Lil Hardin Armstrong (1898-1971) was a  pianist, composer, vocalist, recording artist and band leader. She helped introduce America to jazz music. She was a dedicated jazz pianist, who established a reputation as “Hot Miss Lil,” one of the few female band ensemble members of the 1920’s. She played on many of the first jazz recordings ever made and she wrote many of the early songs of the jazz era. Though she might be identified in the jazz world as the wife of Louis Armstrong, she was much more than that. Read the full biography on allaboutjazz.com Lil Hardin’s You Shall [...]

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As a guitar player, I have a predilection for Jazz guitarists. This week’s song is by a white American who came from a musical family and started his professional career at the age of 11: George Van Eps (7th August 1913-29th November 1998). George started to play banjo like his father Fred, who was a famous banjo virtuoso and sound engineer. At the age of 13 he fell under the influence of Eddie Lang, he learned the guitar well enough to play alongside Lang for six months as a teenager. From 1931-1933, Van Eps worked with Freddy Martin, from 1934-1935 [...]

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The voice of Ellington Ivie Anderson (1905-1949) is thought to be the best singer Duke Ellington ever had. From early on she worked at the Cotton Club, in 1930 she found work with Earl Hines. Duke Ellington heard her the first time while appearing with Hines and hired her in 1931. She stayed for eleven years, before she had to retire due to chronic asthma. She sang in some of the band’s most memorable tunes of the era: ”I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good,” ”It Don’t Mean a Thing,” ”Stormy Weather,” and ”Rose of the Rio Grande.” She [...]

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