Jazz. The word alone sounds cutting edge and different. It was a form of music that was born in the Southern United States in African American communities during the early 20th century. This style of music was a comination of African and European style compositions. It featured new and innovative techniques such as swing, blue notes, improvisation, and syncopation. The word “jazz” was a slang term used to describe music in Chicago in 1915. New Orleans Dixie style jazz started around 1910 and has since transformed and influenced music to modern day. One influential example would be acid jazz (developed in the 1980′s with contributing influences of funk and hip hop). Jazz is hard to define as one style due to all of it’s influences on music but some sub-genres of jazz include: ragtime, big band, and bebop.
Louis Armstrong’s Dinah, Copenhagen 1933
One of the greatest jazz musicians of all time was Louis Armstrong. He was nicknamed “Sachmo” a shortened version of “Satchelmouth”, due to his wide grin. He was born in a poor New Orleans neighborhood. His mother was a prostitute and his father left soon after his birth. He was taught by Peter Davis to sing, play percussion, and the trumpet. When he was 13, he was arrested for discharging a gun on New Years Eve and incarcerated. This dealing helped will him away from the poor life and make a name for himself. People say scat singing arouse from artists like Louis Armstrong. There is no doubt he sang like a trumpet and made his trumpet sound like a voice. This video of “Dinah” showcases both his unique singing style and his outstanding trumpet playing.
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November 1, 2009 at 9:43 pm
I too love Loius Armstrong. My dad had all of his albums (that dates me) and Armstrongs jazz was the backdrop to much of my childhood. I love your phrase “he sang like a trumpet and made his trumpet sound like a voice.” This is so true. He was a magician with his trumpet, and his voice makes your feet want to move, as proven by my two-year old who is currently dancing to your clip for the fourth time.
What I did not understand from your post was the relationship between his getting arrested and his rise from poverty. Did he meet someone in jail that helped him with his career?
Thanks for the post and the clip.
November 3, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Your blog is so informative! I loved reading it!
You included such fascinating information about jazz and its influence on the musical world and the short biography of Louis Armstrong was wonderful. I agree with your arguments concerning the evolution of the jazz style and the connections you draw to the African American influence of music. I’m a big fan of big band myself and appreciate your choice in blog subject matter.
I was wondering, however, why you chose Dinah specifically? What is it about this piece that you like so much to have referenced it exclusively in your blog? Also, perhaps you could include in text citations so we know exactly what pieces of your blog come from which sites?
This is a great blog all in all. Wonderful information and presentation!
November 7, 2009 at 12:06 am
There was some great information in this blog, giving all of the information for this assignment, there was some good information on Jazz as well as Louis Armstrong. I’m also surprised that Jazz was influenced by the European style of music as well as African American.
I also like the piece you picked, haven’t heard it for a while. I think its a very interesting piece because of the way Armstrong sings and plays the trumpet. My only question is how do you think Armstrong managed to make such a change in his life, to go from living in a poor neighborhood in New Orleans to being one of the most well known Jazz artists?