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Known as the King of Jazz, Louis Stachmo Armstrong was one of the most important figures in early jazz. He was said to have defined jazz music. Only Charlie Parker comes close to having as much influence on jazz as Louis Armstrong. Armstrong was born on July 4, 1900 in New Orleans. He grew up singing on the streets of New Orleans at a young age and had a troubled childhood. At the age of twelve he was placed in the Waifs Home For Boys for firing a gun into the air.
However, at this home for boys is where Louis thirst for music took off. Armstrong learned to play the bugle, drums and the trumpet at the home. After Louis left the center he began going to different kinds of night clubs in order to listen and learn new kinds of music. At these clubs is where he met Joe King Oliver.
King Oliver was one of Armstrong's favorite musicians and the man acted as father to Louis. Oliver began to teach Louis how to play the cornet and the trumpet. Upon learning the cornet Louis started filling in for local bands at the clubs and eventually started his own band. In 1917 King Oliver left New Orleans and Louis took his spot in a band called King Orys Orchestra which was one of the most well known bands in town. Louis spent time on a riverboat where he improved his cornet skills and also learned to read music. In 1922 King Oliver called Louis to Chicago, so he quit playing on the riverboats and left to go play in the Creole Jazz band.
This was a dream come true for Louis. The bands New Orleans style of music took the town by storm and soon many other bands from down south make their way north to Chicago. In Chicago Louis switched from playing the cornet to the trumpet, which was to be the instrument that would make him the famous musician that he was. Louis brought his New Orleans jazz style north and changed the way jazz music was played.
While playing in Oliver's Creole Jazz band Louis met Lillian Hardin who was a piano player for the band. In February 1924 they got married. Lillian felt that Louis was too talented and was wasting himself by playing in King Oliver's band. She eventually pressured him to leave the band.
Reluctantly he did. In 1924 Louis left Chicago to go to Harlem and play in Fletcher Henderson's band. Fletcher and Oliver's bands styles of music were a lot different from each other. Henderson's band played more Latin rhythms and waltzes while Oliver's band played rags and stomps. While in Harlem Louis started writing and recording his own music. During this time Louis did many recording sessions with numerous blues singers like Bessie Smith, and Clarence Williams.
His music began to influence musicians all over the country. In 1920 Louis invented scat which is a type of singing without words. He adapted his idea of scat from listening to other singers like Ella Fitzgerald. In the 30 s he mostly toured the United States playing and singing until 1932 when he went to England. He stayed in Europe for 2 years where he became more famous in Europe than he was in the U.
S. The reason for this was that racism in the U. S. was a lot stronger than in England and was hurting his popularity. In 1935 Louis returned to the U. S.
and took 6 months off from his trumpet playing because of lip problems. After this he hooked up with manager Joe Glaser. He had known Glaser when he was the manager of the Sunset Caf? in Chicago in the 1920 s. Glaser remained Louis manager until his death in 1969.
Glaser took care of the business part of the deal and left all the musical freedom to Louis. He hired the Luis Russell Orchestra as Louis backup band. The band was made up mostly of New Orleans musicians, who had played with King Oliver. The band was renamed the Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra.
Louis became the most famous men in America at this time. Louis and his wife got divorce in 1938. He then married Alpha his third wife. However they divorced for years later. For the next nine years the Louis band kept touring and making records. But as the 50 s began to approach the peoples liking for jazz shifted away from the sounds of the Swing Era.
The Louis Armstrong Orchestra began to look tired and record and concert sales were on the decline. In 1947, Glaser fired the orchestra and formed the Louis Armstrong Allstars. The band was very popular worldwide. In a 1955 - 56 tour through Europe he got the title of The Ambassador of Jazz when he played for royalty.
A song most recognizable that Louis played to people who do not know his music very well is What a Wonderful World. Not only did Louis have a Musical career but he also had a star role in the movie Hello, Dolly. Many people loved to watch Louis play because he such great showmanship. He was a great performer and he attracted all different sorts of people to his shows. Louis health began to fail him, and he had to be hospitalized many times in the remaining three years of his life. On July 6, 1971 Louis Armstrong died in his sleep in his home in Queens, New York.
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