Topic: Louis Armstrong
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Louis Armstrong, also known as Satchmo or Pops, brought Jazz
out of New Orleans and spread it around the world. He invented scat singing,
which is using his voice as an instrument (vocalizing
using sounds and syllables instead of lyrics). He was said to have used
his instrument like a voice and his voice like an instrument. Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting
the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance. With
his recognizable deep and distinctive rough voice, Armstrong was also an
influential singer, demonstrating great skill as an improviser, bending the
lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes. He was the top
performer at a time when there wasn't internet or TV.
Coming to reputation in the 1920s as an "inventive" cornet and trumpet player, his
work shows him playing at the outer limits of his abilities. Armstrong was a
colourful character. He had a habit of telling tales, in his own biography he
told tales about his early childhood, and his additions of his history often
lack consistency. By the mid-1930s, Armstrong achieved a smooth assurance,
knowing exactly what he could do and carrying out his ideas to perfection. He was the first soloist and
the first African American to host a nationally broadcasted radio show in the
1930s.
In his early years, Armstrong was best known for his talent with
the cornet and trumpet. The inventions he made on his records of New Orleans
jazz standards and popular songs of the day are incomparable by later jazz
performers. The older generation of New Orleans jazz musicians often referred
to their inventions as "variating the melody." Armstrong's
improvisations were daring and sophisticated for the time, while often subtle
and melodic. In 1969, Armstrong also had a role
in the film version of “Hello,
Dolly!” As the
bandleader, Louis sang the title song with actress Barbra Streisand. His solo recording
of "Hello, Dolly!"
is one of his most recognizable performances. This number one single knocked
the Beatles off the top of the charts. In 1968 he recorded another hit called
“What a Wonderful World.”
He often re-composed
pop-tunes he played, making them more interesting. Armstrong's playing is
filled with happy, inspired original melodies. The genius of these passages is
matched by Armstrong's playing technique, enhanced by constant practice, which
extended the range, tone and capabilities of the trumpet. In these records,
Armstrong almost created the role of the jazz soloist by himself, taking what
was basically a collective folk music and turning it into an art form with
marvellous possibilities for individual expression and emotion. He was one of
the first artists to use recordings of his performances to improve his own skills.
Armstrong was a keen audiophile. He enjoyed listening to his own recordings,
and comparing his performances musically. At his home, he had the latest audio
equipment and would sometimes rehearse and record along with his older
recordings or the radio.
Armstrong had a leading personality of the day, who was so beloved
by America, that he was able to live privately, a life of access and privilege
according to few other African Americans. He tried to remain politically
neutral, which gave him a large part of that access, but often alienated him
from members of the black community who looked to him to use his status with
white America to become more of an outspoken figure during the Civil Rights Era.
In 1972, Louis Armstrong was awarded the Grammy Lifetime
Achievement Award by the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. The vote of
the Recording Academy’s National Trustees presents the Special Merit Award, to
creative performers who contributed by outstanding artistic significance to the
field of recording.
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