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Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, b.
New Orleans, July 4, 1900, d. July 6, 1971, was a brilliant
American jazz cornet and trumpet soloist. He began to play
at the age of 13, as a member of the band of the New Orleans
Waifs' home. A cornetist in New Orleans and in Mississippi
riverboat bands, he was first heard by a larger audience when
he joined King OLIVER's group, in Chicago in 1922. His 1923
recordings with Oliver were among the first to feature black
performers. In 1925, after playing as a solo artist with Fletcher
HENDERSON's New York band, he returned to Chicago and formed
his own group, Louis Armstrong's Hot Five (or occasionally,
Hot Seven), which made a series of recordings still prized
today as classic, Chicago Dixieland. In 1932, Armstrong made
the first of many successful European tours. His popularity
was heightened through appearances on radio, in films, and,
later, television. His unique "scat" singing style
became as well known as his trumpet tone, and today he remains
one of the most famous of all American jazz musicians.
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