Born to Swing: Lil Hardin Armstrong’s Life in Jazz

This biography follows Lil Hardin Armstrong, known as “Hot Miss Lil,” from her early music-making at home, in church, and while working in a music store. Although women in jazz were expected to sing rather than play instruments, she won a piano position with a leading Chicago band. The book traces her work as a pianist, composer, and bandleader, as well as her collaborations with prominent musicians from early jazz, including Louis Armstrong, her husband.