By Jaclyn Breeze — The cornet is a brass instrument that looks similar to a trumpet but is more mellow and a bit smaller. Trumpets have straight bells, and cornets are a little cone-shaped, which produces a different tone quality. In older jazz bands, the cornet was preferred over the trumpet, but after the swing era, the cornet phased out and bands started to favor the trumpet because it was more piercing.
The cornet has 3 valves and the player plays different notes by pressing different combinations of valves and changing their air speed when they blow.
Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1901. He dropped out of school after 5th grade to work. He made enough money to purchase his first cornet. He was arrested when he was 11 years old and was sent to live in a Home For Boys, where he got proper lessons on the cornet and eventually became the leader of the home’s brass band. He was released when he was 13 and had decided he was going to become a professional musician. He started working with the city’s top cornetist, Joe “King” Oliver, and Louis soon became one of the most popular cornetists in town and had steady work.
After a few years of working in New Orleans, Louis and King Oliver moved to Chicago and they became well-known for their two-cornet solos and started making records together. Louis started dating Lil Hardin (see week 15 for her story!) and she encouraged him to try to make it on his own. Louis started making records under his own name for the first time in 1925.
Louis started a band called Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five. His solos transformed jazz from ensemble-based music to soloist-based. He was known for his cornet and trumpet playing and his singing. He was soon appearing on stages worldwide, in Broadway shows, on radio, in films, and on his recordings. He was also a strong Civil Rights protestor. He toured constantly for many years which took a toll on his body. He passed away in his sleep in 1971.
Listen to some of his work here:
When The Saints Go Marching In
Book:
This Jazz Man – by Karen Ehrhardt
This book includes a number of jazz musicians including Louis Armstrong.
It can be found at the following Monroe County Libraries, or put it on hold and have it delivered to a library near you!
Brighton
Central
Gates
Greece
Lincoln
Penfield
Sully
Wheatley