Satchmo – New Orleans Jazz on the River
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Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong. New Orleans Musical Legend
In April 1919 Louis Armstrong was determined to see blossoming talent as a jazz cornetist, vocalist, and entertainer take him far. So in September of 1918 he began playing on a Streckfus Steamers excursion boat that plied New Orleans harbor. With a little experience with those audiences he announced to friends and other musicians that he would be performing along the Mississippi River from New Orleans as far north as Minneapolis. He was only 17 years old. He accepted a job offer from John Streckfus and his bandleader Fate C. Marable, to play in their new hot dance band on board the steamer Sidney. Up until then he had stayed in the general neighborhood of his childhood and had only recently decided to become a professional musician. Satchmo had been left on his own since an early age so he was prepared to embark on a life of touring the riverboats, playing for junkets for three seasons on the river. His three years of spreading New Orleans Jazz along the Mississippi changed the course of New Orleans and worldwide "jazz".
