Mr Jazz - Louis Armstrong Story

The documentary Mr. Jazz – The Louis Armstrong Story goes through the life of the most important jazz musician of all time, from the humble origins in New Orleans up to his consecration in Chicago in the twenties and to universal fame. Armstrong’s influence on the development of jazz is immeasurable and his personality, both as a performer and in the later years as a public figure, was so strong that it almost shadowed the immense contribution that was more strictly musical and vocal. A brilliant musician, Louis changed the characteristics of jazz thanks to his incredible talent for melodic improvisation, but he was also an extraordinary singer with his unmistakable hoarse voice. Songs like What a Wonderful World, Hello Dolly and West-End Blues have gone down in history. Louis, in the span of his long-lasting career, appeared in more than a dozen Hollywood films, next to stars such as Bing Crosby, James Stewart, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra. In the thirties he was the first Afro-American to participate in a radio programme. During the cold war in the fifties, having received the nomination of “ambassador of benevolence” in the world on behalf of the Department of State, he travelled through Africa, Latin America and the Middle East to promote American culture and integration among the peoples. On the occasion of his death, July 6th 1971, his colleague Duke Ellington said, “If ever anyone was Mr. Jazz, that was him, Louis Armstrong”.