Louis Armstrong’s early years reexamined in 'Stomp Off, Let’s Go'
A new book by Ricky Riccardi explores Armstrong’s rise from New Orleans to jazz legend.
 |
| American jazz cornet player and bandleader King Oliver poses with Honoré Dutrey, Baby Dodds, Louis Armstrong, Lil Hardin Armstrong, Bill Johnson, and Johnny Dodds in Chicago, circa 1923. © Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images |
By Novanka Laras and Sarah Oktaviany
Stomp Off, Let's Go: The Early Years of Louis Armstrong, by Ricky Riccardi
Twelve seconds of music changed the course of jazz forever. The opening of Louis Armstrong’s 1928 trumpet solo on West End Blues is a masterclass in improvisation, beginning with a commanding four-note phrase before soaring into an electrifying climax. At just 26 years old, Armstrong brought years of experience from New Orleans honky-tonks, Mississippi riverboats, and Chicago jazz clubs into his music. These early experiences shaped his artistic vision, influencing every decade of his career.
Ricky Riccardi, director of research collections at the Louis Armstrong House Museum, has dedicated years to chronicling Armstrong’s life. His latest book, Stomp Off, Let’s Go, completes a trilogy that has examined Armstrong’s career in reverse. After covering Armstrong’s later years in What a Wonderful World (2011) and his mid-career in Heart Full of Rhythm (2020), Riccardi now turns to Armstrong’s beginnings—from his birth in New Orleans in 1901 to his rise as a jazz innovator in 1929. This period, long explored by historians and even by Armstrong himself in Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans (1954), is reexamined with fresh insight. Riccardi draws from previously unpublished sources, including a 1973 interview with Armstrong’s sister and never-before-seen chapters from his second wife Lil Hardin Armstrong’s autobiography.
From New Orleans to Chicago: Armstrong’s early influences
Armstrong’s musical journey began in the streets of New Orleans, where music was woven into everyday life. He started singing in a vocal quartet at age 11, harmonizing on street corners to earn small change. Before long, he was drawn to the cornet, an instrument that would define his early career. In a city overflowing with musical influences, Armstrong absorbed it all—Italian opera, Yiddish folk songs, brass bands, ragtime, and early jazz.
One of the most pivotal figures in Armstrong’s life was Joe “King” Oliver, a cornetist whose booming sound and expressive playing captivated the young musician. Armstrong idolized Oliver, carrying his instrument during parades and learning from his performances. This mentorship set Armstrong on a path toward professional musicianship, and by his teenage years, he was playing in local dance halls and riverboats on the Mississippi.
These riverboat gigs were crucial to Armstrong’s development. For three summers, he performed on boats traveling up and down the Mississippi, playing for tourists and learning from seasoned musicians. The experience deepened his understanding of ensemble playing and musical phrasing. By the time he returned to New Orleans, he was one of the city’s most promising young musicians.
In 1922, Armstrong received a life-changing invitation: King Oliver asked him to move to Chicago and join his Creole Jazz Band. This opportunity marked Armstrong’s first major step onto the national jazz scene. He quickly gained attention for his powerful tone and improvisational skill. However, playing second cornet to Oliver was limiting, and Armstrong soon grew restless.
Breaking out as a soloist
Encouraged by his wife, Lil Hardin, Armstrong took a bold step in 1924—he left Oliver’s band to join the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra in New York. This move transformed his career. The Henderson Orchestra was one of the leading African American jazz bands of the era, and Armstrong’s presence helped revolutionize its sound.
During his time with Henderson, Armstrong refined his technique, switching from cornet to trumpet to produce a brighter, more commanding tone. His influence on the band was profound. He introduced a more fluid, swinging style of playing that set the stage for the evolution of jazz in the late 1920s and beyond.
Despite his success in New York, Armstrong longed for more creative freedom. In 1925, he returned to Chicago, where he formed his own group, the Hot Five. This band—featuring Lil Hardin on piano—became a vehicle for some of Armstrong’s most groundbreaking recordings.
The Hot Five and the rise of Armstrong’s signature style
The Hot Five recordings, made between 1925 and 1928, are among the most influential in jazz history. Tracks like Heebie Jeebies and Struttin’ With Some Barbecue showcased Armstrong’s innovative use of rhythm and phrasing. But it was West End Blues that cemented his reputation as a jazz genius.
Released in 1928, West End Blues opened with a breathtaking, unaccompanied trumpet cadenza. The solo demonstrated Armstrong’s technical brilliance, emotive power, and ability to bend the structure of a song to his will. The recording stunned musicians and critics alike. Pianist Teddy Wilson praised Armstrong’s “high development of balance, lyricism, delicacy, and emotional outburst.” Jazz artists from Hoagy Carmichael to Billie Holiday cited it as a defining influence.
By 1929, Armstrong was no longer just a jazz musician—he was a national sensation. He returned to New York to lead a big band, starred in Broadway’s Connie’s Hot Chocolates, and recorded songs that reshaped American popular music.
Armstrong as an entertainer and innovator
One of Riccardi’s key arguments is that Armstrong saw himself as more than just a musician—he was a performer in the broadest sense. He understood that audiences responded to personality as much as technical skill. Reflecting on his early singing days, Armstrong once said, “When you get a chance, you can ham it up.” He never hesitated to inject humor and theatrics into his performances.
This showmanship extended beyond music. Armstrong danced the Charleston during concerts, recorded comedic slide-whistle solos, and even performed a drag routine with drummer Zutty Singleton. He was an entertainer in every sense, balancing technical brilliance with an irresistible stage presence.
Armstrong’s resilience and gratitude
Beyond his musical contributions, Riccardi’s book also highlights Armstrong’s resilience in the face of hardship. Born into poverty, Armstrong’s childhood was marked by struggle. His father abandoned the family, and his mother’s boyfriends—whom Armstrong called “stepfathers”—offered little stability. At times, he scavenged for food in garbage cans. At age eight, he briefly became the caretaker of his younger sister when his mother was jailed.
Yet Armstrong remained remarkably optimistic. He never forgot those who helped him along the way. He spoke warmly of the Karnofsky family, Lithuanian Jewish immigrants who employed him as a child and welcomed him at their dinner table. He later wore a Star of David to honor their kindness.
While Riccardi acknowledges Armstrong’s flaws—his infidelities, his occasional clashes with bandmates—he ultimately portrays him as a man of immense generosity and humility. Armstrong held deep gratitude for his fans and the people who supported him throughout his life.
A fitting tribute to a jazz legend
Stomp Off, Let’s Go is a deeply researched and engaging look at Armstrong’s formative years. Riccardi’s admiration for his subject is evident, but his book is far from a simple tribute. Instead, it presents Armstrong as a complex figure—an artist shaped by hardship, ambition, and an unrelenting passion for music.
With this final installment in his Armstrong trilogy, Riccardi not only documents a crucial period in jazz history but also ensures that Armstrong’s legacy remains alive for new generations. Through detailed research and newly uncovered sources, he offers fresh insights into one of the most influential musicians of all time.
For jazz fans and historians alike, Stomp Off, Let’s Go is an essential read, providing a richer understanding of the man behind the music that changed the world.
