It is worth mentioning that when he was 13 years old, he was sent to the local reformatory because he shot into the air with a revolver he didn't know where he got it on Christmas Eve. There, trumpeter pete davidson became Armstrong's first trumpet teacher. Armstrong stayed in the reformatory until he was 18 years old, where he spent the first few years of his career.
After leaving the reformatory, Armstrong began to join the band with the famous trumpeter Joe Oliver at that time. Oliver took a fancy to Armstrong's talent from the beginning and joined his band in Chicago with Armstrong. The most exciting thing for Armstrong is to enter the recording studio. The sound engineer should put his position 20 meters behind other musicians, because his timbre is so powerful that even Oliver has drowned his voice.
1925, Armstrong was regarded as one of the greatest trumpeters in the world in Chicago. In the same year, I began to record an album named after myself. In the next four years, Armstrong was most famous in Hot Five and Hot Seven.
Audio recording. These records mark the change of jazz from ensemble to solo, which has trans-generational significance. 1926, Armstrong, who was only 25 years old, has been regarded as a symbol of jazz. His timbre, strength, range and skills are admired and imitated by countless players. His improvisation laid the foundation for jazz to separate from traditional black folk songs and outdoor marching music and form a specific style.
After 1926, Armstrong started to own his own band. He came to new york to record his new record, and at the same time participated in local radio programs in the evening, which improved his popularity. In 193 1, he led his orchestra to England and Europe, where their performances were a great success. Armstrong became a world-recognized jazz musician.
In the era of Swing, Armstrong's career was still at its peak, and he even participated in several films. He organized a big swing band, but in the big band, Armstrong's creativity seems to be limited, and his performance is far worse than those of the previous small bands.
1947, Armstrong reorganized a small jazz band, in which there used to be masters such as Jack Teagarden and Earl Haines. Together with these excellent jazz musicians, Armstrong made his world tour in 1950s and 1960s. At the end of 1964, his record Hello Dolly was a great success and has always been regarded as one of the classic records of jazz.
There is no doubt that Armstrong is one of the greatest trumpeters in jazz history. In the 1920s, not many people could play the high C on the trumpet. Armstrong often plays the high-pitched C easily in his performances, and sometimes the high-pitched F also appears in his performances, which is enough to make him laugh in the music scene at that time.
Armstrong's performance combines exquisite skills, good sense of rhythm, exquisite improvisation, charming timbre and long-span range, which makes his performance communicate well with the audience. As an excellent improviser, his greatest feature is to combine the sense of rhythm with the sense of melody, no matter whether these melodies are improvised or created in advance.
Armstrong is also one of the great singers in jazz history. He attaches great importance to communication with the audience and tries to make the audience happy, which makes him a master of comedy. People often have two views on him, one is that he is an artist, and the other is that he is a general performer who entertains the public. Those who hold the latter view believe that real artists do not aim at entertaining the public. But Armstrong believes that even if a person regards music as his life, it does not mean that he should not perform for the public and not be appreciated by the public.
Some people may ask why Armstrong is the father of jazz. Is there no jazz without Armstrong? Of course, jazz will still come into being, but without Armstrong, jazz would not have developed as it is today.
Armstrong was the first recognized jazz musician, although jazz was not considered as a standard music at that time. Although Armstrong's performances are sometimes slightly exaggerated, his mastery of music proves his genius. He combined jazz and blues perfectly. In the performance of jazz musicians after Armstrong, you can hear that they are influenced by Armstrong. So most jazz musicians agree that Armstrong is a pioneer of jazz and one of the pioneers of jazz.
Armstrong died on July 6th, 197 1. He left a rich jazz legacy, and Armstrong has many compilations in the market. At the same time, people can appreciate the master's style from the following classic singles: West Side Blues, Savoy Blues, Potato Head Blues, Weather Birds, I'm Not Rough, Heebie Jeebies.
When it comes to jazz music, the first person people think of is probably a clown-like lively and lovely little person. He is a singer with a hoarse voice and often holds a trumpet in his hand. He plays simple and dramatic works in the style of New Orleans jazz. This man is louis armstrong. He is a big shot in jazz. Every book about jazz will mention his name. He is as important to jazz as Bach in classical music and Presley in rock music. Of course, Armstrong's achievements are far from being summarized by the simple typing description above. He is the greatest and most important musician in jazz history. He has innovated and popularized jazz more than anyone else. It is no exaggeration to say that, in a sense, louis armstrong initiated the history of jazz.
Sidney Becher, another New Orleans jazz musician, appeared earlier than Armstrong, but the glory of the first record jazz soloist undoubtedly belongs to louis armstrong. He made outstanding contributions to the development of Shi Jue's music. It is because of his efforts that jazz has changed from a folk music form dominated by ensemble to a music form that emphasizes creativity and improvisation. Louis armstrong played a vital role in this transformation.
In early jazz performance, most musicians did not have the concept of improvisation. Even if there is improvisation, it is done by everyone together. Ensemble is the most important way of playing, which is very different from today's jazz playing. This is mainly caused by the quality of musicians at that time. At that time, most of the performers were black musicians living at the bottom of society. Their music literacy is generally low, lacking knowledge of music theory and formal performance training, so their music development is limited. Their musical ideas are often beyond the reach of their skills. Sometimes, their enthusiasm for religion, to some extent, exceeds the pursuit of music itself. Their exploration of music is more about expressing their awe of the majesty and power of God. Music is more like a tool of their beliefs, just like Indians dancing in front of their creators.
Jazz transcends music itself and becomes the best way for black people to express their religious piety. It is difficult for early jazz musicians to have a formal performance venue. They often haunt some low-level bars or dance halls, and even low-level brothels. This is a critical view on the consistency of jazz. More precisely, jazz was not an independent music form at that time. Not only lacks its own characteristics, but also lacks excellent musicians.
Jazz needs a genius to appear at this moment, create the history of jazz and win a place for jazz in the music hall. The burden fell on a black musician from New Orleans. His name is louis armstrong.
Louis armstrong is a very lucky genius. If he had been born 20 years earlier, he might have become an excellent folk trumpeter, a conductor of a street band, lacking musical literacy and personal voice, and playing for funerals or religious ceremonies all day. If he was born fifteen years later, or if he was born outside New Orleans, he would lack the deep musical soil for his musical achievements and bury his extraordinary talent in a hot and humid town in the south.
Among the early jazz musicians, Armstrong's musical talent is the most outstanding, and his relaxed playing style has changed greatly from the staccato style of jazz in the early 1920s. Although this change seems simple today, it is this change that laid the groundwork for the arrival of the swing era in the 1930s.
It is this seemingly ordinary innovation that led jazz out of the dark age of exploration. Thirty years ago, when almost all dance halls, bars and clubs were filled with this kind of music with American characteristics, people might not realize that it was Armstrong's contribution. Ten years ago, jazz was only the patent of the lower class blacks. Ten years later, jazz has become the favorite music form of the American public. Although white musicians finally won the hearts of the American public, it was Armstrong's efforts that completely changed the image of jazz, and his music innovation made jazz an independent music category. Armstrong proved himself to be a talented performer by his own strength. He showed people that it is not impossible to have extraordinary skills and strong feelings for Bruce at the same time.
During the nearly twenty years from 1927 to 1940, almost every trumpeter's performance was influenced to some extent by Armstrong. This shows Armstrong's influence on contemporary musicians.
Armstrong is not only a trumpet player, but also a very successful singer. For many years, jazz lovers have been fascinated by his unique voice, and his impromptu and crazy singing style full of meaningless but rhythmic syllables is his patent. This is reminiscent of the singing methods of some avant-garde pop singers in the 1990s. Although they adopted the same form of performance methods, although they tried to flaunt their foresight and fashion, they only repeated Armstrong's singing style at the beginning of this century, and their performance style was much inferior.
People have to admire Armstrong's innovative consciousness. As early as the 1920s, Armstrong successfully used onomatopoeia for the first time, and eventually made it a major feature of jazz singing. His singing style has influenced every jazz singer since the 1930s. These songs include Wang Ping crosby in the 1940s, Billie Holiday, the most attractive female singer in jazz, and Frank Sinatra, an evergreen who has dominated the music scene for 60 years.
In addition, Armstrong's humorous and enthusiastic stage performance style is also the main reason why jazz is popular with the public. It was after listening to or watching his performance that many young people began to like jazz. He is the most frequent jazz musician in all kinds of media. Even today in the 1990s, Armstrong's music often appears in radio and concert programs. Millions of people came into contact with jazz through Armstrong, and many people learned about jazz through Armstrong and finally fell in love with it. Therefore, no one will be surprised when Armstrong's global tour won him the reputation of "American Goodwill Ambassador".
Armstrong's contribution to bringing American culture to the world is immeasurable. (Please pay attention! Like the boxing champion Ali, he is a black representative who is not in the mainstream of American society. Strangely, few people expected Armstrong's great achievements in his early years.
1901August 4th, louis armstrong was born in the poorest and backward black residential area in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. His birth certificate was not discovered until the 1980s, so that his date of birth was mistaken for1July 4th, 900 for a long time.
Armstrong, who lives in a slum, likes singing since he was a child, but poverty prevents him from learning formal vocal music, and people don't think that a black man will become a great singer. Sometimes he sings in the street of the youth choir to earn some pocket money, and sometimes he sings in the church choir. For Armstrong, who was born in poverty, singing was the happiest thing in his childhood. Singing can make him forget the troubles in life and add some interest to the hard life.
19 12 On New Year's Eve, Armstrong got a pistol from his little friend. This is not a toy, but a real weapon. Curious Armstrong felt unprecedented excitement. He fired a gun in the air, hoping to send away the misfortune of the past year and welcome the arrival of the new year. But in the silent night sky, the gunfire was particularly loud, which not only frightened the friends around, but also alarmed the police. The police don't find it funny. They don't think this is just a joke for teenagers. They noticed Armstrong's skin color and decided that it was a threat and destruction to social order. They arbitrarily arrested Armstrong and sent him to "Homeless Children's Home" on the charge of "illegal possession of guns". This is not a charity organization, but a more "civilized" name for juvenile offenders.
This year, louis armstrong was only ten years old. This experience was a turning point in his life. Although this is not a formal conservatory of music, it is the greatest jazz musician from here. Armstrong learned to play the cornet in the days of "Home of Crossborder". Two years later, Armstrong left "Homeless Children's Home" and started a new life. He played in various jazz bands and brass bands in New Orleans, and his skills improved rapidly, showing extraordinary talent. At that time, Kim Oliver, the most famous jazz musician, discovered the potential ability of this teenager, and he decided that this teenager had a bright future. In life, Oliver cares about Armstrong very much; Give him careful guidance in music. With his help, Armstrong gradually grew into an excellent trumpeter.
When Oliver left New Orleans on 19 18, he recommended Armstrong to take his place in the pop band led by trombonist Kidd Ole. Four years later, Oliver invited Armstrong to Chicago to join his Creole jazz band and become the second trumpeter.
From 1922 to 1924, Kim Oliver led the best jazz band in America at that time. This Creole jazz group has ten members. Although it emphasizes the improvisation of the group, it also leaves some room for solo. Oliver King is an excellent trumpet player. Although he did not directly influence Armstrong's playing style, he inspired Armstrong's potential. It is the good music environment of this excellent band that made Armstrong. It wasn't long before Armstrong, who was intelligent and studious, surpassed Oliver in playing. Fortunately, this most influential and representative band recorded 4 1 music of four records at 1923, which allowed us to enjoy the wonderful cooperation between the two masters today.
Later, on the advice of pianist Lee Harden (the second of Armstrong's four wives), Armstrong left the Creole jazz band. His new choice is Fleche Gandlin in new york. Gandalf was an important conductor in the early stage of jazz development. At that time, the big band he led was unanimously recognized as the best band in jazz music. Even so, they still don't know how to play jazz with strong rhythm, how to play impromptu solo and how to play blues music. At that time, the overall level of musicians in new york was far below that of Chicago. Armstrong's arrival undoubtedly injected a stimulant into new york's jazz. His superb playing skills inspired these new york musicians who have always felt good about themselves, and they were surprised to find that there are such excellent performers in the world.
With Armstrong's encouragement, their potential was developed, and the spark of inspiration was generate under Armstrong's impact. The members of Henderson's band advanced by leaps and bounds, and soon left the other bands in new york far behind. It was at this time that people first felt louis armstrong's influence on jazz. He seems to be a catalyst for the evolution of jazz, and his appearance has made jazz look brand-new.
When playing in Henderson's big band, Armstrong often participated in the performances of blues singers, and he accompanied the blues singers at that time. Bessie Smith and Maria Renee, the most famous female blues singers at that time, performed with him. Bruce's strong and emotional performance greatly influenced Armstrong, which added an important element to his playing style-Bruce's mood. This emotion makes jazz add more ideas to simple techniques. The appeal of music has reached a new height.
Armstrong is good at learning from others, and his playing experience in Clarence Williams' Blue Quintet and Sydney Becher's band has accumulated valuable experience for him.
From 65438 to 0925, the full-fledged louis armstrong decided to leave new york and return to Chicago to start his own business. He will no longer be the supporting role of other masters, but will always be the protagonist.
From 1925 to 1927, Armstrong's classic works are one after another. The famous "Top Five" and "Top Ten" series recordings are excellent works in this period. His playing partners include Johnny Dodds, the short player, Kidd Ole, the trombone player, Lee Armstrong (his wife), the pianist, and Hanni Seinsell, the banjo player. This period is the peak of jazz in New Orleans, and there is a very interesting phenomenon: the important reason for the decline of jazz in New Orleans is precisely because Armstrong's position as a soloist was overemphasized in the performance of the band.
1927, Armstrong changed from playing cornet to playing trumpet with similar timbre. His performance in "Cut the Su with the Corner" surprised his colleagues who played the trumpet. They marvel that they have another powerful opponent, whose style and technique are far ahead of the times. The well-structured and shocking solos in Potato Head and Holding a Wet Girl on Your Head established Armstrong's position as the best trumpet soloist in the 20th century.
Armstrong is also very successful as a singer. In the song "HEEBIES JEEBIES", he showed his unique singing voice and superb singing skills for the first time, and his singing of onomatopoeia became all the rage.
From 65438 to 0928, Armstrong formed a brand-new band in the recording studio, which is the famous Sava ballroom quintet. The characteristic of this band is that trombone and cornet are no longer the main sound sources of the band, but only used to add color to the music. The band emphasizes the interactive performance of trumpet and piano. This change is another innovation of jazz. Jazz broke away from the relatively monotonous form of early simple brass instruments, and the prominent position of piano greatly enriched the expressive force of jazz. The addition of the famous pianist Earl Haines made this change possible. A West Side Blues is remarkable for its opening trumpet cadenza, and many people, including Armstrong himself, think it is one of the greatest singles in jazz history. "Weather Birds" is a classic duet of Armstrong and Haines, from which the audience can find that they have successfully used every opportunity of performance.
Louis's contemporary works "The Weakness of St James" and "Blues on Harbor Street" are both classic versions, which are not inferior to any famous versions in the future. Armstrong's band has a very remarkable feature: the "Hot Quintet" and "Hot Septet" bands only perform publicly when there is no shortage of members, and every member of the band is indispensable. Their perfect and harmonious combination is the secret of the band's success. Ambitious Armstrong won't confine himself to the recording studio or orchestra pit. He is enthusiastic, witty and humorous, and prefers to show his talents on the stage. In Chicago, he played in a big band led by erskine Tate and Carol Dickinson. He is undoubtedly an important figure in the big band. More performances have increased practical opportunities for his stage performances, and he has quickly become a performance genius to attract audiences. People like his wonderful performance, his unique singing style and his humorous performance on the stage.
From 1929, Armstrong became a well-deserved leader in all kinds of big bands he participated in. His unique role has attracted people's attention to the super-popular standard songs of that era, such as Armstrong's singing, which became a popular classic single "I can give you everything except love". Armstrong made full use of his talent and foresight, as well as the trust and support of his fans, and pushed a large number of works to a classic height. With the success of these works, Armstrong established himself as a master of jazz music, and in the following ten years, louis armstrong became a household name.
Armstrong visited Europe twice from 1932 to 1934. In the old world, he was also warmly welcomed. Although the Great Depression dealt a heavy blow to American jazz, in Europe on the other side of the ocean, people's enthusiasm for jazz is increasing day by day, and Armstrong has made outstanding contributions to jazz going global.
At the same time, the booming film industry attracted Armstrong's attention, and he began to show his acting talent on the screen. Because of his skin color, Armstrong could only play a small role in the film in the social environment at that time. However, this did not affect Armstrong's talent at all. He stands out with his own charm and makes every small role he plays come alive.
From then on, Armstrong began to introduce swing music style into the performance of big bands. Although it was only used as background music for his singing and trumpet solo, this change quickly became the trend of jazz. Later critics agreed that his highest performance was 1928 and Haynes' duet. From 1935 to 1944, the music he recorded for Demi Records was full of commercial flavor, and the novel tunes were extremely popular. Armstrong is like a magician, adding magic to every record and every single. In his early forties, he reached the peak of his career.
However, by the mid-1940s, people felt that louis armstrong was gradually breaking away from his own style. He seems to have lost the feeling of his heyday and his status as a band began to decline. His solo and clown-like humorous voice are not so harmonious compared with his younger and more popular accompaniment. Some people even say that Armstrong is old. Armstrong defended his position with his own strength. He and some experienced musicians participated in the performance of the Hollywood film New Orleans, which was a great success. People rediscovered Armstrong's humorous and lovely image in the film.
1947 performed with a small band in Armstrong City Concert Hall and was warmly welcomed by the audience. Armstrong followed the trend of the times, disbanded the big band and formed the famous "All-Star" band. The top six members of the band include trombone player Jack Teagarden and clarinet player Barney Bigard. Soon after, pianist Earl Haines joined the band, which quickly became popular. The band is bright and radiant, no less than the fashionable pop jazz band.
The "All-Star" band played Dixieland jazz and swing classics as well as comedy tracks, which received good stage effect. Armstrong began to make a tour schedule, and he was overwhelmed with performances. Unsurprisingly, after years of touring, critics are tired of Armstrong. They think Armstrong is old and has lost his old energy and style. It is impossible for him to create any new music theory and new music style like the younger generation. He is just repeating his past success, and the younger generation of jazz listeners are no longer interested in him.
If this is the one-sided view of racism of white critics, then the criticism of black civil rights organizations is somewhat unfair. They regard Armstrong as a figure like Uncle Tom (note: the protagonist of Uncle Tom's Cabin, published by American woman writer Mrs. Stowe in 1852, is a black representative who resigned). These are all objective facts. However, one certain fact cannot be ignored: Armstrong often stands up. The most famous one happened in the Southern Campus Movement in 1960s. Despite the threat of white racists, Armstrong bravely declared his support for the struggle of southern blacks in public. This kind of courage is by no means a timid "Uncle Tom". Beneath Armstrong's lively and carefree appearance lies strength and courage. He is different from radical black musicians. In his own music practice, he spread not opposition and hatred, but friendliness and reconciliation. In this respect, he has done more work than anyone else. He used his own music to make whites and blacks sit in the same stands. Maybe they won't extend a hand of reconciliation. Armstrong's music built a bridge between their hearts.
Armstrong completely broke the stereotype with his superb playing skills, and audiences all over the world loved his cheerful singing and inspiring trumpet playing. In the performance, what he thinks most is not how much he pays and how famous he is, but what he cares most about is the people who are worth spending money to see the performance. Armstrong's high professionalism is impeccable and can be called a model for every contemporary musician.
After his forties, Armstrong's music didn't make much progress, but so did Johnny hodges and Troni Monk at the same time. We have no reason to doubt Armstrong's talent.
In the 1950s, Earl Haines left the All-Star Band. Teagarden and Bigard were also replaced by Trumi Young and Edmund Hall respectively. Armstrong occasionally recorded in a big band or performed with ella Fitzgerald. He found that his popularity is still rising, and his fans have not decreased with the passage of time. On the contrary, with the growth of a new generation, his music has won more and more audiences. Popular songs such as "Vaccinium Mountain", "Mike Knife" and "Hello, Dolly" are representative works of this period.
197 1 Armstrong passed away on July 6th, and no jazz musician can be a household name like him. No one has won the love of people all over the world like him. His works have been reprinted several times in the past thirty years. This makes louis armstrong, the greatest name in jazz, remain in people's hearts forever.