Louis Armstrong those early years
Upon
being released from the waif's home at age fourteen, Louis worked selling papers,
unloading boats, and selling coal from a horse and cart. He also listened to bands
at clubs like the Come Clean Dance Hall, Funky Butt Hall, and Mahogany Hall, in Storyville.
Joe "King" Oliver with the Kid Ory Band was his favorite and he quickly became young Louis's mentor.
By 1917 Louis was playing in various groups at dive bars in New Orleans' Storyville section. In 1919 he
joined Fate Marable's band in St. Louis, and stayed with him until 1921. Marable
headed a band that worked on the Strekfus Mississippi River Boat Lines. When Louis
returned to New Orleans he played in Zutty Singleton's Trio, Papa Celestin's Tuxedo
Orchestra, The Silver Leaf Band, and from time to time with Kid Ory's band, he
also played in parades with the Allen Brass Band. When King Oliver left New Orleans
in 1919 to go to Chicago, Louis took his place in Kid Ory's band, at the suggestion
of Oliver.
In 1922 Louis received a telegram from Joe Oliver, asking him to join his Creole Jazz Band at Lincoln Gardens in Chicago.
I must interject at this point Nat Gonella's comment, "I can't imagine Louis playing second trumpet to anyone", however, Louis learned much working with Oliver. The experience of playing second cornet helped to develop his ear and harmonies, and, the importance of playing straight lead, as Oliver did, were lessons that he would use for the remainder of his life. While playing in Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, Louis met Lillian Hardin the piano player for the band, and they were married in February of 1924. By the end of 1924 she pressured Louis to leave the Oliver band. He moved to New York to play in Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra for 13 months. While in New York he worked many recording sessions with numerous Blues singers including Bessie Smith on her 1925 classic recording of "St. Louis Blues".
In 1925 Armstrong moved back to Chicago and joined his wife's band at the Dreamland. He recorded his first Hot Five records that same year. This was the first time Louis had made records under his own name. The records made by Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven are considered to be absolute jazz classics and peak of his creative powers. The band never played live, but continued recording until 1928.
In the begining
Those early years
The bandleader
The Big Band Era
The golden years
Webmaster note: the background for this page was created with
Adobe Photoshop 5 using a photograph of the cornet Peter Davis taught Louis on at
the Colored Waif's Home in New Orleans. The horn was given to him when he left
the home. He returned it once he had earned enough money to purchase one of his
own, and others learned to play on it. Today it is in the Jazz Museum in the
old Government Mint building in New Orleans.
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