Please read all the information on the attachment files to find the answer to the questions. New Orleans to Chicago Worksheet 1. 1. In what ways did early jazz bands differ from their Ragtime, Br

Louis Armstrong Louis Armstrong (1901 -1971) - When jazz scholars debate on who was, or is, the most important figure in all of jazz history Louis Armstrong is often at the top of the list. He triumphed over a broken home, abject poverty and intense racism to become a wealthy, famous, jazz icon and ambassador to the world. Louis Armstrong’s contributions and innovations  Changed the focus to individual soloists - Louis showed that collective improvisation was not the only way to go. Partly bec ause of him and his “Hot Five” and “Hot Seven” recordings post -Armstrong styles usually featured solo improvisation rather than collective improvisation.  Set the standard for the “swing” feel - Louis was able to abandon the stiffness of ragtime. He was the man who really showed the way to swing eighth note patterns. His effortless shifting of phrasing to opposite sides of the beat really gave the music that forward propelling feel.  Made virtuosity a requirement - Louis was truly a master of his instrumen t. He played higher, louder, faster (if needed) and with more expression and personality than anyone before him. During his early recording sessions with King Oliver he was asked to play from the back of the room because his trumpet was so much more powerf ul than the rest of the band (this was in the days of playing into a gigantic funnel which mechanically etched the sounds on to a disc or cylinder).  Allowed for harmonic improvisation - Most soloists before Louis basically embellished the melody of the tune itself. While Louis did this better than anyone, he also would go off on improvisational tangents that had no relation to the original tune but made total sense against the ba cking harmonies. (Spontaneous composition)  He often used popular tunes - The prac tice of “jazzing up” popular tunes has become the paradigm for jazz performance today. By often using “popular” tunes for his recordings and improvisations the audience has something familiar to “hang on to” while experiencing his ingenious improvisat ions.  He changed the way “pop” singers sang from that point on. His swinging delivery while toying with the beat, and changing up the melody made the “straight” singers before sound stale and dated. Listen to a little of Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald singing “Indian Love Call ”. Then check out a little of Louis Armstrong singing “ Dinah ” from about the same time. Nelson Eddy’s style is instantly old and “square”!!  He introduced “scat singing” to the world -While this style had been around in New Orleans, Louis was the guy who made it famous and popular. “Scat singing” is the art of singing nonsense syllables instead of actual lyrics in order to imitate the way an instrumentalist would solo.