Custom essays on Louis Armstrong

I would like to talk in this paper about prominent personality of our music world; I would like to talk about Louis Armstrong. His music is a kind of wild energy that creates emotions, feelings and thoughts not only in our minds, but also in our souls. This person is a mystery with a great talent and my favourite character with a soft voice and breathtaking sound of trumpet. I think that Louis Armstrong will forever remain the most influential and important musician in jazz. The main aim of this essay is to write a subjective paper over his recordings during the different jazz periods in his life. Also it is necessary to make a comparative analysis over several periods of an artist’s life.
First of all it is necessary to mention that countless artists imitated delightful and unique voice of Louis Armstrong over the years and they continue to do so even now. Excellent sense of humour and radiantly smiling face of Louis Armstrong is probably the brand of jazz and of culture of XX century today. I would like to mention that sociology – is intriguing and at the same tine fun science. I caught the eye of the results of sociological research (interviews were conducted in the United States), on which as the greatest musician of all times was recognized Louis Armstrong, or Satchmo – this is his nickname. Moreover, the great Bach in this research was found in fourth place and it shows us that Louis Armstrong is really the great jazz musician. From those times, jazz came to be called democratic cultural phenomenon exactly due to Armstrong. In born to the ordinary people music even intellectuals began to find something personal. Almost in every house was played, has suffered and sang magic Satchmo’s trumpet.
Surprisingly, despite an outstanding position, which takes Louis Armstrong among the musicians of the twentieth century, it is practically impossible to modern listeners to collect his full discography. There were many jazz periods in Satchmo’s life and each period was different from another. For example analysing his life and music we should say that one of the first famous jazz periods begin in 1922 when Louis Armstrong left New Orleans and join his mentor and idol Joe “King” Oliver in other city, I mean in Chicago. This period is characterised as the period of new horizons and brilliant perspectives, because exactly in this time Oliver gave a lot of knowledge to young Armstrong, he taught him many purely technical nuances of the game, sometimes he even played with him in a duet. The first Satchmo’s personal instrument appeared, thanks to “King”, because “King” gave him his old cornet. In some ways, Oliver has replaced Luis father: “I was like a son to him. So I called him Father Joe”. Creole Jazz Band was the first stage where Armstrong began his self-realization and I want to say that it was successful period of new jazz musician formation.
Thinking about further Armstrong’s recordings, we see that “Hot Five” and “Hot Seven” recordings presented to the world at large boundary-bursting concepts of harmony, rhythm, melody and jazz emotions. For example, comparing “Hot Five” and “Hot Seven”, and previous period in Creole Jazz Band we see that in contrast to time in Creole Jazz Band the new style of Louis Armstrong was already enough formed and people were listen to his music with open hearts and wish to be impressed.
Moreover, this is also a significant fact. The time of soft colors of sound go away and the time of collective improvisation in Armstrong’s life do the same, I think it will be better to say not go, but still remains with the adherents of New Orleans jazz. A Louis Armstrong by vivid and demanding sound of a trumpet calling ahead, amazing vibration, dizzy transitions, rhythmic emancipation, and inexhaustible imagination of his improvisations extends an idea of possible instruments and musicians playing on it. Jazz of Armstrong asked for these individuals an even greater extent than before – asked for musicians, creators and musicians-virtuosos. And they will appear from year to year. However, the sparks of future fires scattered He, the great Satchmo. It is necessary to mention that did not exaggerate the famous swing drummer Gene Krupa, saying: “Whatever the style of a jazz musician, he does not play even 32 cycles, not giving a musical tribute to Louis Armstrong. All were made by Louis, and he made this the first”.
Orchestra’s period was full of its own romantic and creativity and like many other periods in Armstrong’s recordings it was full of its own details. For example, it was time of wild rhythm of life full of new recordings and new brilliant compositions. Analyzing this period we should mention that probably the main thing that helped Armstrong to withstand such a frantic pace, it was almost religious attitude to his work. From Armstrong’s early days and until the end of his life he did not just express himself on stage; he went out to give people joy. It was his job. And in the name of this work, he never allowed himself excesses with alcohol and even smoking, carefully monitored own health, especially the state of the lips – in short, behaved himself like a true professional.
We know that in Satchmo’s work 1947 was a landmark year, because exactly in this year in a Hollywood club took place the premiere of a new Armstrong’s orchestra – “All Stars”. It was the name under which all his post-war groups worked, although their composition has changed too often. Among the “stars” played musicians of different generations and all of them were part of Armstrong’s talented collective.
Taking into account all above stated it is necessary to say for the conclusion that if the word “genius” and means something in jazz, then it means Armstrong, his work is above all analysis and descriptions. It was discussed first periods of artist formation, because exactly these periods I was interested in and I think that they were good base for such talented person like Louis Armstrong. Ordinary artist only reveals the existing links at the time when a great artist creates new, surprising combinations, showing us the possibility of harmonious connection of seemingly disparate elements. In the life and in the character of an ordinary artist it is always easy to find, whence he derived his ideas, meeting with a genius, we are often unable to understand how he came to such a startling discovery. The feeling of melody that had Louis Armstrong was exceptional, and hardly anyone can explain how this gift and talent was born in this person and what the main feature of this magical effect was. Analyzing Armstrong’s recordings I understood that each period of his life was full of new details and exactly to order of these changeable steps and periods, the world know the name of jazz king and the jazz legend, who had natural talent and a great wish to be in jazz.

 
References:
Armstrong, L. (1954). Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans. Prentice Hall.
Armstrong, L. and Brothers, T. (1999). Louis Armstrong, in His Own Words: Selected Writings. Oxford University Press.
Crosby, R. (2005, April). “Louis Armstrong & Paul Whiteman: Two Kings of Jazz”. American Music Teacher, Vol. 54.
Davenport, L. (1998, April). “Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life”. Negro History Bulletin, Vol. 61.
Nussbaum, R. (2007). “Louis Armstrong’s New Orleans”. The Journal of African American History, Vol. 92.