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Louis Armstrong - Impact on Jazz in 1920's
Louis Armstrong was influencial, particularly in the 1920' for various reasons.
He was a virtuoso with a unique phrasing and sound - he rose to the top with a (Gioia, 51). Even as a pre-teen, when he was learning from other street musicians, he had immense respect among fellow musicians for his "wonderful ear and a wonderful memory" (Hentoff and Shapiro, 49).
He brought tremendous feeling to his playing, emotions and their association with music were important to Armstrong. For example, Armstrong says of fellow musician Bunk Johnson that Johnson really "sends me" and that Johnson's playing of funereal marches "made me cry" (Hentoff and Shapiro, p. 39).
In the very beginning of the 20th Century, the jazz sound of New Orleans was characterized by playing fast and syncopated as with marching bands, yet tight in ensemble and with counterpoint between instruments, rather than solos being the hallmark of the sound. The bands of these early years were "resolutely ensemble" and "not...improvisatory". An early recorded example of the sound was of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1917 (Collier, 30-31).
It was in this environment during the 1910's that a young Louis Armstrong was already emerging as a technical master of the trumpet, the "master" jazz instrument - probably because of the many sounds and vocal qualities it can portray. During these early days, Mutt Carey disusses Armstrong along with his idol Joe "King" Oliver - considered a great "freak trumpet player" with his use of glasses, cups, and mutes to modify and enhance the trumpet's sound. In contrast, Armstrong "played everything through the horn" (Hentoff and Shapiro, p 46). The "celebration of color and texture" (Gioia, p 50) that Oliver pioneered would have a strong influence on Armstrong.
as many of the great New Orleans musicians went north in the "Great Migration" of blacks looking for better opportunities than life in the southeast offered (Gioia, 45). Armstrong was part of this - joining Oliver's band in 1922 in Chicago. This was the beginning of the spreading of the New Orleans jazz influence to other parts of the country. In the early 20's and at the height of the New Orleans "Dixieland" style in places like Chicago, Armstong was Oliver's 2nd trumpet player, Even in early recordings with Oliver's band, however, Armstrong stands out as a powerful player with a loudness and "musicanship...far beyond that of his colleagues". Over time, Armstrong emerged as the "first great soloist" due a great deal to his virtuosity and ability to bring feeling and a very vocal sound into his horn. These along with his unique phrasing made his playing interesting enough to support solo instrumentation (Gioia, ??). Armstong's
impact on other musicians was seen through his "more complex and sophisticated conception of the jazz solo" (Gioia, 35, 51).
In this way, New Orleans ex-patriate musicians Armstrong helped to evolve jazz from "dixieland" ensemble style to the emergant soloist style seen in jazz even today. In the mid- 1920's as Armstrong broke out and moved from Chicago to New York, the "old style" of Jazz was beginning to fade and a "new manner" was emerging with rising musicians such as Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson (with whose band Armstrong played in New York) and Bix Beiderbecke (Collier, 103-4).
Louis Armstrong was influencial, particularly in the 1920' for various reasons.
He was a virtuoso with a unique phrasing and sound - he rose to the top with a (Gioia, 51). Even as a pre-teen, when he was learning from other street musicians, he had immense respect among fellow musicians for his "wonderful ear and a wonderful memory" (Hentoff and Shapiro, 49).
He brought tremendous feeling to his playing, emotions and their association with music were important to Armstrong. For example, Armstrong says of fellow musician Bunk Johnson that Johnson really "sends me" and that Johnson's playing of funereal marches "made me cry" (Hentoff and Shapiro, p. 39).
In the very beginning of the 20th Century, the jazz sound of New Orleans was characterized by playing fast and syncopated as with marching bands, yet tight in ensemble and with counterpoint between instruments, rather than solos being the hallmark of the sound. The bands of these early years were "resolutely ensemble" and "not...improvisatory". An early recorded example of the sound was of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1917 (Collier, 30-31).
It was in this environment during the 1910's that a young Louis Armstrong was already emerging as a technical master of the trumpet, the "master" jazz instrument - probably because of the many sounds and vocal qualities it can portray. During these early days, Mutt Carey disusses Armstrong along with his idol Joe "King" Oliver - considered a great "freak trumpet player" with his use of glasses, cups, and mutes to modify and enhance the trumpet's sound. In contrast, Armstrong "played everything through the horn" (Hentoff and Shapiro, p 46). The "celebration of color and texture" (Gioia, p 50) that Oliver pioneered would have a strong influence on Armstrong.
as many of the great New Orleans musicians went north in the "Great Migration" of blacks looking for better opportunities than life in the southeast offered (Gioia, 45). Armstrong was part of this - joining Oliver's band in 1922 in Chicago. This was the beginning of the spreading of the New Orleans jazz influence to other parts of the country. In the early 20's and at the height of the New Orleans "Dixieland" style in places like Chicago, Armstong was Oliver's 2nd trumpet player, Even in early recordings with Oliver's band, however, Armstrong stands out as a powerful player with a loudness and "musicanship...far beyond that of his colleagues". Over time, Armstrong emerged as the "first great soloist" due a great deal to his virtuosity and ability to bring feeling and a very vocal sound into his horn. These along with his unique phrasing made his playing interesting enough to support solo instrumentation (Gioia, ??). Armstong's
impact on other musicians was seen through his "more complex and sophisticated conception of the jazz solo" (Gioia, 35, 51).
In this way, New Orleans ex-patriate musicians Armstrong helped to evolve jazz from "dixieland" ensemble style to the emergant soloist style seen in jazz even today. In the mid- 1920's as Armstrong broke out and moved from Chicago to New York, the "old style" of Jazz was beginning to fade and a "new manner" was emerging with rising musicians such as Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson (with whose band Armstrong played in New York) and Bix Beiderbecke (Collier, 103-4).
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