The revelatory origin story of one of America's most beloved musicians, Louis Armstrong How did Louis Armstrong become Louis Armstrong?
In Stomp Off, Let's Go, author and Armstrong expert Ricky Riccardi tells the enthralling story of the iconic trumpeter's meteoric rise to fame. Beginning with Armstrong's youth in New Orleans, Riccardi transports readers through Armstrong's musical and personal development, including his initial trip to Chicago to join Joe "King" Oliver's band, his first to New York to meet Fletcher Henderson, and his eventual return to Chicago, where he changed the course of music with the Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings.
While this period of Armstrong's life is perhaps more familiar than others, Riccardi enriches extant narratives with recently unearthed archival materials, including a rare draft of pianist, composer, and Armstrong's second wife Lillian "Lil" Hardin Armstrong's autobiography. Riccardi similarly tackles the perceived notion of Armstrong as a "sell-out" during his later years, highlighting the many ways in which Armstrong's musical style and personal values in fact remained steady throughout his career. By foregrounding the voices of Armstrong and his contemporaries, Stomp Off, Let's Go offers a more intimate exploration of Armstrong's personal and professional relationships, in turn providing essential insights into how Armstrong evolved into one of America's most beloved icons.
Industry Reviews
"Written in an easygoing, detail-laden, conversational style and relying extensively on Armstrong's own writings.... Riccardi leaves no stone unturned in this expansive biography that jazz fans will enjoy." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Louis Armstrong is quite simply the most important person in American music. He is to 20th-century music what Einstein is to physics, Freud is to medicine, and the Wright Brothers are to travel. In this indispensable and thrilling book, Ricky Riccardi guides us through the period of Pops's own creative Big Bang, the first decades. Stunning!" -- Ken Burns, award-winning documentary filmmaker
"Ricky Riccardi has artfully researched and presented the early years of Louis Armstrong's life to teach us the story of the man who changed music forever. The narrative, with illustrations, moves at an even tempo, offering everything needed to create a playlist and embark on this phenomenal journey. From the beginning, love and soul invited scholarship to liberate the treasure." -- Maxine Gordon, author of Sophisticated Giant: The Life and Legacy of Dexter
Gordon
"Riccardi handles the legacy of our greatest musical icon with care, laser precision, and staunch integrity. This early accounting of Louis's community and work is an extremely important chronicle of world history. Amazing work!" -- Jon Batiste, GRAMMY Award-, Oscar-, and Emmy Award-winning multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, composer, and New Orleanian
"Ricky Riccardi has written, with love, passion, and respect, the most thoroughly researched biography of the most influential musician in American history." -- Wendell Brunious, New Orleans bandleader and trumpeter
"Riccardi has made a monumental contribution to American history with his biographical work on Louis Armstrong, and this may be his finest volume. Stomp Off, Let's Go presents Armstrong the jazz genius, Armstrong the agent for cultural change, and Armstrong the man-all told with masterful technique, swinging style, and a full, warm tone. This is a book worthy of its extraordinary subject." -- Jonathan Eig, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of King: A Life
"Nobody knows Louis Armstrong like Ricky Riccardi. Nobody loves Louis Armstrong like Ricky Riccardi. He generously shares both the knowledge and love with his readers and has delivered the definitive guide to this seminal American musician." -- Ted Gioia, author of The History of Jazz and The Jazz Standards
"I have waited for this culminating volume in Ricky Riccardi's magisterial trilogy on Louis Armstrong with the same heightened expectations that some folks might reserve for the World Cup. I am happy to report, it does not disappoint! Riccardi brilliantly guides us into the creative vortex of Pops' early decades, a time during which Armstrong made some of the most electric, joyful, revolutionary music known to mankind. Read Stomp Off, Let's Go! while
listening to early Armstrong recordings. Your life will be immeasurably enriched!" -- Matt Glaser, Artistic Director, American Roots Music Program, Berklee College of Music
"Ricky is one of the foremost scholars on the subject of Armstrong that I've ever encountered. The love he feels for Pops is palpable. Whereas so many completists take pride in hoarding information, Ricky literally invites people into Armstrong's home and makes them feel comfortable. His joy is in sharing whatever his findings are with whomever is genuinely interested. He curates Armstrong's archives at the level of channeling, which gives you a glimpse into
the passion of Pops." -- Nicholas Payton, "The Savior of Archaic Pop"
"Riccardi's deep research has new stories going off like firecrackers on every page. Even better, this book subtly yet powerfully charts Louis Armstrong's human development. The growth of the phenomenal artist is all here, and more: the man creating himself 'in the cause of happiness.' Louis would be delighted by this 'history book': its accuracy, its empathy, its irresistible swing." -- Michael Steinman, author of the JAZZ LIVES blog
"This eagerly awaited third installment of Ricky Riccardi's dazzling Armstrong trilogy proves beyond a whisper of doubt two things: that Ricky understands Louis better than anyone on the planet. And that Louis' is a story not just about a jazz genius, but of the soul of 20th-century America." -- Larry Tye, journalist and author of The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Count Basie Transformed America
"Riccardi has Mr. Armstrong on speed dial. This is the only way to explain the richness of the details. Either that or he has the finest time machine on the market. Either way, everybody wins because we better understand why Satchmo is the man!" -- Sacha Jenkins, filmmaker, director of Louis Armstrong's Black and Blues
