Product Description

Lillian Lil Hardin was a pioneer for women in jazz. After studying at Fisk University, the Chicago College of Music, and the New York College of Music, Lil joined Sugar Johnny's Creole Orchestra and then moved on to Freddie Keppard's Original Creole Orchestra. In the 1920's Lil began playing in King Oliver's world-famous Creole Jazz Band, becoming the first female jazz musician of renown. She was well-established in Chicago as a pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader before she met and married Louis Armstrong in 1924. She was the only member of Armstrong's group that could read music. Based on extensive research, Dickerson's stunning biography is the first to examine this musical iconoclast's life and career.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1144421 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01-22
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 1.08 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Dickerson (Goin' Back to Memphis) highlights jazz pianist Hardin's considerable but largely forgotten legacy in this well-meaning, meandering account of the "most important woman in jazz history." Hardin (1898-1971), who was playing with Joe Oliver's prestigious King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band by 21, was an accomplished performer, a prolific composer and, by arranging, composing and playing on the bulk of Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives and Hot Sevens recordings, was largely responsible for history's first jazz records. The Hot Fives, in fact, were Hardin's creation, though she opted to promote them under Armstrong's name. Dickerson notes these achievements and others (Hardin held two advanced degrees in music, designed clothing and made the transition to swing vocalist and band leader), but devotes considerable attention to Hardin's once husband and music partner Armstrong; the bulk of the book is devoted to the years Hardin lived and worked with him. While the author is long on praise for Armstrong's playing, his underwhelming descriptions of Hardin's efforts ("steady and squared") seem afterthoughts, and he follows Armstrong's adventures even after their divorce, with just a note or two about developments in Hardin's life. Though intended to provide context, jarring detours like a rundown on Al Capone's mob scene serve only to emphasize the paucity of information about Hardin. In a postscript that may account for the book's distance from its subject, Dickerson explains that after Hardin's death, "vultures" made off with her personal effects, including letters, photos and the manuscript for her autobiography.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
When the young Louis Armstrong arrived in Chicago to play second cornet in King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, he was first given the once-over and then the cold shoulder by the band's 20-year-old piano player, Lil Hardin (a.k.a. "hot Miss Lil"). Armstrong's playing, clowning, and childhood demons, however, gradually led her to regard him more favorably and eventually to become his second wife. Unfortunately for both of them, other women also found themselves drawn to Louis, and the result was a largely unhappy story turning on bad decisions, blind spots, and lost opportunities. Dickerson (Colonel Tom Parker) here combines biography with cultural history, making Lil the central character of a host of jazz musicians, managers, booking agents, nightclub owners, gangsters, and record company executives. This is Lil's story, to be sure, handled with intelligence and sensitivity, but in a broader sense it is also that of Chicago and Memphis jazz. And, of course, it's the story of the artists, some of them magnificently gifted, struggling day by day against the forces of exploitation, racism, and prejudice against women. Dickerson's subjects, method, and sympathetic treatment recommend his book to public libraries and especially to middle school and high school readers. Harold Cordry, Baldwin, KS
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Few women in jazz--other than vocalists--have been able to carve a noticeable niche for themselves, and perhaps no talent has been more overlooked than that of Lil Hardin Armstrong. Being married to the famous trumpeter regrettably eclipsed her considerable talents as a pianist, composer, and bandleader and, therefore, she is largely a forgotten figure today. Born in Memphis in 1898, Lil was a child piano prodigy who strove to become a musician against the wishes of her stern, puritanical mother. Lil single-handedly shaped the career of her famous husband, forcing the shy trumpeter to leave the shadow of Joe Oliver and strike out as a soloist. But managing the career of the awkward, wandering Louis Armstrong consumed her energy, and it was only toward the end of their estranged marriage that she struck out on her own as a musician. In offering a compelling portrait of a remarkable woman, Dickerson also provides a fascinating history of jazz. Ted Leventhal
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