Throughout the month of April, the Louis Armstrong House Museum in New York City will be celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month by giving all its visitors a rare print of Armstrong’s first arrival in Africa in 1956.
The photo depicts the moment in which he took out his horns to play along with the thirteen trumpeters who were among the mob of spectators that greeted him upon his arrival, and played the traditional African song “Sly Mongoose,” retitled “All for You, Louis” for the occasion. It was saved by Armstrong’s longtime publicist Ernie Anderson and was acquired by the Louis Armstrong House Museum in 2012. It has never before been exhibited or published.
Armstrong’s first trip to Africa was also documented in the film Satchmo the Great, which turns 60 this year. The documentary was created by broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, who followed Armstrong on his world tour, filming him in Paris, Sweden, Switzerland, England and Africa. It ends with his return to New York and a performance of “St. Louis Blues” with the New York Philharmonic, directed by Leonard Bernstein.
Satchmo the Great, which has not been commercially available since its original theatrical release in 1956, will be screened at the Museum of the City of New York on April 30 at 3 p.m. Ricky Riccardi, director of research collections at the Louis Armstrong House Museum, will introduce the film.
Places for the event can be reserved online at www.mcny.org