Born To Swing

• Born
• Hot
• To

Review When Lil Hardin Armstrong's name is mentioned, many, if not most, people probably think immediately of Louis Armstrong's Hot Five's piano player or Armstrong's second wife or the King Oliver band's pianist. She was all of these, but she was also a bandleader and vocalist, as well as a composer of some of what are today traditional jazz classics. All of these talents are on display in these recordings on this CD, its title being the sobriquet given Lil Hardin Armstrong in the 1920s Hot Miss Lil coupled with the title of one of her compositions Born to Swing. All of the tracks are swing oriented, even those listed under Lil Armstrong & Her Dixielanders. Many of the tempos are very lively, which would have delighted the lindy hoppers and/or the jitterbuggers. Of the 26 tunes contained in the CD, Ms. Armstrong is credited with being either the composer or collaborator on 18 of them. She sings on all of the tracks except the last two; her voice is not that of a blues singer but is one which is typical of the swing period clear enunciation, communication of feeling and emotion, easy on the ear in sum, the qualities of a swing singer. She plays piano on several tracks, including some on which she sings also. Altogether, this is a fine album which will delight lovers of swing music and will provide an interesting new perspective for those who were heretofore unfamiliar with this side of Lil Hardin Armstrong.Kudos to Charlie Crump for excellent transfers, to Mike Pointon for the informative liner notes, and to Liz Biddle of Upbeat for issuing the set. Two thumbs up. --Bert Thompson Product Description Lil Amstrong is one of the unsung pioneers of jazz and was the wife of Louis Armstrong. This is an excellent album and shows off the indisputable talents of Hot Miss Lil. Lil Hardin Armstrong (February 3, 1898 August 27, 1971) was a jazz pianist, the first major female jazz instrumentalist, who played with the King Oliver Creole Jazz Band and Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven bands. She also wrote or co-wrote many jazz songs and fronted several of her own bands in the 1920s and 1930s. While Lil Hardin Armstrong's career was nowhere near as successful as her husband's, she was the first major woman jazz instrumentalist whose career had any significant duration.