What do you know about Louis Armstrong? “What A Wonderful World,” yes. The bugged-out eyes, the wide grin. You may be aware that he played the trumpet, and was a major player in the early days of jazz. Make no mistake, Louis Armstrong was no novelty act, not just a shucker and jiver with a gravelly voice and a comic sensibility. Armstrong was an innovator, a tremendous trumpeter who was just as important (if not more so) than Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. He’s been gone 40 years now, but his importance hasn’t waned. Happy 110th birthday, Satchmo.
