Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans in 1901 and grew up poor. As a boy he was arrested and sent to the Colored Waif's Home, where he learned to play, and a Jewish family he worked for, the Karnoffskys, advanced him the money for a cornet from a pawn shop; he wore a Star of David for the rest of his life in their honor. Around 1922 he followed his mentor, King Oliver, to Chicago.

His solos moved jazz away from collective improvising toward the soloist, and his voice made him famous far beyond jazz; Hello, Dolly! won him a Grammy in 1965. On our New Orleans walk, the Jazz Museum in the old United States Mint, at the end of the French Market, has his first cornet among its instruments. Check the museum's calendar before you go, because it has its own performance space and music is part of the visit.