Louis Armstrong award
Encyclopedia
The Louis Armstrong Award is the "top senior jazz award", a highly prestigious award to a musician. It is given out by high schools nationwide to recognize "outstanding musical achievement and an incredible dedication to the program". Typically there is only one recipient per school district.
was an American jazz
musician and singer. Armstrong's influence extends well beyond jazz music, and by the end of his career in the 1960s, he was widely regarded as a profound influence on popular music in general. Lucille Armstrong, his wife in later years, described his love for people. "Louis's greatest personality traits were humility and generosity...He just loved people, and he always tried to understand them too...He was compassionate, generous, and understanding with everyone...He was loved, not only for his style, but as a person as well."
The Louis Armstrong award was inaugurated in 1974, with the consent of Armstrong's widow, shortly after he died in 1971. The award itself is limited to one per school, and may include a certificate, engraved statue, and wall plaque to which the names of each recipient over the years may be added.
History
Louis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
was an American jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician and singer. Armstrong's influence extends well beyond jazz music, and by the end of his career in the 1960s, he was widely regarded as a profound influence on popular music in general. Lucille Armstrong, his wife in later years, described his love for people. "Louis's greatest personality traits were humility and generosity...He just loved people, and he always tried to understand them too...He was compassionate, generous, and understanding with everyone...He was loved, not only for his style, but as a person as well."
The Louis Armstrong award was inaugurated in 1974, with the consent of Armstrong's widow, shortly after he died in 1971. The award itself is limited to one per school, and may include a certificate, engraved statue, and wall plaque to which the names of each recipient over the years may be added.
Award recipients
Notable recipients of the Louis Armstrong Award include:- Walter BeckerWalter BeckerWalter Carl Becker is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, guitarist, bassist and a co-writer of Steely Dan.-Career:...
- Benjamin ClappBenjamin ClappBenjamin Clapp is an American musician from Boise, Idaho. He has performed, composed, and recorded music with numerous artists, most notably Jim Breuer, Jesse Blaze Snider and Baptized By Fire, Tom Marshall and Amfibian, Kronos Quartet, Erik Sanko and Skeleton Key, Dee Snider , David Peel , and...
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- Dave WecklDave WecklDave Weckl is a highly acclaimed jazz fusion drummer. Weckl attended Francis Howell High School in St. Charles, MO and graduated in 1978. He majored in jazz studies at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut...
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