Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke

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no one musician soloed for any extended period. Musicians everywhere soon began to imitate his style, and Armstrong himself became a star attraction. Also referred to as Dixieland music, hot jazz got its name from its blazing tempos and fiery improvisations. The popularity of Louis Armstrong's early bands was instrumental in spreading hot jazz to Chicago and New York. Throughout the 1920s he was one of the most sought-after musicians in both New York and Chicago. Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings remain to this day some of the best loved of the time.

Louis Armstrong's recordings with his small groups (the Hot Five, Hot Seven and his Savoy Ballroom Five), revolutionized jazz. These recordings contained some of his most brilliant trumpet playing. Those timeless sessions also introduced Armstrong as a singer. Before Louis, most vocalists who recorded were chosen due to their volume and ability to articulate lyrics clearly, singing in a very straight and square manner. ...

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Bunk Johnson, Freddie Keppard, and especially Joe "King" Oliver, who gave Armstrong informal tutoring on the instrument and eventually helped to launch his career in Chicago. Armstrong was also inspired by the dexterity of New Orleans clarinetists and his study of classical trumpet literature, two influences that would make fluid technique and dazzling high notes into hallmarks of his style. His flashy improvisations were strikingly different from the previous generation of New Orleans trumpeters, whose solos often relied on simple melodic ideas. Armstrong's trumpet improvisations influenced every jazz musician who appeared after him. John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie, one of the key ...

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