One of the arts that transcends culture is the art of music. Louis Armstrong was an individual who took the art of music, particularly jazz, and transformed it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayLouis Armstrong was born in August 1901, to Maryann and Willie Armstrong. When Louis Armstrong was a newborn, his father left his family with no money and no way to support themselves. Because Louis' mother was a poor black woman living in the South in the 1920s, she had no chance of finding a job to support her family. Maryann Armstrong, Louis' mother, chose a life of prostitution to provide for her family. As a result of this lifestyle, Maryann became a very poor mother to Louis and his younger sister Beatrice. The children's grandmother ended up raising and caring for them. Josephine Armstrong, Louis' grandmother, raised her grandchildren with discipline, making sure they went to school and instilling good morals in them. Louis grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana, known for its late nights and crime. He grew up in Black Storyville, New Orleans, well known for its nightlife and violence. Black Storyville was a segregated community that shaped the person Louis became. When he was young, Louis worked several jobs just to help his family. Some of these jobs included running errands for prostitutes and selling newspapers. Even with Louis' help, his family was still very poor and struggled to put food on the table. Due to this poverty, his childhood was particularly difficult and the only escape he could find was in music. Her nights were often filled with listening to jazz music and spending time in this new love. Soon he was joining a quartet and often singing for money, even if it was just a few cents. This lasted for a few years but didn't really help his family, so he started picking pockets and hustling others for money. These actions set Louis on a path that led to prison. He was quickly arrested on New Year's Eve for attempting to fire a pistol. He spent a year and a half in a juvenile detention center. It ended up being a blessing in Louis' life because it was there that he learned to play the cornet and he would spend hours and hours practicing his new love. After his release, he began playing bars and honky-tonks and soon became a well-known entertainer. In 1922, King Oliver, a prominent musician, asked Armstrong to move to Chicago and play second cornet in his band. He accepted the offer and was paid $52 a week. He played in Oliver's Creole Jazz Band for many months, but began to tire of the same old jazz and Dixieland styles. While playing in the band, Louis fell in love with pianist Lilan Hardin and they married in 1924. Shortly after their marriage, Armstrong's wife encouraged him to leave the band to seek more fame and develop further as a musician. That's exactly what he did. He left for New York. There he played in many bands and later returned to Chicago, where most of his major works were premiered. These musical masterpieces included hits like "Wild Man Blues", "Struttin With Some Barbeque", "Hot Than Hot" and the famous "West End Blues". At this point in his musical career, Louis switched from cornet to trumpet. His technique was as unique as it could be and his talent was beyond anything people had seen.