Paving the Way for Jazz Today; The music of African American Jazz Musicians Louis Armstrong &

Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington.

By John DurneyMusic 1234 Final

Abel11/24/13

Why Louis Armstrong?

This assignment was meant to show how an under - represented/ disenfranchised/ disempowered member of the musical society went above and beyond to change the present and the future ways of their music field, and that is just what Louis Armstrong did.

Definitions:

• Under – Represented: A person or a group of individuals being deprived of representation.

• Disenfranchised: To take the right of voting away from an individual.

• Disempowered: To prevent an individuals right to power or priority.

How did Louis change the field of Jazz?

o During a time period when African Americans were looked at as nothing more than peasants and slaves even though slavery was on the verge of abolition, brave musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington stood out to people, on the way to their tenures as the famous jazz musicians that we know them to be to this day.

Quick Facts about Louis Armstrong

• Louis Armstrong was born on August 4th, 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

• New Orleans, where Armstrong was born, was known as the “Birthplace of Jazz.”

• Whether it was by coincidence or not that he was born there, he soon became known as the King of Jazz.

• This picture is of a poster advertising Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong and his great Orchestra, also labelling him as the King of the Trumpet, thus showing his appealing image to audiences and listeners.

Louis Armstrong and His Music

• Louis Armstrong was one of the most well known up – and – coming Jazz musicians of his time, and even to this day he continues to be one of the most famous Jazz musicians of all time.

Louis Armstrong and His Music

• According to the website at http://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_armstrong_louis.htm, his [Louis’] biography states that “He had an exciting and innovative style of playing that musicians imitate to this day. Throughout his career, Armstrong spread the language of jazz around the world, serving as an international ambassador of swing.”

Louis Armstrong Music Links

• Louis Armstrong was known as the King of Jazz for a reason. He had many hits, too many to list, but some of his most well known songs are heard and loved all around the world. There are links in the following slide to some of his greatest songs.

Louis Armstrong Music Links

• Here is the link for one of his greatest hits of all time, “What a Wonderful World:” <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2VCwBzGdPM>

• Here is the link for one of his other greatest songs, “When the Saints go Marching In:” <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyLjbMBpGDA>

• This is a picture of Louis on the cover of one of his albums, titled “Best of Louis Armstrong.”

Louis Armstrong Connections

• In the early 1960’s, Louis Armstrong continued to record albums despite his older age, and he eventually ended up recording two albums with fellow jazz musician and pioneer in the field Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, who will be featured in the second half of this PowerPoint presentation.

Louis Armstrong - The King of Jazz

• “Louis Armstrong was the greatest of all Jazz musicians. Armstrong defined what it was to play Jazz. His amazing technical abilities, the joy and spontaneity, and amazingly quick, inventive musical mind still dominate Jazz to this day.” http://www.redhotjazz.com/louie.html

Why “Duke” Ellington?

• Just like Louis Armstrong, this assignment was to pick one or two individuals who single handedly changed the way of their music field and the genre/ lifestyle of the music as we see it today. “Duke” Ellington was also, like the entire music scene for African Americans, Under – Represented, Disenfranchised and Disempowered, making him one of the brightest shining stars of the time period.

Quick Facts about “Duke” Ellington

• Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was born on April 29th, 1899 in Washington D.C.

• Ellington’s career lasted more than half a century, during which time he composed thousands of songs for the stage.

• Ellington married his high school girlfriend at the age of 19, her name was Edna Thompson.

How did “Duke” Ellington change the way of Jazz Music?

• Although both Armstrong and Ellington were and still continue to be role models and pioneers of the jazz music field to this day, Ellington was older than Louis Armstrong, however they both grew up around the same time period. Once he was well known, It was Ellington's sense of musical drama that made him stand out. His blend of melodies, rhythms and subtle sonic movements gave audiences a new experience.

• Here we have a picture of the famed Ellington showing off one of his many talents, shown here playing the piano.

“Duke” Ellington’s Claim to Fame.• According to Ellington’s biography page,

“Ellington's fame rose to the rafters in the 1940s when he composed several masterworks, including ‘Concerto for Cootie,’ ‘Cotton Tail’ and ‘Ko-Ko.’ Some of his most popular songs included ‘It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got That Swing,’ ‘Sophisticated Lady,’ ‘Prelude to a Kiss,’ ’Solitude,’ and ‘Satin Doll.’ A number of his hits were sung by the impressive Ivie Anderson, a favorite female vocalist of Duke's band.”

“Duke” Ellington’s Death

• On May 24, 1974, at the age of 75, Duke Ellington died of lung cancer and pneumonia. His last words were, "Music is how I live, why I live and how I will be remembered.” That being his final quote of life on this earth, it shows just how much of an inspiration and a truly brave pioneer Ellington was to this world, and he changed not only the way of jazz music, but the way of music in today’s world, period.

• Here, we have a picture of Duke Ellington on his album cover.

“Duke” Ellington Connections

• Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was connected to Louis Armstrong in that they collaborated and made music together, but being as high profile as he was, he had some other musical connections as well. Ellington was also connected in ways with Bing Crosby and Louis Prima, through Armstrong in a way.

“Duke” Ellington Music Links

• Like Armstrong, Duke Ellington, toward the peak of his career, was known all over the United States and well known throughout the world. He had too many masterpieces to pinpoint all of them, but in the following slide there are links to YouTube videos of some of his greatest works of art.

“Duke” Ellington Music Links

• Here is the link to one of Duke Ellington’s most well known songs, called “It Don’t Mean A Thing” from 1943: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDQpZT3GhDg

• Here is the link to another very well known song by Ellington, “C Jam Blues” from 1942: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOlpcJhNyDI

“Duke” Ellington – Most Prolific Composer of the Twentieth Century

• Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was the most prolific composer of the twentieth century in terms of both number of compositions and variety of forms. “His development was one of the most spectacular in the history of music, underscored by more than fifty years of sustained achievement as an artist and an entertainer. He is considered by many to be America's greatest composer, bandleader, and recording artist.”

• This is perhaps one of the greatest photos taken of the two, and this picture was used on the cover of their album: “The Great Summit.”

Conclusion

• Louis Armstrong and Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington were two of the biggest musicians who had to overcome difficulties such as being under represented and disempowered during a time when many, if not all African Americans were looked down upon, and they became two of the biggest pioneers in the African American music field.

Louis Armstrong Resources list

• http://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_armstrong_louis.htm

• http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/tbacig/studproj/is3099/jazzcult/20sjazz/

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2VCwBzGdPM

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyLjbMBpGDA

• http://www.redhotjazz.com/louie.html

“Duke” Ellington Resources list

• http://www.biography.com/people/duke-ellington-9286338

• http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/tbacig/studproj/is3099/jazzcult/20sjazz/musicians.html

• http://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_ellington_duke.htm

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDQpZT3GhDg

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOlpcJhNyDI