byLouis Armstrong

Not only biography, but also one of the earliest American attempts to trace the development of jazz.from the foreword by Dan Morgenstern

The first autobiography of a jazz musician, Louis ArmstrongsSwing That Musicis a milestone in jazz literature. Armstrong wrote most of the biographical material, which is of a different nature and scope than that of his other, later autobiography,Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans(also published by Da Capo).Satchmocovers in intimate detail Armstrongs life until his 1922 move to Chicago; butSwing That Musicalso covers his days on Chicagos South Side with King Oliver, his courtship and marriage to Lil Hardin, his 1929 move to New York, the formation of his own band, his European tours, and his international success. One of the most earnest justifications ever written for the new style of music then called swing but more broadly referred to as Jazz,Swing That Musicis a biography, a history, and an entertainment that really swings.