1. Paving the Way for Jazz Today; The
music of African American Jazz
Musicians Louis Armstrong &
Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington.
By John Durney
Music 1234 Final
Abel
11/24/13
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. • 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.”
9. 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.
10. 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=E2VCwBz
GdPM>
• Here is the link for one of his other greatest
songs, “When the Saints go Marching In:”
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyLjbMB
pGDA>
11. • This is a picture of Louis on
the cover of one of his
albums, titled “Best of
Louis Armstrong.”
12. 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.
13. 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
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. • Here we have a picture of the
famed Ellington showing off
one of his many talents,
shown here playing the piano.
18. “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.”
19. “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.
20. • Here, we have a picture of
Duke Ellington on his album
cover.
21. “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.
22. “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.
23. “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=qDQpZT3
GhDg
• Here is the link to another very well known
song by Ellington, “C Jam Blues” from 1942:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOlpcJhNy
DI
24. “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.”
25. • 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.”
26. 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.
27. Louis Armstrong Resources list
• http://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_ar
mstrong_louis.htm
• http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/tbacig/studpr
oj/is3099/jazzcult/20sjazz/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2VCwBzGdP
M
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyLjbMBpGD
A
• http://www.redhotjazz.com/louie.html
