GREELEY – Let’s rewind the clock nearly six decades to the year 1966.

The renowned trumpeter and vocalist, Louis Daniel Armstrong, sits down for an in-depth interview with Richard Meryman of LIFE magazine to share his story.

“Alright, alright, Mr. Meryman,” Louis Armstrong, dressed sharply in a white-and-black tuxedo, says as he ambles into the room. “Eh, so, you want to write an article about Old Pops for LIFE magazine. Alright, alright. Well, you got about a half an hour, you know, because I got fans waiting to talk with Pops, and I never, never want to disappoint.”

He then delves into the details of his childhood and what it was like growing up with his mother in New Orleans. After that, he begins talking about how his time at the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys, following his arrest in 1912, kickstarted his journey to a prominent music career.

He also sprinkles in some of his popular songs, including “Black and Blue,” and “Hello Dolly,” throughout his interview, occasionally clapping his hands in time with the beat.

Of course the famous jazz musician actually died in 1971.

But on Monday, actor Marvin Jefferson brought Armstrong back to life with his Chautauqua performance at the LINC Library Innovation Center in front of a crowd of around 35 people.

Colorado Humanities hosted the Chautauqua performance at the library in Greeley as part of the Black History Live tour in honor of Black History Month. A Chautauqua performance is a live theatrical presentation in which the actors portray significant historical figures as a way to educate audience members about them. It originates from the cultural and social movement that began in 1874 on Lake Chautauqua in New York and remained active until the mid-1920s.

During his performance, Jefferson played the role of Satchmo for about 40 minutes before answering questions from the crowd, both as himself and from the persona of the musician, for around 20 minutes.

In order to provide a “kaleidoscopic view” of Armstrong’s life to his event audience, Jefferson decided to focus his Chautauqua performance of him on the musician’s childhood years, his response to the events in Little Rock, Ark. in 1957, and Joseph Nathan “King” Oliver’s influence on him, among other topics.

“For me, researching, it begins with starting with something impactful in a person’s life,” Jefferson said. “And so, in Louis’ case, it was an interview that he gave in 1966 with Richard Meryman for LIFE magazine. And it was one of the most intimate interviews of Louis Armstrong. And so, I decided to use that as the backdrop to talk about his life.”

Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans in the early 1900s. As a child, he took a job with the Jewish Karnofsky family, which earned him enough money to buy his first cornet. In 1912, he was arrested and sent to the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys. While there, he learned how to play the cornet from Peter Davis and later became the leader of the Waif’s Home Brass Band. Upon his release from the home in 1914, Armstrong began his pursuit of a professional music career, mentored by the city’s top cornetist, Joseph Nathan “King” Oliver. From there, Armstrong’s career skyrocketed.

Growing up, Jefferson was a fan of Armstrong the musician. But it was through his Chautauqua performances of him that he learned much more about the man behind the music.

“What I have come to find out is that Louis Armstrong is to American culture what [Thomas] Edison is to the lightbulb or Henry Ford is to the automobile,” Jefferson said. “He’s so impactful that we don’t even really pay attention to it, but there is literally a before Louis Armstrong as it relates to American culture and an after. And Louis Armstrong literally influenced every single musician and singer after he came into national prominence.”

His influence crossed musical genres, with inductions into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, as well as a posthumous win for the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1972.

“Through the eyes of historical figures like Louis Armstrong, it helps history come to life in a way that really resonates with audiences,” Jennifer Macias, history programs coordinator for Colorado Humanities, said about the Chautauqua performance. “Louis Armstrong was one of the most influential musical artists of the 20th century. He transformed American music with his groundbreaking trumpet playing and singing, and despite his challenging upbringing, he cherished the life lessons of resilience and respect he learned.”

The nonprofit has hosted Chautauqua performances of Louis Armstrong and Harriet Tubman throughout February in various parts of the state to honor the important societal contributions that African Americans have made, per Macias.

“Being able to offer this programming at libraries helps us to have conversations about the importance of celebrating these significant contributions,” she added.

Colorado Humanities has been hosting the Black History Live tour for the past 20 years.

In addition to the Louis Armstrong Chautauqua event, the LINC Library in Greeley has previously hosted other performances with actors portraying the likes of Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Albert Einstein, and more, according to James Melena, community relations and marketing manager for the High Plains Library District.

“Chautauqua performances provide such a unique look into historical figures and the context of the times they lived in,” Melena said. “As a library, we think it’s important to provide unique programming that educates and enriches our community and individual points of view. This type of interactive, immersive program does just that.”

Diane Bolden-Taylor, a Greeley resident who attended the event, commended Jefferson for his depiction of Louis Armstrong.

“His mannerisms, the raspy voice, and everything, it just really took you back there,” she said. “It was really excellent.”

Bolden-Taylor watched Jefferson’s Chautauqua performance of Louis Armstrong at the LINC Library with her husband, Hollis Taylor.

“We find this a very friendly place, and we love living here … but there aren’t very many African Americans living here,” Bolden-Taylor noted about Greeley. “And so, to realize that [the] LINC Library thinks it’s important to bring in a Black performer, that’s huge.”

Jefferson has performed Chautauqua acts for over 20 years, starting with his first skit in 1997.

He’s also portrayed Martin Luther King, Jr. and Paul Robeson before. This event at the LINC Library was his seventh time depicting Louis Armstrong.

He added that the reason why Black History Month exists is because a lot of the history of African Americans has either been forgotten or not discussed.

“I think it’s important, and you know, not just Black History Month, but any month pointing out the contributions of people we don’t normally talk about,” Jefferson said, “because America being the mosaic that it is, it’s important that we know.”