Date:	01-Feb-2001 14:35:55
From:	Michael Lueras (nonation)
	Praise God who is the Life in us all, Amen. He played well. He could sow with his instrument what he wanted to reap. He played what he wanted to hear. But there's something else. That smile. Louis Armstrong was popular. A lot of white people liked him. Because of that smile. Same thing with B.B. King. The white-man-in-charge likes smiling blacks, not angry or frowning ones. He likes blacks who smile no matter what evil he may do. Satchmo was seen on the T.V., heard on the radio, he got honorary degrees, he got onto the silver screen. But there have been many trumpeters who could play their horn well, whom you have never heard about, at least not by way of the modern media. Why did Satchmo get famous? That smile. The white-man-in-charge wants to think that his slaves are happy. So that he doesn't have to feel guilty. But on an appointed day the white-man-in-charge will reap all the evil that he has sown against just about everyone including himself, that is, those whites who just couldn't be white enough to suit. But the white man felt safe with Louis Armstrong. Some people said he was an "Uncle Tom". He wasn't a radical. He didn't like flat fifths. He had his fate. He got fame and fortune, but he had to keep that smile going no matter what. That can be hard work. Those who won't work won't eat. Those who will work will eat. Those who will eat will work. Those who eat a lot can work it off by trying to get along with the white-man-in-charge - a well-nigh impossible task.

 

Date:	19-Apr-2001 11:39:48
From:	Charles Lawson (Cooldude_chuck@hotmail.com)
	Also if you give a man a fish he will eat for a day, but teach him to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.

 

Date:	19-Apr-2001 11:42:11
From:	Charles Lawson (Cooldude_chuck@hotmail.com)
	But no matter the case let's talk or write about Louis Armstrong.

 

Date:	25-Apr-2001 14:19:56
From:	Mimi (Miriam.Cooper@bet.net)
	Louis Armstrong was nothing short of a musical genius. He taught us all how to swing, he taught us all how to sing and scat and be proud.... I'm not sure if it's a known fact but Chief Justice Warren Black (deciding judge on Brown vs board of Education repealing seperate but equal segregation policy) went to see Louis Armstrong play as a teenager. Justice Black claimed he had never witnessed an African-America genius at work but that show opened up an entirely new world to Justice Black. Yeah we can talk about Louis Armstrong as a step-in-fetch-it smiler and what a wonderful smile he had, but he WAS THE MAN!!! You can't take away that wonderful sound he CREATED!!!!, You can't diminish his imapct on today's music. I get tired of Louis' smile being the only thing that made him a star. The man was a genius for goodness sake, just listen to the hot fives and the hot sevens. He did that when he was in his 20's. Duke Ellington, Bix Biederbicke, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Artie Shaw, Dizzy Gillespie they all wanted their music to sound as if Louis Armstrong sat in their recording sessions. And you can't say that about very many people--black or white-- during that time in history. He was the Goodwill Ambassador of Jazz to the entire world. And he did that by pressing his lips to that horn; blowing and emitting some the most beautiful sounds ever heard to this day NOT by smiling. So, I (if you couldn't tell) ADORE Louis Armstrong, his music, his genius, his smile.... I named my son after him and I'm proud to be able to pay tribute to the man who gave Jazz to the world.

 

Date:	04-May-2001 14:55:24
From:	jordan
	hey Louis Armstrong fans, Did you know that 3 of Louis' most classic albums have been reissued and remastered on vinyl. The way it was meant to be heard. Totally clean and beautiful. The reissues include the classics such as:"LouisUnder the Stars", "I've Got the World on A String", "Satchmo plays King Oliver" . I highly recommend looking into this at: themusic.com/louisarmstrong

 

Date:	31-May-2001 12:27:17
From:	Kathy (mellokat@bolt.com)
	The man was a freaking prodigy - not only could he play the horn at a young age, which is awesome in itself, but he could feel the music. And through his interpretations of the music, he has inspired so many people, including myself, to play the music called jazz.

 

Date:	27-Jun-2001 19:26:43
From:	Gary Hreben (ghreben@megsinet)
	I was inspired by Louis at 8 years when my older brother did a book report on him. I had the choice of what instrument to pick up, and of course it was the trumpet. Actually, the cornet until high school. My first album was "A Batch of Satch". I haven't stopped listening to him since. What he has given me was, as all jazz players achieve so few times (maybe I'm wrong), is a completeness in a jazz solo. I have only one time, actually heard the end of the solo as I began playing and everything in between just seemed to fit into place. Louis could do that night after night.