

featuring Johnny Dodds on clarinet, Kid Ory on trombone, Johnny St. Cyr on

banjo, and his wife Lillian on piano. The record company left him very much on

his own to choose musicians and songs for these recordings, a wise decision since

these are considered to be among the finest Jazz classics ever recorded even to this

day. On November 12, 1925 Louis Armstrong made his first records that bore his
name as bandleader. The songs on the first Okeh 78 rpm record were "My Heart",

and "Yes, I'm in the Barrel". Masterpieces such as "Cornet Chop Suey", "Potato

Head Blues", and "West End Blues", recorded later, turned jazz into a soloist's art

form. The band never played live, but continued recording until 1928 (DVD-

2001).

In 1928 Louis returned to New York, and in 1929 was hired to play in the

pit band of the popular all black musical review 'Hot Chocolates' on Broadway

which featured the music of Fats Waller and lyrics of Andy Razaf The show was a

great success and 'Louie' stole the show with his rendition of Ain't Misbehavin'

which he recorded July 19, 1929, and it became his biggest selling record to date.

By 1929 Louis was becoming a very big star. He toured with the show "Hot

Chocolates" and appeared occasionally with the Luis Russell Orchestra, with Dave

Peyton, and with Fletcher Henderson. Armstrong continued to play in Carrol

Dickenson's Orchestra until 1929. He also led his own band on the same venue

under the name of Louis Armstrong and his Stompers. For the next two years

Armstrong played with Carroll Dickerson's Savoy Orchestra and with Clarence

Jones' Orchestra in Chicago.

 Armstrong moved to Los Angeles in 1930 where he fronted a band called

Louis Armstrong and Sebastian New Cotton Club Orchestra. The band also

featured a young Lionel Hampton on drums and vibes. In 1931 he went back to

Chicago and assembled his own band for touring purposes, and in 1932 returned to

California, before leaving for England where

he was given the name 'Satchmo' (short for

satchel mouth, a nickname of his since the

'King' Oliver days). This name is

synonymous with Louis Armstrong, and his

big wide grin, to this day. During the early

1930's Louis began to use the trumpet rather than a cornet (Satchmo DVD).

Armstrong was greeted as a hero, but racism marred his return when a White radio

announcer refused to mention Armstrong on the air and a free concert that Louis

was going to give to the cities' African-American population was cancelled at the

last minute. Louis and Lillian also separated in 1931. In 1932 he returned to

California, before leaving for England where he was a great success. For the next

three years Armstrong was almost always on the road. He traveled in the United

States many times and returned to Europe playing in Denmark, Sweden, Norway,

Holland and England. In 1935 he returned to the U.S. and hired Joe Glaser to be

his manager. Glaser managed the Sunset at that time.

Glaser was allegedly connected to the Al Capone mob, but proved to be a

great manager and friend for Louis. Glaser remained Armstrong's manager until
his death. Glaser took care of the business end of things, leaving Armstrong free to

concentrate on his music. Glaser remained Armstrong's manager until his death in

1969. Glaser hired the Luis Russell Orchestra as Louis' backup band. This was like

being at home for Louis, because the band was made up of predominately New

Orleans musicians, many who, like 'Satchmo', had played with King Oliver. The

band was renamed Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra and was one of the most

popular bands of the Swing era (Satchmo DVD). For the next five years Louis

toured and recorded with this group, the records are classics. In 1940, Glaser fired

the band and Louis put together another group containing younger musicians such

as John Brown (alto), Dexter Gordon (tenor), Arvell Shaw (bass), and Velma

Middleton sharing the vocals with him. Louis fronted large bands, usually 15 or

more musicians, during most of the 1930s through the late 40's and recorded with

just about every musician around. His reputation as a friendly warm personality

followed him throughout his life and so did the tradition of jazz music. It lasted

until the summer of 1947, but swing bands were on a downward slide and he was

tired of leading a large group.

During this period Armstrong became one of the most famous men in

America. In 1938 Lillian and Louis finally got a divorce. Louis then married

Alpha. The endless touring was hard on their marriage and they were divorced

four years later, but Armstrong quickly remarried Lucille and they remained

married for the rest of his life. For the next nine years the Louis Armstrong

Orchestra continued to tour and release records, but as the 1940s drew to a close
the public's taste in Jazz began to shift away from the commercial sounds of the

Swing era and big band Jazz. The so-called Dixieland Jazz revival was just

beginning and Be Bop was also starting to challenge the status quo in the Jazz

world (Levin). The Louis Armstrong Orchestra was beginning to look tired and

concert and record sales were declining. Critics complained that Armstrong was

becoming too commercial. So, in 1947 Glaser fired the orchestra and replaced

them with a small group that became one of the greatest and most popular bands in

Jazz history. The group was called the Louis Armstrong Allstars and over the

years featured exceptional musicians like Barney Bigard, Jack Teagarden.

In 1961 'Satchmo' found himself paired for a session with the great Duke

Ellington to record some of Duke's songs. Another classic Jazz album on the

Roulette label was the result. While spending many hours in the studio in the

1950's and 60's Louis also maintained a crippling world wide touring schedule

with the 'All Stars'. In 1963, he recorded some songs in New York before leaving

for an overseas tour. Months later in London the band received many requests to

play "Dolly". Louis asked his manager what these people were talking about. It

was at that time, he learned, the song "Hello Dolly" (a song he didn't even

remember recording in New York) was such a huge international hit that it

knocked the Beatles off the top of the charts in the States (Brook and

Morgenstern). 'Satchmo's' popularity soared to its all-time peak; he was suddenly

in demand for every television venue available. Louis was a remarkable singer, his

throaty voice, lazy-sounding delivery, perfect timing and immaculate presentation,

were even more apparent in the later years when he could no longer blow his

famous horn. His style of delivery added texture, warmth, and understanding often

far exceeding anything that had been put there by the songs' writers. A fine

example of this is his last big hit, "What a Wonderful World" which in 1968 rose

to the number one spot in the UK, although, it didn't really leave its mark until its

inclusion in a popular film much later here in the United States.

Louis Armstrong was an influential factor of the era that the big bands

sounded like him, their featured improvisers took direction from him, and every

school of jazz since has had to address how he interpreted the basics of the idiom

— swing, blues, ballads and Afro-Hispanic rhythms. While every jazz

instrumentalist owes him an enormous debt, singers as different as Bing Crosby,

Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and

Marvin Gaye have Armstrong in common as well. “His freedom, his wit, his

discipline, his bawdiness, his majesty and his irrepressible willingness to do battle

with deep sorrow and the wages of death give his music a perpetual position in the

wave of the future that is the station of all great art.”

We all, especially those lovers of the music called Jazz, owe much to this

man, not only as a pioneer of Jazz trumpet and vocals, but also as a very genuine

human being. Anytime he appeared on film, played on stage, or performed on

record, Louis Armstrong helped to make this 'A Wonderful World' for us all. He

truly remains the 'King of Jazz'.

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) Brooks, Edward. Influence and Assimilation in Louis Armstrong's Cornet

and Trumpet Work (1923-1928). Edwin Mellen Press. New York, 2001

2) Morgenstern, Dan. Louis Armstrong. Oxford University Press. New

York: New York, 2000

3) Levin, Floyd. The Great Louis Armstrong - A Personal View of the

Music and the Musicians. University of California Press. Berkeley,
2002

4) Levin, Floyd. The Seven –Years Challenge to Complete the Louis

Armstrong Statue. University of California Press. Berkeley, 2001

5) “The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong DVD 2001”

6) “Louis Armstrong- Satchmo DVD”