Louis Armstrong, A Man Who Was The Most Influential...

When we are faced with the question of which men and women in human history have overcome oppression to achieve great things, we often come up with names such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. or Mother Teresa. What do all of those individuals have in common? During their lives, such individuals contributed greatly to social movements and encouraged society to be a more equal, open, and loving place. We often don’t think about people in other realms of society who have overcome oppression and have also changed facets of the society that we know today. One of these individuals is Louis Armstrong, aka Satchmo. Arguably one of the most influential trumpet players in all of Jazz music, Louis Armstrong appears to be a man who was able to accomplish fame with relative ease, when, in fact, Louis Armstrong faced many obstacles throughout his life that he had to overcome, before he was able to change the history of the music industry in our country. The society that Louis Armstrong was born into reflected extreme racial tensions and inequality that was present throughout the United States at the time, especially in the South. The combination of segregation following Plessy vs. Ferguson (rationale of â€Å"separate but equal†) and Jim Crow laws that were created to ensure that African Americans were able to exercise as few rights as possible created a very negative atmosphere for Louis Armstrong to grow up in, in terms of racial relations (Bergreen, 1997, p. 13). Growing up as anShow MoreRelatedLouis Contributions Of The Jazz Music Scene993 Words   |  4 PagesStyle Louis made many contributions to the evolution of jazz as he learned and adapted his style. His use of harmonies and improvisation was before his time and he helped shape the whole genre as it was evolving. His technique with his trumpet playing and how the sound played off of the other instruments was unparalleled at the time. His contributions and techniques play a large part in changing jazz music from a folksy sound to more of the swing sound we attribute to the genre today. Armstrong hadRead MoreJazz, By Louis Armstrong2718 Words   |  11 PagesJazz midterm 1. Louis Armstrong is credited in the book titled Jazz as the â€Å"single most important figure in the development of jazz.† He is known as the only major figure in Western musical history to have a profound influence as a singer and an instrumentalist. His defining qualities as a performer were the emotion, beauty, and technical mastery he brought to each performance, and he knew how to please an audience. 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In fact Jump for Joy openly discussed these stereotypesRead MoreSimilarities And Differences Between Jazz And Ragtime1885 Words   |  8 Pagesdifferent styles of music that came together to make what is known as jazz music. Ragtime was more about freedom, fun, and giving the listener an elated feeling while Blue’s intent was to appeal to the listeners emotions and make them feel better about the troubles in their life. The way Jazz came about was the collaboration of these 2 very different styles of music. Due to very influential people in the mus ic world like Jelly Role Morton, Joe Oliver, Louis armstrong, just to name a few, Jazz has flourishedRead MoreThe Harlem Renaissance and Its Effect on the American Dream1541 Words   |  6 PagesDream What was the Harlem Renaissance? The Harlem Renaissance was a period of time in American history that emphasized African American culture in the form of music, art, and poetry. 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