Grandson of Louis Armstrong. Biography of Louis Armstrong and interesting facts from life. Was Louis Armstrong a Freemason?

Louis Armstrong is the most famous representative of the jazz musical direction. He is known for his songs, masterful trumpet playing and charm. Many people still prefer classical jazz in his performance.

He was born into a poor Creole family in New Orleans on August 4, 1901. The alcoholic father left the family, and the mother began to engage in prostitution, so all his brothers and sisters were given to their grandmother in the care. However, Louis decided to return to his mother, but since she did not deal with him, he was adopted by the Karnofsky family of Jews.

Since childhood, Louis was a laborer, and in 1913 he joined a street ensemble, where he was a soloist, and then a drummer. Later he ended up in a correctional camp, where he already received an official musical education. Already in the camp, he realized that music was his vocation. After the camp, he worked for a famous New Orleans cornet player, and later he moved to Chicago, where he worked for King Oliver in the Creole Jazz Band.

His future wife worked as a pianist in the same group. Together they left for New York, where they worked in the famous Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. Thanks to his work in this orchestra, Louis Armstrong perfected his playing on the cornet and became famous. Armstrong still works for two cities, New York and Chicago, but in the late 1920s he recorded his most famous album, which is now considered a classic. After the popularity of the album, he chooses life in New York and finally prefers playing the trumpet.

In the mid-30s, he became a favorite not only of the American space, but also of the countries of Europe and Africa. During this time, he manages to perform operations on the ligaments and respiratory apparatus, marry 3 and 4 times and get his famous nickname Sachmo. His popularity did not fade in the 40s and 50s. such active creative activity makes itself felt. In the late 1950s, Louis Armstrong was hospitalized with a heart attack. After his illness, Sachmo no longer performs on stage, but prefers studios and film pavilions. In the 60s, he collaborated with many famous singers, acted in films, and his songs "Hello, Dolly" and "What A Wonderful World". The last time he performed was in the early 70s. Attack after attack does not allow him to develop normally in creativity. July 6, 1971, the most famous jazzman dies of heart failure.

Louis Armstrong. Detailed biography

Jazz is one of the most famous musical genres. It's hard to imagine what it would be like without one of the most significant people in the field of music of the 20th century, which directly influenced its formation and development in popular culture.

Louis Armstrong was born and raised in the oppressive atmosphere of the Louisiana ghetto. Louis' father left the family when the child was still an infant, so he grew up with his mother, who worked as a laundress, the main income of which was prostitution. The atmosphere of his childhood and youth is truly terrifying: racial oppression, poverty surrounding everything, banditry and drug addiction. In fact, he lived at the very bottom of society.

Louis began to earn in early age. In order for the family to somehow make ends meet, he took up delivering newspapers and delivering expired food to restaurants. From the age of seven, Armstrong began working in the home of the Jewish Karnovsky family. They appreciated the industriousness and character of the boy and quickly became attached to him. Thanks to their care, he learned the language of Yiddish and wore a chain with a Star of David pendant as a sign of gratitude. They also paid for the purchase of Armstrong's first personal musical instrument, the cornet.

Louis was interested in music from an early age. He could easily be found near the dance halls and taverns of Storvill. At the age of eleven, the boy dropped out of school and joined a local street ensemble, in which he was able to train his ear.

When Louis was 13 years old, on New Year's Eve, he stole his stepfather's revolver and began shooting into the air in the street, for which he was detained by the police and sent to a reform school, where he mastered playing musical instruments such as alto horn and cornet.

Having freed himself, Louis decided to connect his life with music by all means and began performing in local bars and various institutions of the city. As a result, he was noticed by the famous musician King Oliver, who pulled up his sound and performance. Armstrong was soon able to join Kid Ori's musical ensemble. He also performed with the Tuxedo Brass Band, and in New Orleans played in Fats Marable's Jazz-E-Sazz Band, who taught Louis musical notation.

In March 1918, Louis Armstrong married Daisy Parker. However, their life together did not last long. His second wife was the pianist Lil Hardin, who insisted on developing the artist's solo career. The couple moved to New York. Here Louis was able to fully develop his unique style.

In the mid-twenties, the musician went to Chicago, where he recorded his best albums with the Hot Five studio line-up. Around the same time, the musician chose the trumpet as his main instrument, abandoning the cornet, and finally settled in New York.

In the thirties, Louis made a series of tours to Europe and North Africa, which brought him wide popularity abroad. At the end of the thirties, the musician undergoes a series of operations related to the treatment of injuries to the lips and vocal cords.

Armstrong's last wife was dancer Lucille Wilson. She was able to bring comfort and peace to the musician's personal life. They will remain together until the end of their days without ever quarreling.

Since 1947, Sachmo began to lead the All Stars ("All Stars") sextet, which soon became the most famous musicians in the field of jazz music. By the 1950s, Louis Armstrong was becoming an icon of jazz music. But his active creative activity could not but affect his health. Having suffered a severe form of a heart attack, the musician was no longer able to perform as before, but still continued to give concerts.

In the 1960s, Armstrong began to work more vocally, recording both new songs and gospel covers of his original works. In 1964, after a break due to a heart attack, Louis covered "Hello, Dolly!" singer Carol Channing. Louie's version was number one on the Hot 100 for 22 weeks. The latest hit was the composition "What a Wonderful World", which took first place in the UK chart.

Sergius's parents, Cyril and Maria, were pious people. They lived in Tver. There the future saint was born, approximately in 1314, during the reign of Prince Dmitry. Metropolitan of the Russian land was Peter.

Louis Armstrong biography briefly will tell you about the life of an American trumpeter, vocalist and creator of his own ensemble, the founder of jazz. A message about Louis Armstrong will help to compose.

Louis Armstrong biography and creativity

The life of Louis Armstrong began on August 4, 1901 in the poorest area of ​​New Orleans in the family of a mine worker.

The boy's childhood cannot be called happy; he grew up in an area inhabited only by Negro families. His father left the family and left the city, his mother was forced to become a woman of easy virtue in order to feed Louis and his older sister Beatrice. The grandmother of the children, having learned what their mother is doing, takes the children to her place.

At the age of 7, Louis' childhood ended. To help his grandmother, he decides to find a job. He received his first income by delivering the press. Then he got a job as a coal carrier.

Once, having got a job in a family of wealthy Jews, he liked the Karnovskys so much that they began to consider the hardworking guy their adopted son. For Louis's birthday, they gave him a cornet, his first musical instrument.

Being in seventh heaven, the guy gets a job in the drinking establishments of Storyville, playing instruments. In parallel with this, he begins to take part in ensembles.

For a misdemeanor in 1913, Louis Armstrong was sent to a boarding camp. Here the young man received a musical education and gained experience. For a couple of years, he masterfully learned to play the tambourine, alto horn, improving his playing on the cornet. Louis got a job in the ensemble. Performing marches and polkas, he earned his living.

Once, speaking at a club, King Oliver spotted him and offered Armstrong cooperation. It was short but fruitful.

In 1918, King advised Louis to another respectful person in the world of music, Kid Ory. He made the guy a member of the Tuxedo Brass Band.

Later, Louis met a connoisseur in the field of art and music - Marable. Thanks to this man, Armstrong received a decent musical education and is making attempts to independently compose music on the cornet.

In 1922, former music partner King Oliver invites Armstrong to join the Creole ensemble, the Creole Jazz Band. The cornetist with the ensemble travels around the country and acquires the first fans.

Some time later, he moved to New York and got a job in the orchestra of Fletcher Henderson, a master of jazz. Louis takes over knowledge from Fletcher and has formed as a musician with his own, unique and bright style of playing the cornet. It was for her that Louis Armstrong was loved by fans from all over the world.

Since 1925, the musician has been recording his famous compositions: "Go Down Moses", "Heebie Jeebies", "What a Wonderful World", "A Rhapsody in Black and Blue", "Hello Dolly". He begins recording with famous composers and performers.

Armstrong last appeared on stage on February 10, 1971. A heart attack chained him to bed. In March, Louis got back on his feet and performed concerts in New York with his All Stars ensemble. A recurring heart attack again chained him to a hospital bed. After 2 months on July 6, 1971, after the last rehearsal, the founder of jazz music dies of heart failure and kidney failure.

Louis Armstrong personal life

Armstrong was married four times, but had no children.

He first married very early to the prostitute Daisy Parker. But the environment of a gifted and talented musician kept telling him that tomorrow he would wake up famous. And such a person should not be with a woman who was engaged in depraved things. This forced Armstrong to divorce her in 1923.

In 1924 he met the pianist Lil Hardin. Some time later, he marries her. It was at the insistence of his wife that he took up a solo career. But in the late 1920s they divorced.

His third marriage was to Alpha Smith, lasting only four years.

In 1938, Louis Armstrong married for the fourth (and last) time to the dancer Lucille Wilson, with whom he lived until the end of his days.

Biography

Louis, as he was called in the Creole manner, was born in the poorest Negro area of ​​New Orleans. Ross in dysfunctional family(mother is a laundress, worked illegally as a prostitute, father is a day laborer). His father left the family early and the boy, along with his younger sister Beatrice, was given to be raised by his grandmother Josephine, who still remembered the days of slavery. After some time, Armstrong's mother, Mayann, took Louis and later raised him herself (although she never paid due attention to him). They lived in Storyville, an area known for its free spirits, as well as bars, clubs, ballrooms and brothels. Armstrong worked from childhood, delivered coal, sold newspapers and the like.

Armstrong began singing early in a small street vocal ensemble, played drums and trained his ear over the course of several years. He received his first musical education at the Waif's Home correctional boarding camp for colored teenagers in 1913, where he ended up for an accidental mischievous act - shooting a pistol on the street on New Year's Eve (the pistol was stolen by him from a policeman - one of his mother's clients ). There he immediately joined the camp brass band and learned to play the tambourine, alto horn, and then mastered the cornet. The orchestra performed the repertoire traditional for that time - marches, polkas and popular songs. By the time his term expired, Louis had already decided to become a musician. Once freed, he began to go to clubs and play borrowed instruments in local orchestras. He was taken under his patronage by King Oliver, who was then considered the best cornet player in the city and whom Louis Armstrong himself considered his real teacher. After Oliver left for Chicago in 1918, Armstrong was recruited into his ensemble by the highly respected trombonist Kid Ory. Louis sporadically begins to perform in Oscar "Papa" Celestine's Tuxedo Brass Band, which then played such musicians as Paul Dominguez, Zatti Singleton, Albert Nichols, Barney Bigard and Louis Russell. Participates in jazz parades through the streets hometown and plays in the Jazz-E-Sazz Band of Fats Marable, who danced on steamboats sailing the Mississippi during the summer season. Marable, a fairly professional band leader, taught the young man the first basics of musical notation and Armstrong becomes a qualified musician. Behind him, gradually, among the musicians, the nickname Sachmo is fixed - an abbreviation for the English Satchel Mouth (mouth-purse).

In 1922, Oliver needed a second cornetist and invited Armstrong to Chicago to play at Lincoln Gardens (a 700-seat restaurant) with his Creole Jazz Band. This band was at that time the brightest jazz line-up in Chicago and the work in this band gave Armstrong a lot for his future career. As part of Oliver's Creole Jazz Band in Chicago, Armstrong made his first recordings. In 1924, he marries a second time (his first wife was a prostitute, a pretty Creole Daisy Parker from New Orleans) to the pianist of the ensemble, Lil Hardin, and, at the insistence of his wife, begins an independent career. The Armstrongs leave for New York, where he joins the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. There, fame comes to Armstrong, jazz lovers come to listen to the band, often for the sake of his “hot” solos. By this time, Louis Armstrong's own style was finally formed - bright, improvisational and inventive.

During this period, Armstrong participated in the recordings of the Blue Five ensemble of pianist Clarence Williams and worked in various accompanying ensembles with many blues and jazz vocalists (Ma Rainey, Trixie Smith, Clara Smith, Bessie Smith, Alberta Hunter, Maggie Jones, Eva Taylor, Virginia Liston, Margaret Johnson, Sipi Wallace, Perry Bradford).

In 1925, after the expiration of the engagement of Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong returned to Chicago and worked there a lot and successfully. He plays with Erskine Tate in a theatrical show band, where his acting talent is clearly manifested. Makes historic recordings with his best studio line-up "Hot Five". Recordings made in these years with the participation of trombonist Kid Ory, clarinetist Johnny Dodds, banjo player Johnny St. Cyr and pianist Lil Hardin (later Fred Robinson, Jimm Strong, Earl Hines and Zattie Singleton participate in the recordings) become masterpieces of jazz classics. In 1926, Louis was the soloist of the Carroll Dickerson Orchestra, after whose departure Armstrong himself became a bandleader and for a short time led his own orchestra, Louis Armstrong And His Stompers, whose members were Boyd Atkins, Joe Dixon, Al Washington, Earl Hines, Rip Bassett, Pete Briggs, Tubby Hall. In 1927, Pete Briggs and Baby Dodds (Johnny's brother) join the Hot Five studio quintet and a new Hot Seven studio line-up is formed, with which a number of brilliant session recordings are made. At the same time, Armstrong abandoned the cornet and completely switched to the trumpet, which he liked for its brighter sound. He performs in duets with the outstanding pianist Earl Hines and begins to sing in the scat manner (for the first time this happens when recording the piece "Heebie Jeebies"), receiving great success at the listeners.

Louis Armstrong

In 1929, Louis Armstrong finally moved to New York. The era of big bands is coming and he is increasingly concentrating on dance, then popular sweet music. Armstrong brings to this musical style his bright individual style, characteristic of hot jazz, and quickly becomes a national star. Satchmo's talent reaches its peak.

In the 1930s, Louis Armstrong toured a lot, performed with the famous big bands of Louis Russell and Duke Ellington, then in California with the orchestra of Leon Elkins and Les Hite, participated in filming in Hollywood. In 1931 he visits New Orleans with a big band; back in New York, playing in Harlem and on Broadway. A number of tours made to Europe (in the pre-war period since 1933, he performed several times in England, toured Scandinavia, France, Holland) and North Africa brought Armstrong the widest fame both in his homeland (previously in the USA he was popular mainly among the Negro public) and abroad. In between tours, he performs with the orchestras of Charlie Gaines, Chick Webb, Kid Ory, with the Mills Brothers vocal quartet, in theater productions and radio programs, and acts in films.

In 1933, he again leads a jazz band. Since 1935, the entire business part of Armstrong's life has been taken under control by his new manager, Joe Glaser, a seasoned professional in his field. In 1936, his autobiographical book Swing That Music was published in New York. Then health problems come: he undergoes several operations related to the treatment of an injury to the upper lip (deformation and tissue rupture due to excessive pressure from the mouthpiece and the wrong ear pad), as well as an operation on the vocal cords (with its help, Armstrong tries to get rid of the hoarse timbre of his voice, whose value for his unique performing style he realizes only later).

In 1938, Louis Armstrong marries the fourth (and last) time to the dancer Lucille Wilson, with whom he will live peacefully and happily until the end of his days.

In 1947, Joe Glaser, his manager, assembled for Armstrong the All Stars ensemble, a brilliant jazz band that was focused on performing in the Dixieland style. Initially, it really was an all-star orchestra - then it included, in addition to Louis Armstrong (trumpet, vocals), Earl Hines (piano), Jack Teagarden (trombone), Barney Bigard (clarinet), Bud Freeman (tenor saxophone), Sid Catlett (drums ) and other famous masters of jazz. Subsequently, the musicians often changed, and thanks to their participation in the group, many jazzmen, little known until then, gained great fame.

The All-Stars played mainly Dixieland jazz, as well as jazz arrangements of popular songs, the latter still dominating the ensemble's repertoire. By the mid-1950s, Louis Armstrong was one of the most famous musicians and showmen in the world, moreover, he starred in more than 50 films. The US State Department gave him the unofficial title of "Ambassador of Jazz" and repeatedly sponsored his world tours. In 1954 he gave the first and only phenomenal concert in the Kremlin Hall of Moscow. In the mid-1950s, when the State Department under Eisenhower was ready to finance his trip to Russia, Louis refused:

• “People would ask me there what is happening in my country. What could I say to them? I have wonderful Life in music, but I feel like any other Negro ... "

Subsequently, in the 60s, various options for his tour in the USSR were repeatedly discussed, but all this remained in the projects.

In 1954 he wrote his second autobiographical book, Satchmo. My Life in New Orleans.

In the future, the artist's popularity continued to grow thanks to his tireless and versatile creative activity. Notable is his collaboration with Sydney Bechet, Bing Crosby, Cy Oliver, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson and other jazz stars, participation in jazz festivals (1948 - Nice, 1956-58 - Newport, 1959 - Italy, Monterey), touring in many countries of Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa. With his assistance, a number of philharmonic jazz concerts were organized at Town Hall and on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera. The recording of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, made by him and Ella Fitzgerald in the 1950s, became a classic.

In 1959, Armstrong suffered a heart attack and from that moment on, his health did not allow him to perform fully, but he never stopped performing in concert.

In the 1960s Armstrong works more frequently as a vocalist, recording both new versions of traditional gospel songs ("Go Down Moses") as well as new songs (e.g. the theme to the film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", "We Have All the Time in the World"). Together with Barbra Streisand, he took part in the musical Hello, Dolly!; released as a separate single, the song "Hello, Dolly!" in his performance reached number one on the US sales chart. Armstrong's last hit was the life-affirming song "What a Wonderful World" (#1 in the UK).

In the late 60s, the artist's health began to deteriorate sharply, but he continues to work. On February 10, 1971, he played and sang for the last time on a TV show with his old stage partner, Bing Crosby. In March, Satchmo and his All Stars played for two more weeks at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. But another heart attack again forced him to go to the hospital, where he stayed for two months. July 5, 1971 Armstrong asks to collect his orchestra for a rehearsal. On July 6, 1971, the greatest jazzman passes away. Heart failure led to kidney failure.

The death of Armstrong caused a real stream of the most sincere and deepest condolences. Many newspapers not only in the United States, but also in other countries (including the Soviet newspaper Izvestia) placed a message on the front page about his death. The funeral was very solemn and broadcast on television throughout the country. On July 8, the body was exhibited for a solemn farewell in the training arena of the National Guard, provided for this purpose by personal order of the President of the United States. President Nixon's statement said:

• “Mrs. Nixon and I share the grief of millions of Americans over the death of Louis Armstrong. He was one of the creators of American art. A man of strong personality, Armstrong won worldwide fame. His brilliant talent and nobility have enriched our spiritual life, made it richer"

Creation

Maestro of Jazz

Played by Louis Armstrong

Looking back at the work of Armstrong, one is amazed at what a huge impact it had on the music of the 20th century. It is almost impossible to turn on the radio or TV and hear music that does not have his influence. Louis Armstrong was one of the greatest musicians ever to play jazz and also one of the most controversial figures in it. Armstrong's trumpet sounded divine, especially when he was on a roll. That is probably why many musicians and listeners were literally blinded by his talent. Therefore, today, for the majority, jazz is primarily Louis Armstrong. Everything that people love jazz for is embodied in this name. And although Louis Armstrong is not all jazz, he is the soul of jazz music.

As the revolutionary trumpeter of his day, Armstrong laid the foundation for all the jazz revolutions to come. Without him, the fate of jazz music could have turned out differently. With the advent of Sachmo, the soft coloring of the sound and collective improvisations fade into the shadows. And Louis Armstrong bright sound pipes, with amazing vibration, with dizzying transitions, with rhythmic emancipation and inexhaustible imagination of his improvisations, expands the idea of ​​​​the possibilities of the pipe and the musician playing it. Thanks to Armstrong, jazz took a solo path of development.

Armstrong the trumpeter, first of all, struck with his amazing technique. Describing his solo "Chicago" style (derived from New Orleans), the American jazz critic and scholar James Lincoln Collier wrote:

• “His tone was rich and clear, his attack was clean. He had an excellent command of the upper register, he could perform the most difficult passages at a fast pace. The modern technique of playing brass instruments was developed in the 1930s and 1940s by American musicians who performed in dance bands. It must be admitted, however, that all of them, in this case, to a large extent repelled from what Armstrong had done before them.

Famous swing drummer Gene Krupa was not exaggerating when he said:

• “Whatever the style of a jazz musician, he will not play 32 bars without paying musical tribute to Louis Armstrong. Louis did everything, and did it first.

And famous producer George Avakian wrote:

• “He was the most gifted and skillful of all jazz improvisers. Although there was no such term then, it was he who “swinged” more than anyone else - quite often the dull performance of any number lit up with a spark of life when Louis began his solo, even if this solo lasted only eight measures. As an innovator, he introduced many new techniques to jazz and introduced a number of fresh ideas that then became clichés for other musicians, but from them again appeared new shoots of good music, which, thanks to Louis, became familiar to every person in jazz.

In addition, Louis Armstrong was a unique and inimitable jazz singer. His rather low, hoarse, warm voice was instantly recognizable. His singing was reminiscent of his playing the trumpet. Here he just as brilliantly improvised, placed accents in his own way, changed phrasing, made his voice vibrate. Louis Armstrong developed a school of jazz vocals based on the interpretations of folk blues singers who used their voice as an instrument. Louis showed that the emotional meaning of a lyrical text can be expressed through vocal deviations and purely instrumental improvisations as effectively as through the words themselves. Armstrong sang a wide variety of things - and hits, and blues, and spirituals, and they always sounded like jazz with him, they were a great success with the public. Until now, the influence of the great Satchmo is felt in the performances of almost every jazz vocalist.

Armstrong's work is a standard of jazz evolution, breadth and accessibility. The scope of his interests is confirmed by collaboration and joint performances with musicians of various styles - Dixieland, swing and modern jazz, with symphonic ensembles, spiritual and gospel performers, church choirs, blues singers, as well as participation in philharmonic jazz concerts, musicals, shows, musical films . Armstrong has developed a style that is easily adaptable to any musical context and to any audience. He could simultaneously satisfy the tastes of diametrically opposed categories of listeners (including fans of pop music and hits).

Armstrong is perhaps the most unique personality in the history of jazz. In his work, the maestro managed to combine the incompatible: a uniquely individual type of self-expression with the boundless general accessibility of music, coarse simplicity and spontaneity, traditionalism with innovation, the Negro ideal of sound production with Europeanized idioms of swing and mainstream.

Armstrong remained the undisputed king of jazz until his death, and his talent did not weaken for a single minute, the power of his influence on the audience did not dry out. His warmth and humor invariably made him dear and close to everyone he met. All the leading masters of jazz condoled on his death - Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, Al Hirt, Earl Hines, Terry Glenn, Eddie Condon and many others.

• "If anyone should be called Mr. Jazz, it's Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington said. - It was and will forever remain the epitomy of jazz.”

Speaking on behalf of musicians and on behalf of millions of admirers of his talent, Dizzy Gillespie emphasized:

• "Louis did not die because his music remains and will remain in the hearts of many, many millions of people around the world and in the playing of hundreds of thousands of musicians who have become his followers."

Selected discography

Selected editions of Louis Armstrong on CD

• 1923 - The Young Louis Armstrong
• 1924 - Louis Armstrong And The Blues Singers
• - Hot Fives & Sevens Vol.1
• - Hot Fives & Sevens, vol.2
• 1927 - Hot Fives & Sevens, vol.3
• 1928 - Louis Armstrong And His Orchestra
• - Hot Fives & Sevens, vol.4
• 1930 - Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra
• 1931 - Stardust
• 1932 - The Fabulous Louis Armstrong
• 1933 - More Greatest Hits
• 1934 - Paris Session
• - Rhythm saved The World
• 1936 - Jazz Heritage: Satchmo's Discoveries
• 1937 - New Discoveries
• 1938 - On The Sunny Side Of The Street
• 1939 - Louis Armstrong In The Thirties, vol.1
• 1940 - New Orleans Jazz
• - Satchmo Singles
• - Satchmo At Symphony Hall (live)
• - Satchmo At Symphony Hall, vol.2 (live)
• - New Orleans Days
• - Jazz Concert (live)
• - New Orleans Nights
• - Satchmo On Stage (live)
• - New Orleans To New York
• - Satchmo At Pasadena (live)
• - Louis Armstrong Plays W.C.Handy
• - Latter Day Louis
• - Louis Armstrong Sings The Blues
• - Satch Plays Fats: The Music Of Fats Waller
• - Satchmo The Great (live)
• - Ambassador Satch
• - Great Chicago Concert 1956 (live)
• - American Jazz Festival At Newport (live)
• - Ella and Louis
• - At Pasadena Civic Auditorium, vol.1 (live)
• -Louis Under The Stars
• - Porgy and Bess
• Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson
• -Louis and the Angels
• - Satchmo In Style
• Louis & the Dukes Of Dixieland
• Happy Birthday Louis! (live)
• -Paris Blues
• - Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington
• - Armstrong/Ellington: Together For The First
• - Together For The First Time
• - I Will Wait For You
• -Disney Songs The Satchmo Way
• - The Very Best Of Louis Armstrong (2CD)
• - Louis And The Good Book
• -Grand Collection
• -Louis Live
• - The Katanga Concert (live)
• - In Concert (live)
• - Best Live Concert, vol.1
• -La Vie En Rose
• - What A Wonderful World

Featured DVDs

• Louis Armstrong "Hello Dolly"
• Louis Armstrong "Jazz Festival"
• Louis Armstrong "A Rhapsody in Black and Blue"
• Louis Armstrong "Newport Jazz Festival part 1"
• Louis Armstrong "Newport Jazz Festival part 2"
• Louis Armstrong "In Stuttgart"
• Louis Armstrong
• Louis Armstrong

Bibliography

• Collier J. L. Louis Armstrong. American genius. - M.: Presswerk Publishing House, 2001. ISBN 5-94584-027-0
• Feiertag V. B. Jazz. XX century. Encyclopedic reference book. - St. Petersburg: "SCYTHIA", 2001, p.22-24. ISBN 5-94063-018-9
• Shapiro N. Listen to what I'll tell you ... The history of jazz, told by the people who created it. - Novosibirsk: Sib.univ.izd-vo, 2006. ISBN 5-94087-307-3
• Bohlander K., Holler K.-H. Jazzfuhrer.- Leipzig, 1980.

Louis Armstrong (1901 - 1971)

American jazz trumpeter, vocalist, great 20th-century musician who popularized jazz

Did you know that the surname Armstrong is translated from English as "Strong hand?"

Louis Armstrong was born in the poorest Negro area of ​​New Orleans.

His family was dysfunctional - his mother worked as a laundress, his father was a simple worker, he left his family early and Louis, along with his younger sister, were given to be raised by their grandmother Josephine, who still remembered the days of slavery.After some time, the mother took Louis and began to raise him herself.

They lived in an area known for its free spirits, as well as bars, clubs, dance halls.The family barely made ends meet, so from childhood, Louis had to work, he delivered coal, sold newspapers and the like.

Louis showed early musical talent. At a fairly young age, he began to sing in a small street vocal ensemble, played drums and trained his ear over a few years.

Once a teenager Louis, without malicious intent, just out of mischief, stole a gun from a policeman to shoot in the street on New Year's Eve. For this he wassent to a boarding camp for colored teenagers. There he received his first musical education. He was immediately taken to the camp brass band, where he learned to play the tambourine, alto horn, and then mastered the cornet.The orchestra performed the traditional repertoire of that time - marches, polkas and popular songs.

By the time his term expired, Louis had already made up his mind to become a musician. Once freed, he began to go to clubs and play borrowed instruments in local orchestras.He was taken under his patronage by King Oliver, who was then considered the best cornet player in the city and whom Louis Armstrong himself considered his real teacher all his life.

After Oliver left for Chicago, Armstrong found himself in an ensemble led by the highly respected trombonist of the time, Kid Ory.In addition, Armstrong participated in jazz parades through the streets of his native city and played in various other jazz bands,who danced on steamboats sailing the Mississippi during the summer season. One fairly professional band leadertaught the young man the first basics of musical notation, thus, Armstrong became a qualified musician.

After some time, Oliver took Armstorg as a second cornetist to his place in Chicago. Oliver's Creole Jazz Band was at the time the most vibrant jazz band in Chicago,work in it gave Armstrong a lot for his future career. Armstrong made his first recordings with this orchestra.

Soon Armstrong began an independent career in New York,where he joined the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra.There he became famous, jazz lovers came to listen to the band, often for the sake of his "hot" solos.By this time, Louis Armstrong's own style was finally formed - bright, improvisational and inventive.

During this period, Armstrong participated in recordings and worked in various backing ensembles with many blues and jazz vocalists.

Back in Chicago, Armstrong worked hard and successfully. Around the same time, his acting talent manifested itself. He even played in a theater show band.Recordings made during these years with the participation of famous musicians, have become masterpieces of jazz classics.

Armstrong gradually abandoned the cornet and completely switched to the trumpet, which he liked for its brighter sound.He began to perform in duets with outstanding musicians and sing in the scat style, having a huge success with the audience.

Louis Armstrong was a unique and inimitable jazz singer. His rather low, hoarse, warm voice was instantly recognizable. His singing was reminiscent of his playing the trumpet. Here he just as brilliantly improvised, placed accents in his own way, made his voice vibrate. Armstrong developed a school of jazz vocals based on the interpretations of folk blues singers who used their voice as an instrument. Louis showed that the emotional meaning of a text can be expressed not only with words, but also with the help of voice and instruments. Armstrong sang a wide variety of things: hits, and blues, and other songs, and they always sounded like jazz to him.

At some point, Armstrong finally left Chicago and moved to New York. He began to pay more and more attention to dance music.He brought to this musical style his bright individual style, characteristic of jazz, and quickly became a national star.

Louis Armstrong toured a lot, performed with famous big bands (for example, Duke Ellington), and participated in filming in Hollywood.Tours brought him the widest fame both in his homeland (before in the USA he was popular mainly among the Negropublic) and abroad. Between tours, he continued to perform on Broadway, participate in theatrical productions and radio programs, to act in films.

Armstrong began leading his own jazz band. Wrote two autobiographical books different periods own life.Around the same period, he began to have the first health problems, he underwent several operations related to the treatment of an injury to his upper lip.(deformation and rupture of tissues due to the constant playing of musical instruments), as well as surgery on the vocal cords(with her help, for some reason, Armstrong tried to get rid of the hoarse timbre of his voice, the value of which for his uniquehe realized the performing manner only later).

Louis Armstrong was one of the world's most famous musicians and showmen,In addition, he starred in more than 50 films. The US State Department gave him the unofficial title of "Ambassador of Jazz" and repeatedly sponsored his world tours.

When the State Department was ready to fund his trip to Russia, Louis refused: “People would ask me there what is happening in my country. What could I say to them? I have a great life in music, but I feel like any other Negro ... "

Armstrong actively participated in jazz festivals (1948 - Nice, 1956-58 - Newport, 1959 - Italy, Monterey), toured all over the world.The classic was made by him andElla Fitzgerald in a 1950s recording of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.

At the age of 60, Armstrong suffered a heart attack, and from that moment on, his health no longer allowed him to perform to the fullest, but he never stoppedconcert performances.

Armstrong now worked more as a vocalist, recording both new versions of traditional songs ("Go Down Moses"),as well as new songs (for example, the theme for the film “On secret service Her Majesty", "We Have All the Time in the World").Together with Barbra Streisand, he took part in the musical Hello, Dolly!; released as a separate single, the song "Hello, Dolly!"in his performance reached the first place in the American charts of sales. Armstrong's latest hit was the life-affirming song "What a Wonderful World"(first place in the UK).

The artist's health began to deteriorate sharply, but he continued to work. On February 10, 1971, he played and sang for the last time on a TV show.In March, he still performed in New York with his orchestra. Another heart attack again forced him to go to the hospital for 2 months.And in July, the greatest jazzman passed away.

The death of Armstrong caused a real stream of the most sincere and deepest condolences. Many newspapers not only in the USA,but in other countries (including the Soviet newspaper Izvestia) they placed on the front page a message about his death.The funeral was very solemn and broadcast on television throughout the country. The body was put on display for the solemnfarewell in the training arena of the National Guard, provided for these purposes by personal order of the President of the United States.

In a statement made by President Nixon, said: “Mrs. Nixon and I share the grief of millions of Americans over the death of Louis Armstrong. He was one of the creators of American art.A man of strong personality, Armstrong won worldwide fame. His brilliant talent and nobility have enriched our spiritual life,made it richer."

The grandson of the legendary American vocalist and trumpeter Louis Armstrong, Charlie was born in September 1968 in the Caribbean. His father is from Barbados and his mother is from Suriname.

Charlie Armstrong near the portrait of Louis Armstrong | guide

That's what Charlie says. True, the biographers of the legendary Mr. Jazz unanimously claim that Louis had no children with any of the four wives. Most likely, he was infertile. Perhaps the singer, who calls himself the grandson of Armstrong himself, is actually the grandson of one of the sisters of the legendary jazzman - Beatrice or Vanessa.

creative career

According to Charlie Armstrong, it is known that he began to sing at the age of 5. His first performance happened in the church choir and was quite successful. The boy did not have the opportunity to study music professionally, so he succeeded in self-education. Charlie was invited to sing in churches in South America and Holland, where he sang gospel songs.

The young singer gave his debut concert at the age of 12. Exactly then creative biography Charlie Armstrong has entered a new phase. His career is on the rise.

Musicians became interested in the performing style of Charlie Armstrong different countries. Soon the young jazzman was involved as a freestyle MC in clubs in America and Europe. He is willingly invited to parties of elite clubs of a closed type. Charlie sings in the styles of blues, jazz and funk. His deep voice is mesmerizing, and when accompanied by a saxophone, it turns into real magic.

The army of Charlie Armstrong fans is growing. His singles "You Drive Me Crazy", "Respect My Authority" and "Feel The Summer" are popular in the clubs of Saint-Tropez, Cannes and Monaco.

TV show "Voice-5"

In Russia, Charlie Armstrong appeared not so long ago, but has already managed to increase his popularity. Hearing about the popular TV show "Voice", which is broadcast on the central channels of the country and gathers an audience of millions, Charlie decided to take part in it. He was completely confident in his abilities and determined. Armstrong said with a smile that if the judges did not turn to him themselves, he would help them to do so.

To the court of mentors and viewers, the performer presented the song "My First My Last My Everything". The judges looked at each other and made assumptions about who they would see now. Didn't Barry White himself come to them. She was the first and only one to turn to Charlie. Thus, the alleged grandson of Armstrong got to her team.

Together with the rest of the judges, Charlie sang one of Mr. Jazz's "business cards" "Let My People Go".

Personal life

For a long time, the black performer lived in Holland, Germany and Switzerland. But when he came to Russia, he realized that he was very comfortable in this country. Jazzman admits that he does not tolerate heat well and loves snow and frost.

The personal life of Charlie Armstrong is shrouded in a dense veil of mystery. It is not known if he was married or if he has any children. But now the heart of the singer and musician is free, and he claims that he is not averse to marrying a Russian woman.