December 15, 2024
How a young Louis became the first King of Pop. Riccardi, director of research collections at the Louis Armstrong House Museum and author of two books on the great jazz trumpeter, explores Armstrong's formative years. With the assistance of new primary sources, he takes on numerous rumors and biographical discrepancies about Armstrong and others in his life. Written in an easygoing, detail-laden, conversational style and relying extensively on Armstrong's own writings, Riccardi portrays a boy from New Orleans "abandoned by his father, working two jobs, going to school, no shoes on his feet, sometimes with nothing to eat, living in a single-room flat, smack in the post-Reconstruction Jim Crow South." It was at an orphanage (his parents, still alive, were separated) that the 12-year-old fell in love with music and learned to play the clarinet. After hauling coal all day, he played in honky-tonks, eventually putting a band together and getting paid. In 1917 he found a steady gig in a band and began using his signature white handkerchief. He also pimped a little, got stabbed, got arrested, and was gifted a good clarinet. Riccardi captures Armstrong's youthful excitement after joining Kid Ory's band. He loved playing with the Marable band before crowds on excursion boats and with King Oliver and His Creole Jazz Band in Chicago, playing alongside pianist Lillian Hardin, his future wife. Armstrong would make his first recordings with them in 1923. Riccardi nicely chronicles Armstrong's rise to stardom as he becomes an exceptional trumpet player, joining one great band after another while mastering his "garbling up and scatting," blending jive and polishing his witty, outgoing personality. He also provides insightful information about how the music itself and bands were evolving over these years. Riccardi leaves no stone unturned in this expansive biography that jazz fans will enjoy.
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February 1, 2025
Louis Armstrong (1901-71) may be the quintessential American musician. A legendary innovator in jazz, he dealt with racism from white audiences and criticism from Black audiences. He created his most important work early in his career before morphing into more of an "entertainer," yet became an international icon whose popularity transcended genres. Riccardi's third book on Armstrong, after What a Wonderful World and Heart Full of Rhythm, covers the first 28 years of Armstrong's life. Of the many biographies of Armstrong from the past quarter century, no author may be as well versed in his subject as Riccardi, the director of research collections at the Louis Armstrong House Museum. The beauty of this book is that it is not an original history but more of a conversational accumulation of information from previous biographies, supported by newly discovered manuscripts and recordings. Though many of the stories have been told before, Armstrong's discovery of music as a child, his ascent through the ranks of New Orleans bands, and the Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings in the 1920s that cemented his legacy continue to inspire. VERDICT An exceptional conclusion to Riccardi's brilliant trilogy.--Peter Thornell
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