If there was one personality to play music as a joyful and universal language in the last century it was Louis Armstrong. He once wrote that "what we play is jazz." He indeed helped make a wonderful world during his near six decades in jazz and popular music. He was a phenomenal jazz trumpeter, performer, writer, stage personality and all around good will ambassador who was born on this day in New Orleans in 1901. He was nicknamed, "Satchmo," short for "satchelmouth," as a child because of his prominent mouth. The moniker stayed with him as he blazed a trail of unforgettable music throughout his life. Although he passed away in 1971 his imprint remains large in popular music and jazz in particular.
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| Louis Armstrong Adi Holzer, 2002 |
Here is a short video by storyteller, Mick Carlon, relating Armstrong's impact on the 20th century in a TEDx program for students.
Readers can learn more about Armstrong life and impact at the Louis Armstrong House Museum site.
And here are two pieces of the master at his trade performing Now You Has Jazz at the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival, and his signature song, What A Wonderful World:
In 1956 Armstrong joined with Ella Fitzgerald and the Oscar Peterson Quartet to make an album that to this day consistently appears in lists of the top ten jazz albums of all time. Here is a sample from this masterpiece:
After just a few minutes of this talent on display, I'm sure readers will agree that Armstrong indeed helped make a wonderful world for his audience. May his smile, his sound, and his goodness stay with us for a long, long time.
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