Essay --

Who would have ever thought that a black boy from the wrong side of town in New Orleans would turn out to be one of the greatest jazz musicians to ever live? Louis Daniel Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901, in a place called â€Å"the Battlefield† New Orleans, to Mary and William Armstrong. However, when Louis was still an infant his father left their family and he went to go live with his grandmother. After Louis turned five, he moved back in with his mother and sister, Beatrice, who Louis had come to call â€Å"Mama Lucy.† At just 7 years old, Louis purchased his very first cornet, which he taught himself to play, and with it created his first vocal quartet. Then when Louis was 13, in celebration of the New Year, he set off a gun in the middle of the street. Police arrested him, and sent him to the New Orleans Colored Reformatory, also known as The Waifs Home for Boys. During his sentence at the Waif Home, the Director of the band there took Louis under his wing. Th e Director, Peter Davis, taught young Louis how to play the bugle. Mr. Davis also gave Louis his very first trumpet. It was at this point in Louis’ life that music gave him a direction and a purpose. After spending three years in the Waifs Home, Louis was released, he was 16 at the time. During this time, Louis had odd jobs like singing on corners, working on a junk wagon, cleaning graves, and selling coal for money. He used his earnings to help his family. In 1918, Louis married a prostitute by the name of Daisy Parker, they divorced in 1922. According to Combo USA, Louis mentioned later on that he believed it was a mistake to have married Daisy. After a bit of reflection, he did not think that they were old enough to have gotten married. Louis met Joseph Oliver shortly bef... ...you are still able to pick out certain instruments. In fact, the first sound that I noticed was the piano, then the trombone and the clarinet. Their harmonized sound is very distinct. Just as the lyrics, I am sure if you were to hear just the instrumental portion you would recognize it right away. Overall Louis Armstrong made some great music during his time. Songs like, What a Wonderful World, were commercialized, and put into movies. Disney, in fact, used quite a few songs by Mr. Armstrong in their movies. Sadly, music is not created this way anymore. Many artists use digital recording today, but that was not available for people like Mr. Armstrong and others. Mr. Armstrong also has a strong live performance. You can tell by his facial expressions, and interaction with the audience. If only musicians today appreciated music, the way people did 20 or 30 years ago.