Cover With her signature mix of classic jazz and modern pop, Laufey carries Armstrong’s timeless, charismatic approach to storytelling into the 21st century. (Photo: Getty Images)
With her signature mix of classic jazz and modern pop, Laufey carries Armstrong’s timeless, charismatic approach to storytelling into the 21st century. (Photo: Getty Images)
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Exploring how Louis Armstrong’s bold improvisation and genre-bending vision continue to shape music through 6 contemporary jazz musicians
Every year on August 4, the world of music celebrates the birthday of Louis Armstrong. The New Orleans native was a legendary jazz and blues musician who transformed the genres through his unparalleled improvisations and magnetic stage presence, redefining the roles of a vocalist, trumpeter and, ultimately, a performer.
More than a century after his birth in 1901, the influence of Satchmo—a nickname derived from “Satchelmouth”, referring to the size of his mouth—can still be heard across generations and genres. Here are six contemporary artists carrying Louis Armstrong’s spirit into the 21st century.
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Samara Joy
Above That rich, velvet tone makes time stand still, proving that classic vocal jazz never really left us
The six-time Grammy winner from the Bronx, New York has made the world pause, and listen.
At 26 years old, Joy has already become one of the defining voices of contemporary jazz, earning multiple accolades while introducing a new generation of listeners to the Great American Songbook—the most important and influential American popular songs and jazz standards from the early 20th century. Her voice carries a timeless warmth, while her delicate phrasing and emotional restraint echo the qualities that made Louis Armstrong a compelling storyteller.
Take her interpretation of Misty. Rather than relying strictly on standard rubato phrasing (stretching and compressing expressions), Joy alters the song’s original meter, incorporating behind-the-beat syncopation and wide leaps across her multi-octave range—demonstrating precise, instrument-like vocal control.
Laufey
Above Armed with a cello and a bedroom-pop sensibility, Laufey translates mid-century romanticism directly for a new generation
Few artists have introduced jazz to as many young listeners as Laufey.
The Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter has built a global following by mixing jazz, classical music and bedroom-pop aesthetics, making standards and vintage influences feel surprisingly relatable to Gen Z. Millions of fans who may never have picked up a traditional jazz record are now discovering swing, big band sounds and timeless songwriting through her music.
Her latest album, A Matter of Time, showcases just how effortlessly she balances tradition with innovation. On Madwoman, a recent release with the widely popular video featuring the likes of Olympic ice skater Alysa Liu and Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams, Laufey opens with syncopated phrasing before settling into a steady verse groove, grounded by her own cello accompaniment. It’s a reminder that beneath her viral success is a musician with exceptional compositional instincts and classical training.
Armstrong spent his career bringing jazz into the mainstream. Laufey is doing the same for a new generation—meeting listeners where they are, then inviting them to fall in love with a century-old musical tradition.
Jon Batiste
Above Jon Batiste carries the torch with infectious New Orleans energy, demonstrating how pure musical joy can bridge generations
If anyone embodies Armstrong’s belief that music should bring people together, it’s Jon Batiste.
Equally comfortable behind a grand piano, on a festival stage or hosting a television audience, Armstrong’s fellow Louisianian refuses to be boxed into one genre. Jazz, soul, pop, gospel and R&B coexist naturally in his work, much like how Armstrong blurred the lines between jazz and popular culture decades before him.
Like Armstrong, Batiste, who completed both his bachelor’s and master’s music degrees at Juilliard, reminds us that technical brilliance doesn’t have to come at the expense of joy. Watching him perform feels less like attending a concert and more like being invited into a celebration.
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Cécile McLorin Salvant
Above Every phrase is a tiny piece of theatre when Cécile McLorin Salvant commands the stage with her dramatic, razor-sharp storytelling
Few singers possess the ability to make familiar songs sound completely new. Cécile McLorin Salvant approaches every lyric like an actor approaching a script, turning every performance into a deeply personal narrative. It’s a quality that Armstrong understood well.
Ever since her breakthrough 2013 album WomanChild, Salvant has consistently challenged how jazz standards can be interpreted. Her inventive arrangement of I Didn't Know What Time It Was strips away expectations, allowing the lyrics and melody to unfold with fresh intimacy. More than a decade later, that spirit of reinvention continues on her latest album, With Every Breath I Take, where she moves effortlessly between classic repertoire and original material, proving that the Great American Songbook remains a living, evolving tradition.
There’s always another emotional layer waiting to be discovered in Salvant’s albums. Like Armstrong, she reminds us that the best jazz is about making every story feel as though it's being told for the very first time.
Esperanza Spalding
Above Navigating intricate, polyrhythmic basslines while singing lead, Esperanza Spalding makes boundary-pushing jazz look effortless
A critically acclaimed bassist, composer, singer-songwriter and former Harvard professor, Esperanza Spalding has never been one to stay within the lines.
As an artist, she has moved easily between jazz, classical music, experimental composition and contemporary songwriting. Her curiosity mirrors one of Armstrong’s greatest strengths: a willingness to keep evolving rather than becoming defined by past success.
From being the first jazz musician ever to win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2011, to teaching—at just 20 years old—at the Berklee College of Music and later at Harvard, Spalding proves that jazz isn’t a style frozen in time—it’s a living, breathing conversation that continues to grow with every generation.
Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah
Above With his custom-built horn and signature Stretch Music sound, Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah channels deep New Orleans lineage into a modern approach to brass
Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah plays the trumpet with a deliberate disregard for genre borders.
Like Armstrong, the New Orleans native builds his sound from a wide mix of influences, weaving together hip-hop, West African rhythms, electronic textures and Indigenous traditions. The result feels grounded in deep heritage, while also reflective of the present.
A six-time Grammy nominee and Doris Duke Artist Award recipient, Adjuah coined the term Stretch Music to define his fluid approach to composition. To capture sounds standard horns simply couldn't produce, he designed his own line of custom brass instruments, including the Siren Trumpet. Beyond the stage, he is a crowned Chieftain and Grand Griot in New Orleans’ Black Masking Indian culture—a historic African American tradition where leaders serve as community stewards, ceremonial Chiefs and keepers of oral history.
Armstrong upended the music world by refusing to conform. Adjuah keeps that legacy alive by constantly inventing his own rules.
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An award-winning jazz and contemporary singer-songwriter and Berklee graduate, Arvin Ma headlined his first solo show at Blue Note Shanghai at age 19. He has since performed across China and the US—with appearances at Washington DC’s Blues Alley and Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai—and currently works in artist relations, brand partnerships and music festival production.
