WEST END BLOG

“Alexa, play “Some Day” by Louis Armstrong, on repeat,” I say, desperately needing something to bring the gears of my brain that have been constantly fixated on the concept of […]

In April of 1933 rising star Louis Armstrong made headlines when a British tabloid newspaper known as the Daily Express declared him deceased. The front-page article offered no cause of […]

The year was 1914, he was 13 years old in New Orleans, Louisiana.  The year was 2008, she was 13 years old in Coconut Creek, Florida. 1 state, 830 miles […]

Within the American music industry well-known performers must deal with a variety of challenges such as the pressures of fame, loneliness, adrenaline highs and lows, public scrutiny, creative blocks, round-the-clock […]

In the most recent weeks, I have been working towards creating a virtual tour about Louis through the voices and perspectives of women in his life, along with Maglyn Bertrand, […]

In my last post, I raised questions concerning Armstrong and his musical taste: How and when did Armstrong acquire his musical taste? In what ways did “good music” impact his […]

…Well, what is progressive? You tell me cause all we play is good music. We never did worry about styles. There ain’t no such thing as styles in music. There […]

A few of my past blog posts have briefly mentioned what America was like when Louis Armstrong was born in the southern state of Louisiana. To elaborate further I would […]

Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) and Bing Crosby (1903-1977) are two of the most well-known performers of the twentieth century. Born three years apart in states at opposite ends of the country, […]

Typically the game was very simple. The rules were that someone from the group would knock on the chosen door really hard, then everyone takes off running in any direction. […]