Louis Armstrong

The Louis Armstrong Special Trumpet designed by Louis Armstrong and Henri Selmer among a collection of photographs, books, memorabilia and information outlining Satchmo's great legacy.

The Selmer ‘Louis Armstrong Special’ trumpet is one of The Jazz Centre UK’s most prized possessions. It was acquired by Digby Fairweather, following its advertisement by a collector as for sale in ‘Jazz Journal’ in 1987 and bears the unique hallmarks of the trumpet-model that Armstrong - aptly described by Wynton Marsalis as ‘The Shakespeare of Jazz’ - played from 1933 until his death in August 1971; a total of thirty-eight years. By 1932 Armstrong had already formed a regular professional relationship with the French-based Selmer musical instrument company (f.1885) playing its ‘Challenger’ trumpet on his first visit to Britain’s London Palladium in August 1932.

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