louis armstrong had a sense of joy that you can only have when you know something.lf and your self worth. and you understand something about the value of people and the human soul and that's really important. especially now there's so much that we devalue with the mudslinging with all of the things that we're doing, publicly to each other. i really find that joy for me comes in knowing that there's something better, something great on the other side. >> all right. >> and are you doing it partly by taking the song in which louis armstrong explores joy, which is what a wonderful world and you re-interpret it for your new album. can we hear that? >> definitely. [ music playing ] ♪ i see trees of green [ music playing ] ♪ and red roses too [ music playing ] ♪ and i see them bloom ♪ for me and you ♪ and i think to myself [ music playing ] ♪ what a wonderful world [ music playing ] ♪ >> jean battiste, i love you, thank you for being on. >> thank you all, love you, brother. >> with that lovefest, it is good-bye from us for now. that's it from our program, thank you for wat

and anybody who sings that kind of music today, they're doing what louis armstrong was doing in the 1920> reporter: born a poor family in new orleans in 1901, armstrong went on to appear in more than 30 movies, recd hundreds of albums and perform thousands of shows for crowds around the world. il 1943, he and his wife l moved into this modest house in the working class new york city neighborhood of corona, queens. today, the home is perfectlyhe preserved asouis armstrong house museum. after armstrong died in 1971, a vast amount of materials were found in his home, what organirs call the largest collection of any jazz musician in the world. 60,000 items, much of it created and collected by armngto himself, are sd for now about four miles away at queens college. robert o'meally, the director of the columbianiversity center for jazz studies, says armstrong knew his legacy would be important. >> armstrong was an auto- archivist. almost from the beginning, heem to realize that he was louis armstrong.ti and so he was lous. and he wanted that his passage through the world was recorded in full.

one of the things that i am very proud of is this picture of louis armstrong that he autographed to my artefact in my family that i hope will be passed down from generation to generation. in the early 1960s, when desegregation began, most people, when they had a choice of staying in the holiday inn down the street or the motel 6 or whatever, decided they'd rather stay there. for many black people it was a point of pride to be able to go where they had been denied access before. i stumbled on the green book by accident. i was writing a book on route 66 and found that it was at a route 66 exhibit, and there was a green book under glass and tucked away in a corner. when i first put my hands on a green book, it was magical. it is this feeling of, you too can enjoy america. it was a very hopeful, positive guide. i am in new york because i am a scholar in residence at the schomburg center for black research. and it is amazing because they have the largest collection of green books in the world. i have scouted about 1,600 green book sites so far, and of those, less than a quarter are still st

humanitarian aid amasses at the borders.an in our signature segment, a treasure trove of jazz great louis armstrongnd gathe effort to carry his forward. next on pbs newshour weend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: bernard and irene schwartz. sue and edgar wachenheim iii. seton melvin. the cheryl and philip milsteina ly. dr. p. roy vagelos and diana t. vage the j.p.b. foundation. rosalind p. walter. barbara hope zuckerberg. icorporate fundinrovided by mutual of america--

so, the last place that louis armstrong played a trumpet in public was here at the national press club. for about a year, he had been holding the horn and singing. he had a heart condition, and went up to the force you need to play the trumpet. so, he is coming up here january 1971 to cs, and his doctor gave him a go through right before he got on the train to come up, and he said you know, let your own conscience be your guide. if you want to play, you are well enough to play. so, people came there expecting to see him, and to hear him sing. but, not expecting to hear him play trumpet. and, he was great, and we found the audio, and we give it to linton marsalis, and he said i have heard him play that run from hello dolly like hundreds of times, but i never heard that improvisation. so, what it tells us about the human condition is that the end of life, you know, the artist is still inventing, right? and that music became the lead selling thing, my kids would know these terms on apple, no, on itunes, jazz, and on one of the other ones, digital ones, for like two weeks. this music was y

one or two other things i find placeating -- the last that louis armstrong played trumpet in public was here at the national press club. he had beene year, holding the horn and singing. andad a heart condition wasn't up to the force that you need to play the trumpet. januaryoming up here in of 1970 want to see us and his 1971 to see us. his doctor said let your own conscience be a guide. if you want to play, you are well enough. people came there expecting to see him and hear him saying, but not expecting him to play the trumpet. he was great. and he said iudio have heard him play that run from hello dolly like hundreds of times, but i have never heard that improvisation. what it tells us about the human condition is at the end of life, the artist is still inventing. that music became the lead selling thing -- my kids would know these terms -- on apple, on itunes jazz and one of the other ones, digital ones, for like two weeks. this music was years old. but in a way, we hadn't heard before. that is one of the things that happen at press club is stuff that is important to our history but