Died On This Date (August 27, 1971) Lil Armstrong / Jazz Great; Wife Of Louis Armstrong
themusicsover Lil Hardin-Armstrong
February 3, 1898 – August 27, 1971
Lil Hardin was an accomplished jazz pianist, singer, bandleader and prolific composer. She was also Louis Armstrong’s second wife. As a composer, she can count the following standards as her own, “Don’t Jive Me,” “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue,” “Just For A Thrill,” and “Bad Boy.” The latter two becoming hits for Ray Charles and Ringo Starr, respectively. Hardin performed and recorded well into the ’60s with many of jazz’s greatest names. When Louis Armstrong passed away in July of 1971, Hardin was devastated. Even though they had been divorced, Hardin took part in the funeral as if she were still family. Roughly six weeks later, while performing at a televised memorial to Armstrong, Lil Hardin collapsed at the piano and died later that evening. She was 73 years old.
Stan Kenton was a popular jazz pianist and band leader who made his mark as part of the West Coast jazz scene of the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s. He was considered an innovator in his day – taking what others called a “dance band,” and filling it out to what he preferred to call an “orchestra.” In doing so, he created what was then labeled a “wall of sound,” a term hijacked by Phil Spector in later years. His influence can be heard today across America’s high school and college jazz bands. Stan Kenton died on August 25, 1979 following a stroke. He was 67.
Joe Maneri was jazz saxophonist and clarinetist who came to some prominence during the ’90s. He specialized in taking traditional ethnic folk elements and embellishing them with his own avant garde free-form jazz. He has been compared to Ornette Coleman and 
