It’s not July 4th in New Orleans without a touch of Louis Armstrong—Satchmo—who always claimed the holiday as his birthday. Tad Jones, a local historian, teacher and writer unearthed Armstrong’s baptismal certificate in a local church which pinpointed Armstrong’s actual birthday as August 4, 1901, the true date of his birth. However, the Louis Armstrong House in Queens, New York still celebrates Satch’s birthday on July 4th, as the man himself had always proclaimed.
Satchmo always celebrated his birthday on Independence Day, July 4.
The Guardians of the Flame Mardi Gras Indians are celebrating Armstrong’s preferred birthday with a “Breakfast Bash” tomorrow (July 4) at the Donald Harrison Jr. Museum at 1930 Independence Street in the Upper Ninth Ward (map).
Birthday donuts will be served in a display of 112 pastries to honor Satchmo’s age. An exhibit created by the New Orleans Jazz Celebration will honor his life and career, and there will be remarks from Jackie Harris, who is the New Orleans representative on the board of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation.
The tribe’s Big Chief, Brian Harrison Nelson, will perform an original song dedicated to Armstrong, and there will be further music from Dewan Scott & the Jazzy Men Trio, and the Young Guardians of the Flame. The event runs from 8-9:30 a.m. and is free.
