IndexIntroductionPlaying trumpet and cornetConclusionReferencesIntroductionThe definition of an innovator is "a person who introduces new methods, ideas or products". Throughout history, jazz has been full of exceptional and innovative musicians, but it is difficult to find anyone who had as profound an influence and effect on the movement as Louis Armstrong. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayLouis Armstrong was born in New Orleans, at the turn of the century, on August 4, 1901. By the end of his life, he would be known as one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time and was a trumpeter, singer, soloist, credited bandleader and movie star before his death in 1971. Nicknamed "The Battlefield", Armstrong grew up in a poor section of New Orleans, Louisiana, and growing up in the American South, he was surrounded by the poverty suffered by southern blacks all beginning of the century. Growing up as a Southern American, Armstrong would have been subject to racial segregation, the practice of confining people to certain limited areas of residence or to separate institutions and facilities on the basis of race or perceived race. This experience of racial segregation may have been the inspiration for his use of lyrics that convey themes of race and oppression that African Americans faced. Armstrong's legacy is much more than simply his virtuosity on the trumpet, but also his great formal innovations. His commitment to the search for new forms in jazz and his continuous and sincere performances will remain an important symbol not only of musical life but of the entire culture of life in 20th century America. Before Armstrong's arrival in the world of jazz, jazz music was played in highly orchestrated arrangements or in a more loosely structured "Dixieland"-type ensemble in which no musician played as a soloist for an extended period. Musicians around the world soon 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 both New York and Chicago. Through the use of the trumpet and cornet, singing and composing, Armstrong was able to innovate the world of jazz we know today. Trumpet and Cornet Playing In the early years of Armstrong's career, he was known primarily for his cornet playing and later for his trumpet playing. In 1914, Armstrong was mentored by famed jazz trumpeter and band leader King Joe Oliver. Oliver is said to have taught Armstrong 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. Through this, he made his first recording with Oliver, on April 5, 1923, and earned his first recorded solo on "Chimes Blues". It was then 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 band. This was one of the many times Armstrong introduced the concept of swing to jazz music. The introduction of swing music into jazz meant that musicians were able to use a freer rhythm using four beats per bar instead of the two beats that were common in New Orleans Dixieland jazz. Likewise, in 1924, Armstrong joined Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra, the top African-American dance band in New York at the time. During his time there, he was again able to incorporate itswing in the band's music. Along with the band members, audience members were also surprised by his rhythmic swing, which featured "accented upbeats, downbeat slurs, and complementary relationships between rhythmic patterns." ”. Armstrong's playing style was one of the many things that caught people's attention whenever he played. He was known for impressing listeners with his "clarinet-like figurations and high notes in his cornet solos". It has also been said that Armstrong was able to "play" around the rhythm, leading some notes and delaying others. which was a style that had never been heard before. As a result of Armstrong's innovative use of swing vocabulary in his trumpet playing, Henderson began to integrate it into the orchestra's arrangements. During his time in Henderson's band, Armstrong also influenced and incorporated jazz and blue note rhythms which later became increasingly important in the band's music. This type of music developed into the first music arranged in the style we now describe as "big band". Which in turn led to Henderson's band becoming what is generally considered the first jazz big band. According to Encyclopedia, the Big Band swing of 2018 was born with Henderson and Den Redman, thanks to the inspiration of Louis Armstrong. Being able to incorporate swing music into this band was unheard of and controversial, and it is noted that "his ability to use time and space within a song, and also his ability to melodically build his improvisations while he used a legate swing phrasing that was very revolutionary. "Through his performances with a variety of musical groups, Armstrong was able to slowly revolutionize the world of jazz with the introduction of the extended solo. As a result, many musicians began to imitate his style. For example, on songs like "Potato Head Blues," Louis's stopped-tempo solos were characterized by swing phrasing, wide range, and challenging rhythmic changes that were heard in the tunes of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and have long been considered the his best solo. series. Although Armstrong emerged as one of jazz's premier trumpeters and cornetists at the birth of the recording industry, it was not just his playing that made him an innovator, but also his singing. While playing in Fletcher Henderson's orchestra, Henderson did not allow Armstrong to sing due to fears that his rough voice would not be popular with the sophisticated audience at Manhattan's Roseland Ballroom. 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. As a result of this extra income, many Americans purchased radios which, with the help of Pittsburgh's KDKA, the first commercial American radio station in the United States to hit the airwaves in 1920, opened the world of jazz to listeners across the country . This extra money also allowed people to purchase phonograph records, of which 100 million were sold in 1927 alone. In Chicago and with the help of OKeh Records Armstrong was able to make his first records with his band: Louis Armstrong and the 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 regarded as the most influential recordings in the history of jazz, especially the song "Heebie Jeebies". His voice became internationally recognized as the “voice of jazz” itself during this time period. On these records, Armstrong's talent and creativity began to transform jazz from musicensemble to the creation of a soloist. In his song "Hebbie Jeebies" Armstrong sang horn-like nonsense syllables after claiming he dropped the lyric sheet. For many, his scat singing represented the perfection of a genre in its infancy. With his growing fame, however, he encountered criticism from the black community who felt that he did not live up to the responsibilities of the times, as he sang primarily for white audiences. Critics then began to notice how Armstrong's instrumental and vocal improvisation were absolutely interchangeable and recognized that he sang the way he played. This use of improvised melodies and syncopated rhythm attracted the audience by opening them to a sound hitherto unknown in the Western world. According to scat singing is “an improvised jazz song in which the voice is used to imitate an instrument”. This type of music can be traced back to West African singers who assigned syllables to drum beats with "times so close in timbre and so inextricably woven into the fabric of the music as to be almost indistinguishable." Armstrong did not necessarily invent the jazz style of scat singing as it has also been said to have stemmed from the ability of earlier jazz musicians to formulate riffs vocally before performing them on their chosen instrument. This was very important in the New Orleans jazz scene, which happens to be the city where Armstrong himself hails from. Although many cite Armstrong as the creator of scat singing, there are many examples that disprove this. 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 entertainer, 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 contain scat singing. Through his singing, Armstrong was able to present a range of themes and subjects 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 below the Darkies sing soft, low songs." Another song Armstrong used to explore the theme of the race against us" I'll be happy when you're dead, you scoundrel." The lyrics of this song explore not only the theme of race but also that of white oppression: "When you're lying six feet down, you'll never eat fried chicken again. I'll be happy when you're dead, you scoundrel." , oh yeah".ConclusionTo conclude, through these facts it can be argued that Louis Armstrong was an innovator in the world of jazz. For example it could be argued that if Armstrong were born today he would not be an innovator. But thanks to the era in which he was born, the Roaring Twenties, he was able to be at the forefront of jazz innovation. Given that he already had an established jazz career before the advent of public radio stations, you could claim that he was just in the right place at the right time, yet it was Armstrong's personal playing and singing that changed the face of jazz. Although Armstrong was a master trumpeter, it is evident that he did not invent the jazz trumpet , and it is also evident that he is not the original innovator of jazz trumpet itself. The innovation in Armstrong's trumpet playing, however, lies in the way he played. By anticipating notes and delaying others, Armstrong changed the way his peers perceived the jazz trumpet, paving the way for otherstrumpeters who would follow his path. Through his career as a professional singer, and through the history of scat itself, it is evident that Armstrong did not invent scat, but he certainly was an innovator of it. Armstrong was able to take scat singing, which had existed years before he started or before he recorded anything, and was able to transform it into something new. The way Armstrong used scat in his solos really changed the way jazz was perceived and allowed it to expand to a wider audience who, without him, would never have heard of it. Likewise, without Armstrong's use of scat, it is possible that he would not have been as big as he is in the jazz world, as Armstrong was at the forefront of the jazz scene in his time. And although Armstrong was not the first innovator of scat singing within his chosen genre, he was arguably most recognized for his talent, skill, and innovation. Armstrong was by no means the innovator in using lyrics to provoke feelings or represent racism, but thanks to his fame and notoriety, he was able to use his status to bring these songs to the public. Remember: This is just an example Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay To summarize, through his trumpet playing and singing style Louis Armstrong can definitely be classified as an innovator. He opened up a completely different style of musical writing and performance to other musicians, a style still used today. In terms of lyrics, however, Armstrong was not an innovator, as people used lyrics to convey the hardships that African Americans had suffered for years before Armstrong.ReferencesAnon, (2019). 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(2019). racial segregation | History, examples, laws and facts.[online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/racial-segregation [Accessed 9 January 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 9 January 2019].Genius. (2019). Louis Armstrong – When It's Sleepy in the South. [online] Available at: https://genius.com/Louis-armstrong-when-its-sleepy-time-down-south-lyrics [Accessed 10 January 2019].Genius. (2019). Louis Armstrong (Ft. Louis Jordan) - (I'll be happy when you're dead) You scoundrel. [online] Available at: https://genius.com/Louis-armstrong-ill-be-glad-when-youre-dead-you-rascal-you-lyrics [Accessed 10 January 2019].Google Books. (2019). Focus on: 100 Most Famous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Winners. [online] Available on:]. 2019].