Table of contentsIntroductionTrumpet and cornet playingConclusionReferencesIntroductionThe definition of an innovator is "a person who introduces new methods, ideas or products." Throughout history, jazz has had many exceptional and innovative musicians, but it is difficult to find anyone who had as profound an influence and impact on the movement as Louis Armstrong. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayLouis Armstrong was born in New Orleans, around the turn of the century, on August 4, 1901. At the end of his life, he would be known as one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time and was an accredited trumpeter, singer, soloist, bandleader and movie star before his death in 1971. Nicknamed "the Battlefield", Armstrong grew up in a poor neighborhood in New York. Orleans, Louisiana, and growing up in South America, was surrounded by the poverty that black people in the South suffered at the turn of the century. Growing up, the South American Armstrong would have been subject to racial segregation, which involves restricting people to certain circumscribed areas of residence or separating institutions and facilities on the basis of race or presumed race. This experience of racial segregation could have inspired his use of lyrics conveying the themes of race and oppression that African Americans faced. Armstrong's legacy is not limited to his virtuoso trumpet playing, but also to his great formal innovations. His commitment to the search for new forms of jazz and his sincere and continuing performances will remain a major symbol not only of musical life but of the entire culture of life in 20th century America. Before Armstrong's arrival in the jazz world, jazz music was performed either in highly orchestrated arrangements or in a more loosely structured "Dixieland"-type ensemble in which no musician played solo for an extended period of time. Musicians around the world quickly began to imitate his style. , and Armstrong himself became a star attraction. His popularity was phenomenal, and throughout the 1920s he was one of the most sought-after musicians in New York and Chicago. Through his use of the trumpet and cornet, singing and composing, Armstrong was able to innovate the world of jazz that we know today. while playing the trumpet. In 1914, Armstrong was mentored by the famous jazz trumpeter and bandleader King Joe Oliver. It is said that Oliver taught Armstrong how to read music and work on his playing technique. Armstrong's success then began to snowball, and in the summer of 1922, "King" Oliver invited him to Chicago to play second cornet in his Creole Jazz Band. Thanks to this, he made his first recording with Oliver, on April 5, 1923, and obtained his first recorded solo on "Chimes Blues". It was while in Kid Ory's band, which was the most popular band in New Orleans at the time, that Armstrong was able to use a series of solos to introduce the concept of swing music to the group. This was one of many times Armstrong introduced the concept of swing into jazz music. The introduction of swing music into jazz meant that musicians were able to use a smoother rhythm using four beats per measure instead of the two beats common in New Orleans Dixieland jazz. Likewise, in 1924, Armstrong joined the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, the best African-American dance group in New York at the time. During his time there he was again able to incorporate swing into themusic of the group. Along with the band members, audience members were also surprised by its rhythmic swing, which involved "upbeat accentuated rhythms, upbeat downbeats to weighted downs, and complementary relationships between rhythmic patterns." ". Armstrong's style of play was one of the many things that caught people's attention every time he played. He was known for striking listeners with his "clarinet-like figurations and high notes in his cornet solos." Armstrong was also said to be able to "play around the rhythm, anticipating some notes and delaying others." which was a style that had never been heard before. Through Armstrong's innovative use of swing vocabulary in his trumpet playing, Henderson began to incorporate it into the orchestra's arrangements. Throughout Armstrong's time in Henderson's band, he also influenced and incorporated jazz rhythms and blue notes which later became increasingly important in the band's music. This type of music became the first music arranged in the style we describe today as "big band." Which then led to Henderson's group becoming what is generally considered the first jazz big band. According to the Encyclopedia, Big Band swing 2018 originated from Henderson and Den Redman, thanks to the inspiration of Louis Armstrong. Being able to incorporate swing music into this group was unknown and controversial, and it is notable that "his ability to use time and space in a song, as well as his skill in constructing his improvisations melodically while using legato phrasing swinging which was very revolutionary. » Through his performances with a variety of musical groups, Armstrong was able to slowly revolutionize the jazz world with the introduction of the extended solo. As a result, many musicians began to imitate his style. For example, in pieces such as "Potato Head Blues," Louis' timed solos featured swinging phrasing, wide range, and difficult rhythmic changes that were heard in Fletcher Henderson's orchestra tunes and have long been considered his best solo of this period. Although Armstrong became one of the finest trumpet and cornet players in jazz, at the birth of the recording industry, it was not only his instrument playing that made him an innovator, it was also his singing. While playing in Fletcher Henderson's orchestra, Henderson did not allow Armstrong to sing, fearing that his rough voice would not be popular among the sophisticated audiences at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan. This prompted Armstrong to return to Chicago, in 1925, where he began playing with his wife Lil's band at the Dreamland Café. In America, during the 1920s, the nation's total wealth more than doubled. With this additional income, many Americans purchased radios which, with the help of Pittsburgh's KDKA, the first American commercial radio station to hit the airwaves in 1920, opened the world of jazz to listeners from all over the world. the whole country. This extra money also allowed people to buy phonograph records, 100 million of which were sold in 1927 alone. In Chicago and with the help of OKeh Records, Armstrong was able to make his first records with his own group: Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five. Between 1925 and 1928, Armstrong produced more than 60 records with the Hot Five and, soon after, the Hot Seven. Today, these recordings are generally considered to be the most influential recordings in jazz history, particularly the track "Heebie Jeebies." His voice became internationally recognized as the “voice of jazz”throughout this period. On these records, Armstrong's talents and creativity began to transform jazz from ensemble music to soloist creation. In his song “Hebbie Jeebies,” Armstrong sang nonsense horn-like syllables after pretending to have dropped the lyric sheet. For many, his scat singing was the perfection of a genre in its infancy. However, with his growing fame, this was criticized by the black community who felt he was not up to the responsibilities of his time, as he sang primarily for white audiences. Critics then began to notice how Armstrong's instrumental and vocal improvisations were completely interchangeable and recognized that he sang as he played. This use of improvised melodies and syncopated rhythm appealed to audiences, opening them to a sound previously unknown in the Western world. According to scat, singing is “an improvised jazz song in which the voice is used in imitation of an instrument.” This type of music dates back to West African singers assigning syllables to drum rhythms with "beats so close in timbre and so inextricably interwoven into the musical fabric that they are almost indistinguishable." Armstrong didn't necessarily invent the jazz style of scat. singing as it has also been said to stem from the ability of previous jazz musicians to formulate riffs vocally before performing them on their instrument of choice. This was a very important thought in the New Orleans jazz scene, where Armstrong himself is from. Although many cite Armstrong as the creator of scat singing, many examples refute this hypothesis. For example, in 1911 and 1917, Gene Greene, a ragtime singer, recorded scat singing in his songs "King of the Bungaloos" and "From Here to Shanghai." Similarly, in 1911, Al Jolson, an artist, recorded scat in his recording of "'That Haunting Melody' and in 1924, a year before Armstrong recorded 'Hebbie Jebbies,' Gene Rodemich recorded 'Scissor Grinder Joe' and 'Some of These Days' which both feature scat singing. Through his singing, Armstrong was able to present a range of themes and topics through his lyrics and melodies. For example, in his song "When It's Sleepy Time Down South", the lyrics convey racial stereotypes and discrimination against African Americans during the Great Depression, "the pale moon shines, the fields beneath the Darkies sing sweet songs and bass”. Another song Armstrong used to explore the theme of American race "I'll be happy when you're dead, you rascal". The lyrics of this song explore not only the theme of race but also white oppression: “When you're lying six feet deep, you won't eat fried chicken anymore. I'll be happy when you're dead, you rascal. , oh yeah.”ConclusionTo conclude, through these facts, we can say that Louis Armstrong was an innovator in the world of jazz. For example, one could argue that if Armstrong had been born today, he would not be an innovator. But thanks to his era, the Roaring Twenties, he was able to be at the forefront of jazz innovation. Since he already had a well-established jazz career before the rise of public radio stations, this means that one could argue that he was just in the right place at the right time, but that is Armstrong's personal way of playing and singing that changed the face. jazz. Although Armstrong is a master trumpeter, it is obvious that he did not invent jazz trumpet playing, and it is also obvious that he is not the original innovator of jazz trumpet playing. jazz itself. The innovation of trumpet playingArmstrong's strength, however, lies in the way he played. By playing "around" the rhythm, anticipating notes and delaying others, Armstrong changed the way his peers viewed the jazz trumpet, paving the way for other trumpeters who would follow his path. singer, and through the history of scat itself, it is evident that Armstrong did not invent scat, but he was certainly an innovator of it. Armstrong was able to learn about scat singing, which existed years before he started or before he recorded anything, and was able to turn it into something new. The way Armstrong used scat in his solos truly changed the way jazz was perceived and helped expand it to a wider audience who, without him, might never have heard of it. Likewise, without Armstrong's use of scat, it is possible that it would not be as important as it is in the jazz world, as Armstrong was at the forefront of the jazz scene in his era. And although Armstrong was not the first innovator of scat singing in his chosen genre, he was arguably and most importantly recognized for his talent, skill, and innovation. Armstrong was by no means the innovator in using lyrics to provoke feelings or to depict racism, but because of his fame and notoriety, he was able to use his status to bring these songs to the public . Keep in mind: This is just a sample.Get a personalized article from our expert writers now.Get a Custom EssayTo sum up, with his trumpet playing and singing style, Louis Armstrong can definitely be classified as an innovator. He opened other musicians to a completely different style of writing and performing music, a style still used today. However, when it came to his lyrics, Armstrong was not an innovator, as people used lyrics to express the hardships that African Americans had suffered for years before Armstrong. ReferencesAnon, (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/35519218_The_early_musical_development_of_Louis_Armstrong_1901-1928 [Accessed January 9, 2019]. Berliner, P. (1994). Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp.68, 181. COLLIER, G. and COLLIER, J. (2002). A study of timing in two solos by Louis Armstrong. [online] Rhythmcoglab.coursepress.yale.edu. Available at: https://rhythmcoglab.coursepress.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2014/09/CollierCollier_2002_A-study-of-timing-in-two-Louis-Armstrong-solos.pdf [Accessed January 9, 2019].Davenport, L. (2009). Jazz Diplomacy: Promoting America in the Cold War Era. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, p.41. Encyclopedia Britannica. (2019). jazz | Definition, History, Musicians and Facts. [online] Available at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/301986/jazz [Accessed January 9, 2019].Encyclopedia Britannica. (2019). racial segregation | History, examples, laws and facts. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/racial-segregation [Accessed January 9, 2019].Encyclopedia.jrank.org. (2019). LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND THE FLETCHER HENDERSON ORCHESTRA. [online] Available at: http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/1870/LOUIS-ARMSTRONG-AND-THE-FLETCHER-HENDERSON-ORCHESTRA.html#ixzz5Xyz3iq8o [Accessed January 9, 2019].Genius. (2019). Louis Armstrong – When it's time to sleep in the South. [online] Available at: https://genius.com/Louis-armstrong-when-its-sleepy-time-down-south-lyrics [Accessed January 10, 2019].Genius. (2019). Louis Armstrong (Ft. Louis Jordan) – (I'll be happy when you're dead) You get dirty. [online] Available on:]. 2019].