Louis Armstrong’s Enslaved African Ancestors Took Jazz to America. Armstrong Took Jazz Back to Africa.
When Louis Armstrong, wife Lucille, and his All Stars band arrived in Accra in what is now Ghana on May 23, 1956, it was as if he was returning home – which in a way it was. After all, his ancestors had been enslaved from west Africa, taking Jazz to America in their veins. On disembarking the aircraft at Accra airport, Armstrong received a hero’s welcome. Thousands of admirers overrun the airport waving signs and yelling “Armstrong Akwaba!” – “Welcome Armstrong.” Bands perched atop trucks sung “All For You, Louis, All For You!” Armstrong pulled out his trumpet and joined the merrymaking frenzy. Louis Armstrong and Jazz had come back home.
Louis Armstrong, the genius American trumpeter, vocalist, composer and band leader who is arguably one of the most influential figures in Jazz, is on my mind today. Ninety three years ago on June 28, 1928, Armstrong recorded West End Blues, the beautiful music composed by Joseph “King” Oliver. Here is Armstrong’s masterpiece, West End Blues.
But West End Blues is not the subject of my article. This piece is about the lesser known side of Armstrong – how he took Jazz to Africa in a series of tours, beginning in 1956 when he performed in the Gold Coast, soon to become independent Ghana. Armstrong and his All Stars band took the west African nation by storm, as can be seen in this footage of one of his open-air concerts in Accra.
Armstrong and his All Stars band thrilled crowds of over 110,000 of dancers, musicians and drummers who joined in the festivity. Australian journalist Raymond described one of the All Stars’ performances led by Armstrong’s swinging trumpet in these words:
“As the animated mass of players and swinging people moved across the tarmac, gathering strength and impetus all the time, the noise and the clamour rose to the skies…The shouts and applause merged into a steady uproot…Quickly, without pausing, Armstrong swung into a fast driving number.”
It is said that one of the dancers resembled Armstrong’s mother, who had died years earlier, leading Armstrong to remark that “I came from here, way back. At least my people did. Now I know this is my country too.”
Armstrong’s love affair with Africa had just begun. In 1960, Armstrong and the All Stars embarked on a three-month tour Africa – this time sent by the US State Department on Jazz diplomatic tour. Armstrong performed in several African countries, conveying his deep sense of connection to his African brothers and sisters who embraced him in return. Armstrong returned to Africa in 1961 for the final Jazz diplomacy tour, which took the All Stars through Senegal, Congo, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, and Egypt.
The rest is history – Jazz-influenced music spread across Africa like wildfire from the 1950s onwards. In Nigeria, Fela Kuti saxophonist, composer, and bandleader, became a household name with his Afrobeat music. The Congolese guitarist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader, Franco Luambo Makiadi packed his OK Jazz with trumpeters and saxophonists. But it was in South Africa that Jazz specularly took off, illustrated the Jazz Epistles, consisting of trombonist Jonas Gwangwa, trumpeter Hugh Masekela, saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi, and pianist Dollar Brand, later known as Abdullah Ibrahim. Each of these artists became a Jazz master in his own right.
To be sure, Armstrong was not the only influencer that spread Jazz across Africa. Nor was he the only Jazz artist that performed in Africa. Drummer Art Blakey visited and briefly stayed in Africa in the 1940s. Blakey’s African Beat Jazz album released 1962 featured compositions by African musicians. But Armstrong was in a league of his own. He directly took Jazz to the African streets. It was estimated that Armstrong’s formal concerts and informal spontaneous open air performances in African cities were attended by over 500,000 people. And, Armstrong adopted this beautiful tune, Skokiaan, from the continent.
The Louis Armstrong-Africa connection is a beautiful love story that has yet to be fully told. We know where to begin the search for more details – the Louis Armstrong House Museum and Archives in New York City. The Museum preserved Armstrong’s and Lucille’s vast personal collection of recordings, scrapbooks, photographs, letters and manuscripts. Time to explore this treasure and learn more about the Armstrong-Africa love story.
