Review by Choice Review
Nollen has written more than a dozen books, most of them dealing with music and film. Though the present volume touches on Armstrong's life, it focuses on the great jazz artist's film and television career. Thus, the biographical content essentially serves as a platform for a review of the jazzman's appearances in films dating back to the early 1930s and continuing to 1971, the year of his death. The book's value lies in the unprecedented detail of the descriptions. Covering everything from Hollywood features and cartoons to television variety shows, Nollen provides plot lines, character roles, musical performances, and some of the circumstances relating to the film or television shows, including the racial restrictions that existed both in the country and the film industry. This book will be of more interest to students of cinema than of music. Those interested in Armstrong's life or his revolutionary role in jazz music should look elsewhere. ^BSumming Up: Optional. Comprehensive film collections; all levels. C. M. Weisenberg University of California, Los Angeles
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
