It would be easy to write a few thousand words about Louis Armstrong, about how he was one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century both as a trumpeter and as a singer. Not only did he take jazz from its infancy and create a new structure (which can be heard on the collection
Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man which does not have a terribly original title, though I promise you the music is tops) but he also revolutionized pop vocals and everyone on the Top 40 owes the man a debt, though I doubt many of them realize that.
I want to talk about one brief point since I have little time; the babies are stirring from their morning nap as I write this.
It is said that Louis Armstrong was born in a New Orleans brothel. Do you think this is true, or is it simply part of jazz mythology? Doesn't it seem a bit too perfect that the father of jazz should be born in such a place?
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