Chicago: The Living Legends

by

Lil Hardin Armstrong

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Best known as the wife of jazz legend Louis Armstrong, Lil Hardin Armstrong was an exciting performer in her own right. This CD, a recording of a Chicago session in 1961, is an excellent example of her later work, featuring superb Dixieland-style jazz with Armstrong's exuberant piano. The Dixieland pieces (including Kid Ory's "Muskrat Ramble") are fast-paced and colorful, complemented by a few blues pieces performed with an attractive, smooth laziness. There are also some original pieces here: "Boogie Me," "Clip Joint" (featuring a spirited vocal performance by Armstrong that makes one wish more of her singing was available on record), and "Eastown Boogie".; A somewhat obscure recording that is nonetheless required listening. --Genevieve Williams