2011 Satchmo Summerfest

2011 Satchmo Summerfest, a set on Flickr.

The premier American jazz festival dedicated to the life, music and legacy of New Orleans' native son, Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong.
This free community event is produced by French Quarter Festivals, Inc. Satchmo SummerFest is scheduled annually to coincide with Louis Armstrong’s birthday on August 4th. Festival goers enjoyed traditional jazz and brass bands, New Orleans classic cuisine, family activities, culture and fun at the weekend-long celebration.

Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), was known around the world as ‘Satchmo’, short for Satchelmouth. In addition, he was widely recognized as a founding father of jazz – a unique American art form. In 1932, Melody Maker magazine editor Percy Brooks greeted Armstrong in London with “Hello, Satchmo!” and the nickname stuck. His influence, as an artist and cultural icon, is universal, unmatched, and very much alive today.

Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an "inventive" cornet and trumpet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the music's focus from collective improvisation to solo performance. With his instantly recognizable deep and distinctive gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes. He was also greatly skilled at scat singing, vocalizing using sounds and syllables instead of actual lyrics.

Armstrong often stated that he was born on July 4, 1900, a date that has been noted in many biographies. Although he died in 1971, it was not until the mid-1980s that his true birth date of August 4, 1901 was discovered through the examination of baptismal records.