Louis Armstrong
1901 – 1971 American trumpeter, singer, bandleader
New Orleans trumpeter and singer who helped turn jazz into a soloist's art and became one of its defining voices.
Louis Armstrong grew up poor in New Orleans and rose to become the most influential musician of early jazz. His trumpet playing and gravel-voiced singing, on records such as the Hot Fives and Hot Sevens, shifted jazz from group playing toward the individual soloist and set a template for improvisation. He became a global star and, later, a controversial figure for how he was seen to present himself during the civil rights era, though he spoke out sharply against segregation at key moments.
Connections
- associate of W.C. Handy — Recorded a celebrated version of Handy's St. Louis Blues.
In the timeline
- 1910 Jazz is born in New Orleans product of the New Orleans scene
- 1925 Louis Armstrong and the Jazz Age the defining soloist