Satchmo and the Jewish Family: Louis Armstrong never forgot the employers who nurtured him as a bo

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64 Parishes
Raeburn, Bruce

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Louis Armstrong, the well-known jazz trumpeter, singer and composer, frequently wore a Star of David around his neck in to "the Jewish family" that unofficially adopted him in New Orleans. The family, the Karnofskys, lived in a poor section of the city. Armstrong had his first job with them, collecting refuse and rags and sold them on a junk wagon, on which Armstrong played a tin horn to attract customers. The family recognized his musical talent and encouraged him to develop it. The family also made sure that he was fed. As Armstrong described it, "Every time we would come in late on the little wagon from buying old rags and bones, when they would be having supper they would fix a plate of food for me, saying ‘you’ve worked, might as well eat here with us. It is too late, and by the time you get home, it will be way too late for your supper.’" Click on the link to read the article.

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Karnofsky Family; Armstrong, Louis; Music; Jazz; United States

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