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Satchmo's Contemporaries
Miles Davis (1926 – 1991)
(pictured with Louis Armstrong on the left) American jazz trumpeter, pianist, bandleader and composer; son of a well to do dentist in Illinois. He trained at the Julliard School of music but dropped out due to the emphasis on ‘white’ music. He worked with Dizzie Gillespie, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Bill Evans among others. Davis criticized Louis Armstrong for catering to white audiences. 1
Listen to Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue"
Joe “King” Oliver (1885 – 1938) Armstrong’s teacher and mentor, a cornet player and composer from Louisiana. He suffered from prejudices playing in the South, so he moved to Chicago where he became dubbed the Jazz King. The Great Depression brought a halt to Oliver’s career. At the end of his life, he lived in Georgia and worked as a janitor. His music changed the future of jazz.
Billie Holiday (1915 – 1959)
A jazz and pop vocalist with a troubled childhood who grew to be one of the most famous women in Jazz. She was greatly influenced by the music of Louis Armstrong and appeared with him in the movie New Orleans in 1946 (see video below) Holiday had severe issues with drugs and alcohol that led to the decline in her career and her young death. 2
Duke Ellington (1899 – 1974)
Jazz legend, pianist, composer and big-band leader. Some of his most famous songs include “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing” and “Sophisticated Lady” He won a total of twelve Grammy Awards. In 1961 he recorded “The Great Reunion” and “Together Again” with Louis Armstrong.
Listen to a live performance of Mood Indigo
Bix Beiderbecke (1903 – 1931)
Cornet and piano player , known as a great jazz soloist, though less of a crowd pleaser than Armstrong. Terry Teachout calls him and Armstrong “the two most influential figures in the early history of jazz” Listen to some of his music
Satchmo performing "Hello Dolly" with Duke Ellington, Ray Charles and BB King
Live in New York in 1970
