Product Description

"A valuable, jubilant look at a great man and artist."-New York Times Book Review. Gary Giddins has been called "the best jazz writer in America today" ( Esquire ). Louis Armstrong has been called the most influential jazz musician of the century. Together this auspicious pairing has resulted in Satchmo, one of the most vivid and fascinating portraits ever drawn of perhaps the greatest figure in the history of American music. Available now at a new price, this text-only edition is the authoritative introduction to Armstrong's life and art for the curious newcomer, and offers fresh insight even for the serious student of Pops.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #276643 in Books
• Published on: 2000-12-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 174 pages

Review
"A valuable, jubilant look at a great man and artist." - New York Times Book Review

About the Author
Gary Giddins is a columnist for the Village Voice and the author of Visions of Jazz and Bing Crosby. His work has garnered numerous prizes, including the National Book Critics Circle Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Peabody Broadcasting Award, and five ASCAP-Deems Taylor awards.

Customer Reviews

purejoy - like the man himself
Louis Armstrong is one of the central figures along with Duke Ellington of Giddins's incredible Visions of Jazz, and that sent me to Satchmo, a mindblowing collection of photographs and a biographical and musical discussion that brings the man and his work to life. Although Giddins covers some of the same ground here as in Visions, it is a far more expansive study built on the idea that Armstrong was at once a great artist and a great entertainer and that his role in one area did not diminish his role in the other. The pictures are remarkable, and numerous excerps from Armstrong's own writing show what a decent and joyful man he was. Highly recommended.