Unit 1: Music -- Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong had two famous nicknames. Some people called him Satchmo, short for “Satchel Mouth.” They said his mouth looked like a satchel, or large bag. Musicians were more likely to call him Pops, as a sign of respect for his influence on the world of music.
2 Armstrongwas born on August 4,
1901, in Jane Alley, one of the toughest areas of Ne~ Orleans, Louisiana. He grew up poor, but surrounded by great musicians. Jazz was invented in New Orleans a fe\~ years before he was born. Armstrong often said, “Jazz and I grew up together.”
3 Armstrong v~ as arrested in his early teens for a minor offense. That arrest proved to be lucky He was sent to a boy’s home where Professor Peter Davis taught him to play the cornet. Armstrong had a great talent for music, and he went quickly from being the bass drummer in the school band to first bugler and cornetist.
4 On leaving the boys’ home in his late teens, Armstrong began to live the life of a musician. He played ~ ith bands in parades, clubs, and on the steamboats that traveled on the i\/lississippi River. At that time, the city was defined by the nen music of jazz and ~~as home to many great musicians. Armstrong learned from the older musicians and soon became respected as their equal. He nas the best student of the great cornetist and trumpeter Joe Oliver~ and played second cornet in his famous band, King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band.
5 In 1918, Joe Oliver moved to Chicago. At first, Armstrong remained in New Orleans, but in 1922 he went to Chicago to rejoin Oliver’s band. There, the tale of Louis Armstrong, the genius, begins. From then until the end of his life, Armstrong was celebrated, imitated, and loved v~herever he \~ent. Armstrong had no equal when it came to playing the American popular song.
6 His trumpet playing had a deep humanity and warmth that caused many listeners to say, “Listening to Pops just makes you feel good all over.” In addition to being a brilliant trumpetel; he was also the father of the jazz vocal st~ le. He toured constantly and during the last twenty ~ ears of his life, he ~ as one of the best-known and most-admired people in the world. His death, on July 6, 1971, was headline nev~ s around the world.


Adapted from Marsalis on Music.
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