Even before Lil Hardin Armstrong made jazz history by co-founding the Hot Five with husband Louis Armstrong, she was playing with King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band in Chicago and San Francisco. Her work with the Hot Five and Hot Seven is the stuff made of legends – but equally impressive was her work to help Louis Armstrong grow more confident as a performer and more astute as a manager of his own destiny. They parted ways in 1929.
In the late 1930s, Armstrong recorded over 25 sides for Decca as a bandleader and vocalist – and this recording, “It’s Murder” is from her first session for Decca in 1936. It’s a swingin’ tune and it’s hard to imagine another song so bright and upbeat whose title contains the word “murder”. Murder ballad this is not. Armstrong is strong and seasoned as a vocalist – with real stage presence that can be sensed just from listening. It’s nice to see her in the spotlight – she’s a natural.
Teddy Cole takes a solo on piano, followed by Chu Berry on tenor sax. Buster Bailey turns in a lively clarinet solo, followed by a short one by Joe Thomas on trumpet. Armstrong wraps things up with a scatted outro.
Recorded in Chicago, Illinois on October 27, 1936.
Released as Decca 1182.
Credits:
Joe Thomas – trumpet
Buster Bailey – clarinet
Chu Berry – tenor sax
Teddy Cole – piano
Huey Long – guitar
John Frazier – string bass
Lil Armstrong – vocals