Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong was a great American jazz musician who had a tremendous influence on the history of jazz. As a native of New Orleans, Armstrong helped to create a New Orleans style of jazz through his prodigious trumpet techniques, the spontaneity of his improvisations, and the joy that was exhibited through his vocal and instrumental performances. With John Oliver as his early mentor and his collaborations with artists such as Fletcher Henderson and Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong rose above the racism of the 1920's to create the jazz classics such as "Hot Seven" and "Louis Armstrong's Hot Five" to make him America's Ambassador of Jazz.
In viewing Louis Armstrong and the pride he had in his life, the people he came in contact with, and his music, one can more fully understand his character and goodness. The Reverend Sun Myung Moon explains this character and goodness in saying: "In the spirit world, this is your only pride: with your life, how much you loved people and gave them life. This is your pride. This is the reality". (See: Pride in the Spirit World, Position and Image in the Spirit World, The Spirit World, The Completed Testament Age and the Ideal Kingdom, NY: Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, 1999. ISBN 1-910-62197-7).
Louis Armstrong was a jazz star with his creative powers in performing on the trumpet and in his singing. His pride was in his background, his family, his music and jazz, and he gave all of these components life.teachers and researchers who wish to further pursue these topics from a unification perspective.
