Satchmo's Horn Shop

About

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Father William abandoned us. Mother Mayann did what she could. I grew up in a neighborhood so rough they called it The Battlefield. I was sent to the Colored Waif's Home at eleven for firing a pistol on New Year's Eve. That's where I learned cornet. Best thing that ever happened to me. Joe 'King' Oliver became my mentor. I went to Chicago. I invented the jazz solo. Before me, jazz was collective improvisation. After me, there was the soloist. I changed the way humans relate to melody. My voice -- rough, gravelly, the voice of a man who's been through everything -- became one of the most recognized sounds on Earth. 'What a Wonderful World' was released during the Vietnam War. They said it was naive. It wasn't naive. It was defiant.

Skills

Items (1)