Volume 46 - No. 01
January 07, 2016
by lyle e davis
A grandson of slaves, a boy was born in a poor neighborhood of New Orleans known variously as the “Back of Town, The Battlefield, and Storyville.” His father, William, (1881–1922), abandoned the family when the child was an infant, His mother, Mary "Mayann" Albert (1886–1927), became a prostitute and the boy and his sister Beatrice Armstrong Collins (1903–1987), had to live with their grandmother, Josephine Armstrong. Early in life he proved to be gifted for music and with three other kids he sang in the streets of New Orleans. His first gains were the coins that were thrown to them.
A Jewish family, Karnofsky, who had immigrated from Lithuania to the USA had pity for the 7year-old boy and brought him into their home. Initially given ‘work’ in the house, to feed this hungry child. There he remained and slept in this Jewish families home where, for the first time in his life he was treated with kindness and tenderness. When he went to bed, Mrs. Karnovsky sang him a Russian lullaby that he would sing with her.
Later, he learned to sing and play several Russian and Jewish songs. Over time, this boy became the adopted son of this family. The Karnofskys gave him five dollars to buy his first musical instrument, a cornet; as was the custom in the Jewish families. They sincerely admired his musical talent. Because they were Jewish, as a gesture of gratitude for their generosity the boy wore a Star of David around his neck for the rest of his life. Thus they inadvertently contributed to American culture — and earned at least a measure of immortality. Later, when the boy became a famous musician and composer, he used these Jewish melodies he had learned as a child in compositions, such as St. James Infirmary and Go Down Moses. While there’s no official record that the Karnofskys ever adopted the child, Stanley Karnow said that his family felt “somehow related” to him, but that doesn’t mean they adopted him.
Sometime within this time frame he was sent to the Fisk School for Boys, where he most likely had early exposure to music. He brought in some money as a paperboy and also by finding discarded food and selling it to restaurants, but it was not
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enough to keep his mother from prostitution. He hung out in dance halls close to home, where he observed everything from licentious dancing to the quadrille. For extra money he also hauled coal to Storyville, and listened to the bands playing in the brothels and dance halls, especially Pete Lala's, where Joe "King" Oliver performed as well as other famous musicians who would drop in to jam. He was sent to this school after he got in trouble for shooting a gun in the air on New Years Eve 1912, according to Biography.com:
“There, he received musical instruction on the cornet and fell in love with music. In 1914, the home released him, and he immediately began dreaming of a life making music. While he still had to work odd jobs selling newspapers and hauling coal to the city’s famed red-light district, he began earning a reputation as a fine blues player. After dropping out of the Fisk School at age eleven, Armstrong joined a quartet of boys who sang in the streets for money. He also started to get into trouble. Cornet player Bunk Johnson said he taught Armstrong (then 11) to
play by ear at Dago Tony's Tonk in New Orleans, although in his later years Armstrong gave the credit to Oliver. Armstrong hardly looked back at his youth as the worst of times but drew inspiration from it instead: "Every time I close my eyes blowing that trumpet of mine—I look right in the heart of good old New Orleans ... It has given me something to live for."
One of the greatest cornet players in town, Joe ‘King’ Oliver, began acting as a mentor to the young Armstrong, showing him pointers on the horn and occasionally using him as a sub. The little black boy grew up and wrote a book about this Jewish family who had adopted him in 1907. In memory of this family and until the end of his life, he wore a star of David and said that in this family he had learned “how to live real life and determination.” Today, the entire world recognizes his name. This little boy was called Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong.
‘Satchmo!’ Continued on Page 2
Louis Armstrong proudly spoke fluent Yiddish.
Later, in 1949, Marion Karnofsky (now Karno), stood on Rampart Street in New Orleans with his father, Myer, outside their family’s HK Department Store. There they watched the Zulu parade—a mostly African-American procession held every year on Mardi Gras. There were four floats, each with a big band between them. On one stood Louis Armstrong, by then among the most famous jazz musicians in America and king of the parade. Armstrong recognized Myer immediately and quickly jumped off his float to greet him. Everyone in the parade yelled at him to get back on the float, but it didn’t matter.
“It’s not like they’ll leave without me!” Armstrong said. The two men ran off to the back of the store, drank Jax Beer and reminisced. Armstrong would, of course, later hop back on his float. At the time, Marion didn’t know who this man was—he was 10