Jazz Musicians

Trumpeter Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) is often called the ''father of jazz". In fact musicians often refer to him as "Pops". No list of jazz greats omits him, and most start with him. Born in New Orleans, he left in 1922 to join Joe Oliver's New Orleans style band in Chicago, The band's best known piece ''Dippermouth Blues'' takes its title from another Armstrong nickname, a reference to his mouth being as large as a dipper. A third nickname, Satchmo, is a variation on the same idea: Satchel Mouth. Although some of Armstrong's 1940s and 1950s recordings are outstanding, his most significant are the innovative series he made in 1927 and 1928 billed as "Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five'' (or ''Hot Seven''). Some of them included his colleagues from New Orleans,

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trombonist Kid Ory and clarinetist Johnny Dodds. Armstrong's earliest appearances on record had displayed him involved primarily with collective improvisation, as in his 1924 playing with Clarence Williams on ''Cake Wallkin' Babies From Home''. But on his Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings of 1925-1928, Armstrong's dramatic solo style was showcased more than his collective improvisation skills. The music that he made in those recordings became a model for the swing era that followed. Louis Armstrong appeared in about fifty movies and sang in most of his post -1930 performances. For instance, his vocal rendition of the theme from the Broadway musical ''Hello, Dolly'' was #1 for one week on the popularity charts. On February 15, 1964 he displaced the phenomenally popular singing group called The Beatles. With the success of the 1988 revival of his ''What a Wonderful World'' (in the movie ''Good Morning Vietnam''), Armstrong demonstrated the longest run on the national singles charts. He even outdistanced singers Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. (Crosby and Armstrong both had hits during the l920s.) Understandably then, the post-1930s public knows Armstrong more as an entertainer than as an innovative jazz improviser. Even though they have heard his name, most people are not aware of Armstrong's monumental contributions to the history of jazz. Armstrong was the most widely imitated jazz improviser prior to the appearance of modern saxophonist Charlie Parker in the l940s. Armstrong's style is particularly easy to detect in three of the most prominent trumpeters of the 1930s and l940s: Oran ''Hot Lips'' Page, Bunny Berigan, and Buck Clayton. His influence extended not only to trumpeters, but to saxophonists, pianists, guitarists, and trombonists. For instance, Johnny Hodges, the most influential alto saxophonist of the 1930s, said that Armstrong influenced his sax style. Players within the swing era almost universally cite Armstrong's influence. Segments of his tunes and improvisations continued to be found in the work of such post-swing era innovators as Charlie Parker and Lee Konitz.

The most important composer and arranger in jazz was Duke Ellington (1899-1974). His greatest contribution stems from his being the single most creative and prolific composer-arranger in jazz history. Ellington wrote more than two thousand compositions as well as many arrangements and rearrangements for them. He began composing and arranging before 1920 and continued productively until his death in 1974. Recording more than any other jazz group, the Ellington band and its leader's compositions can be heard in hundreds of 78 r.p.m. recordings, long-play albums and compact discs. As a bandleader and distinctive jazz pianist, he also made historic contributions. Elllngton's big band was the most stable and longestlived group in jazz history. Some of his musicians remained for twenty to thirty years at a stretch. Only Ellington's death in 1974 ended the band's run. His musicians had strong, unique styles of their own; together they made up an all-star unit. Many of their improvisations were so good that they became permanent parts of the band's pieces, as though composed. Ellington knew the musical personalities in his band so well that he wrote his music specifically for them. He imaginatively mixed and matched their work with his own. The result was a breadth and depth of repertory that was superior to every other jazz group to every other jazz group.


Miles Davis (l926-1991) was a jazz trumpeter and bandleader who played a pivotal role in the history of modern jazz because he was deeply involved in recording and promoting several styles well before they became widespread trends. His recordings have won the near universal admiration of modern jazz musicians. Over a fifty-year period of productivity, Davis contributed a stylistically diverse body of music. Parts of this productivity defined jazz for three different generations of listeners. A significant slice of modern jazz
history is documented in Davis-led recording sessions because he gathered the key innovators of the day for his bands. Unlike most artists, Davis never became limited to one particular band style.

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