Life and Career of Louis Armstrong - Essay Example

The life and career of Louis Armstrong The Life of Louis Armstrong began in New Orleans, Louisiana, when the great musician was born in early August 1901 to a poor slave family (Bergreen 10). The hard ghetto life and abject poverty would lay the foundation for his career. At age five, Louis went against all odds to begin his career while attending the Fisk School for Boys that exposed him to Creole music. While in his teens, fellow jazz artists like Buddy Petit, Bunk Johnson, and Kid Ory influenced his jazz musical career (Stein 23). One of the cornet players in New Orleans, Joe Oliver the King, became a fatherly figure to him and would guide him to a dance hall job at the Henry Ponce. Armstrong also began playing on riverboats and brass band parades and spent most of his time listening to older musicians. However, he began his full career with the resignation of Joe Oliver from Kid Orys band and would continue with his musical dreams playing alongside other musical groups like the Tuxedo Brass Band. Therefore, this assignment seeks to discuss Louis Armstrong’s contribution in jazz music as well as the influence he had in the entire American society. Life and career of Louis Armstrong is a transition from New Orleans to Hollywood, television, Carnegie Hall and the tale of is successful musical career also depicts how jazz music evolved in American and the world beyond(Bergreen 10). The manner in which Louis played trumpet brought a revolution to the music world as he would join the list of most famous and favorite entertainers then and even in the modern society. Though 30 years has elapsed since his death, Louis’s work as a vocalist and instrumentalist still continues to influence the America music especially the jazz type. As a black who was working and living in the segregated black society, he used his music to represent civil right struggles and played an important part in changing the then America (Stein 23). In this case, the life and career story of Louis Armstrong depicts a musician who not only changed the genre he was representing but also the civil and political aspect of the society. Throughout the 1920s at his prime, Armstrong performed alongside various musical groups and began bringing changes to jazz musical genre when he introduced the extended solo. Before, his arrival, the arrangement of jazz music was highly orchestrated or, in other words, loosely structured (Gioia 15). In this case, the previous jazz had a Dixieland structure; a musical collection where no musician is allowed soloist vocal for an extended period. Within no time, every musician to imitate Armstrong’s style and this made him a star or a musical attraction. Therefore, Armstrong entered the jazz music arena with a phenomenal popularity because through 1920s; the musician was among the most sougth-after both in Chicago and New York (Stein 24). From the historical records, Armstrong began his career in a flying start becoming popular at prime years when his genre was considered to promote immorality by the then older generation. Some of his recordings like HOT SEVEN and HOT FIVE remains in history as some of the best classical songs ever loved and still liked by the current society (Stein 24). Armstrong continued his career in the 1930s and 1940s organizing and attending tours that came out to be most grueling and attracting a broad audience (Stein 24). In those periods, Armstrong played alongside some popular bands of that time. However, he realized his uniqueness and rich style, and it hit him that he was suitable for smaller ensemble and decided to pursue his solo career. Joe Glaser helped him to form the Louis Armstrong and His All Stars where the first band that casted a rotation of the all-stars included famous jazz musicians like Barney Bigard, Jack Teagarden, Big Sid Catlett, and Earl Hines (Bergreen 10). Though there had been a common belief that Louis Armstrong’s musical career was a decline in the 40s, he still produced records that bore his technical proficiency, soul, and depth of his playing and spirited interpretations. Therefore, Louis continued to his contribution to jazz music by maintaining his originality and bringing new interpretations in the world of jazz music. The 1950s brought about remarkable changes and regeneration for Louis Armstrong since he was both a public figure and an artist. Louis had begun singing in his prime days in Chicago though the audiences recognized his remarkable singing skills. He entered the jazz singing arena with the throaty rough voice that instantly became internationally recognized label or voice of jazz (Stein 27). In this case, he was bringing a new revolution to the world of jazz music with the deep and throaty voice singing. The 1956 recording of the Porgy and Bess that he did alongside Ella Fitzgerald entered the list of his most popular songs (Bergreen 13). The duo was voted as the best duets with audience great audience preference in the 1950s. However, the increasing fame also attracted criticism from the black community who complained of his failure to live up to the responsibilities. The criticisms came about since the late fifties marked the onset of civil rights movement where the black community saw Armstrong as playing for the white audiences and acting like an uncle tom. However, Armstrong dismissed the criticisms and chose to continue with his tours performing and traveling the world (Stein 24). In the 1960s, Armstrong’s influence on the black’s civil rights movement was questioned despite his role in changing the face of black community’s struggle at the onset of his career. Armstrong also spent the final decade of his career and life entertaining the world jazz audience. However, the curtains fell on him in 1971 after succumbing to heart attack in the New York City (Bergreen 27). Armstrong died having left a significant mark on Jazz music and civil rights revolution in the American society and beyond. He would use his music to influence the political atmosphere of the then American society and also connect with various audiences around the world. There are many innovative and exceptional jazz musicians, but it is Louis Armstrong who brought profound changes in this music genre. His legacy is not merely the trumpet playing but also outstanding formal innovation. He committed himself fully in the search of new forms of jazz music. On the other hand, Armstrong continues to influence audiences with the heartfelt performances he left behind. In this case, Armstrongs influence on jazz remains to be the symbol of a musical life and also affects the culture of the 21st century by bringing integrating the 20th Century American culture (Gioia 28). Works Cited Bergreen, Laurence. Louis Armstrong. New York: Crown/Archetype, 2012 Gioia, Ted. The History of Jazz. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print. Stein, Daniel. Music Is My Life: Louis Armstrong, Autobiography, and American Jazz. Michigan: the University of Michigan Press, 2012. Print. Read More