Just for a Thrill: Lil Hardin Armstrong, First Lady of Jazz

Along with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, Lillian "Lil" Hardin (1898-1971) was arguably the third most crucial figure in the creation of popular jazz. Born in Memphis, with strong roots in Mississippi, Lil was, by her early twenties the most sought-after jazz pianist in Chicago, playing first with Freddie Keppard's watershed Creole Jazz Band and later with King Oliver's world-famous Creole Jazz Band. She was already well established in Chicago as a pianist, composer, arranger, and band...