Satchmo

2 Pages 588 Words

Louis Armstrong
“SATCHMO”

Louis Armstrong was the most important and powerful musician in
Music history. Although he is often thought of by the public as a lovable, clowning person, a rough-voiced singer who played simple but spectacular trumpet in a New Orleans-styled Dixieland setting, Armstrong was much much more.
One of the first soloists on record, Louis was more responsible than anyone else for jazz changing from an ensemble-oriented folk music into an art form that emphasized inventive solo improvisations. His relaxed phrasing was a
major change from the staccato style of the early '20s (helping set the stage for the swing era) and Armstrong demonstrated that it was possible to have both impressive style and a strong feeling for the blues. One of jazz's first true stars, his influence over his fellow players was so powerful that nearly every trumpeter to record between 1927 and 1940 sounded to an extent like one of his followers!


Louis Armstrong's unique style singing voice was copy by so many
of the listeners through the years, he made “scat singing” popular. By using syllables rhythmically rather than words. It was said, that he was in the studio and his music fell off the stand so he started to make it up, that when scat music was born. His way of talking affected many singers to come up after 1930, including Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra. In addition, Louis Armstrong’s humor and funny ways were popular in jazz with larger audiences. Many teenagers were inspired to take up
the trumpet after hearing or seeing him and millions more were introduced to jazz through Armstrong; in later years Louis Armstrong's worldwide tours resulted in him being widely known as "America's goodwill ambassador."(Satchmo, 1998)
Louis Armstrong started with t his humble beginnings. Born in New Orleans on Aug. 4, 1901 (until his birth c...