Louis Daniel Armstrong, nicknamed "Satchmo," "Satch," and "Pops"; his music had such an important effect on jazz history that many scholars, critics, and fans call him the first great jazz soloist. It was largely due to Armstrong's powerful playing that jazz changed into music that put the focus on brilliant and adventurous soloists (“Biography”). His swinging solos were emulated by others, and by the time he moved back to Chicago in late-1925, jazz had moved a decade ahead of where it was in 1923. Soon many trumpeters who sounded like relatives of Armstrong. It was not until the bebop era began twenty years later that jazz trumpeters, inspired by Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, moved beyond Armstrong to look for other musical role models. Armstrong's influence extended far beyond jazz; the energetic, swinging rhythmic momentum of his playing was a major influence on soloists in every genre of American popular music ("Louis Armstrong"). Some of the artists who incorporated his innovations into their singing include Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Bing Crosby. In the 1950s, Armstrong used his fame to speak out in support of school desegregation.
Eubie Blake
(1887-1983)
As a son of former slaves, Blake started playing the keyboard as a child and was a performer, composer, and bandleader who made his first record in 1917 and kept composing, performing, and appearing on radio, TV, and in theaters until his death at age 96. He played in almost every musical genre of his time and co-wrote Shuffle Along, one of the first Broadway musicals written and directed by African-Americans. In 1981 Blake was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan (Rasmussen).
