Soulality like to acknowledge Lil Hardin Armstrong for contributing to the world of jazz with her music.
Lil Hardin Armstrong Biography
Born in Memphis in 1898, Lillian Hardin was called Lil. She studied piano and organ and played in church from a young age; she was attracted to the blues but her family opposed such music and sent her to Fisk University for a year for music training and a "good" environment. To keep her from the local music scene when she returned in 1917, her mother moved to Chicago and took Lil Hardin with her.In Chicago, Lil Hardin took a job on South State Street demonstrating music at Jones' Music Store. There, she met and learned from Jelly Roll Morton, and began finding jobs playing with bands. She became known as "Hot Miss Lil." Her mother decided to accept her new career, though she reportedly picked up her daughter promptly after performances to protect her from the "evils" of the music world. After achieving some recognition playing with the New Orleans Creole Jazz Band, Lil Hardin stayed around as it gained popularity when King Oliver took it over and renamed it the King Oliver Creole Jazz Band.
By this time, she had married singer Jimmy Johnson. Traveling with King Oliver's band strained the marriage, and so she left the band to return to Chicago and the marriage. When the King Oliver Creole Jazz Band also returned to its Chicago base, Lil Hardin was invited to rejoin the band. Also invited to join the band, in 1922: a young cornet player, Louis Armstrong.
You can read some more about Lil Armstrong on http://womenshistory.about.com/od/musicjazzblues/a/lil_armstrong.htm
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