Lil Hardin Armstrong (1898-1971) deserves better from jazz history. While she remains famous for being Louis Armstrong’s second wife, and the pianist with King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band and Armstrong’s Hot Five and Seven in the 1920s, her life and career did not end in 1930. She was a skilled songwriter, an underrated singer, and a fine pianist. During 1936-38 Armstrong led bands on five record dates that resulted in 22 selections all of which have her vocals and most of which she composed. Best known of the songs is “Just For A Thrill” since it would be a hit for Ray Charles more than two decades later.
Pianist Caili O’Doherty’s Bluer Than Blue celebrates Lil Hardin Armstrong’s musical legacy, at least part of it. This is a project that is mostly a modern look at some of Armstrong’s compositions. Three of the songs (“Struttin’ With Some Barbecue,” “Two Deuces,” and “Just For A Thrill”) are well known, “Clip Joint” is a forgotten tune from 1961, and the other five songs (all obscure) are from the 1936-38 sessions. Other than a solo stride piano version of “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue,” Ms. O’Doherty plays in a more modern style as do her musicians which include bassist Tamir Shmerling, drummer Cory Cox, and tenor-saxophonist Nicole Glover.
Michael Mayo takes the vocal on the opening “Let’s Call It Love,” a melody that is partly remi
