"When the young Louis Armstrong arrived in Chicago to play second cornet in King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, he was first given the once-over and then the cold shoulder by the band's 20-year-old piano player, Lil Hardin (a.k.a. "hot Miss Lil") . . .. Dickerson (Colonel Tom Parker) here combines biography with cultural history, making Lil the central character of a host of jazz musicians, managers, booking agents, nightclub owners, gangsters, and record company executives. This is Lil's story, to be sure, handled with intelligence and sensitivity, but in a broader sense it is also that of Chicago and Memphis jazz. And, of course, it's the story of the artists, some of them magnificently gifted, struggling day by day against the forces of exploitation, racism, and prejudice against women. Dickerson's subjects, method, and sympathetic treatment recommend his book to public libraries and especially to middle school and high school readers." Library journal, Harold Cordry, Baldwin, KS

"Few women in jazz-other than vocalists-have been able to carve a noticeable niche for themselves, and perhaps no talent has been more overlooked than that of Lil Hardin Armstrong. Being married to the famous trumpeter regrettably eclipsed her considerable talents as a pianist, composer, and bandleader and, therefore, she is largely a forgotten figure today. Born in Memphis in 1898, Lil was a child piano prodigy who strove to become a musician against the wishes of her stern, puritanical mother. Lil single-handedly shaped the career of her famous husband, forcing the shy trumpeter to leave the shadow of Joe Oliver and strike out as a soloist. But managing the career of the awkward, wandering Louis Armstrong consumed her energy, and it was only toward the end of their estranged marriage that she struck out on her own as a musician. In offering a compelling portrait of a remarkable woman, Dickerson also provides a fascinating history of jazz."-Booklist, Ted Leventhal