"Riccardi (director, Research Collections, Louis Armstrong House Museum) laments that the period between 1929 and 1947 is often minimized and sometimes disparaged by historians, critics, and musicians, who characterized Armstrong's influence and popularity, particularly within the African American community, as inconsequential and unproductive. In Heart Full of Rhythm, Riccardi disputes such claims, demonstrating through a review of Armstrong's touring schedule, box office and record sales, radio and film appearances, accounts from his musical collaborators and contemporaries, and critical reviews lauding his musicianship that Armstrong not only held his audiences but transcended the success of other swing era big bands by achieving notoriety beyond jazz circles. ... Enthusiasts and scholars of jazz music will find this a quick and interesting read on an important period in the artist's life." -- A. C. Shahriari, CHOICE
"We get Armstrong in his own words as much as possible, as well as sources that have not been commonly quoted. And Riccardi even explains where the term "Moldy Fig" came from. We all know the obvious question: when is Volume 1 of the Armstrong saga going to be written? Ricky Riccardi has produced two masterpieces relating the story of a legendary musician who changed World Music. I can't be the only one who is waiting for Ricky Riccardi to tell the rest of the Armstrong story his way. It is obvious it is such good hands." -- Jeffrey Sultanof, ARSC Journal
"Riccardi's Heart Full of Rhythm is the best account we have of Armstrong's vital work with big bands — the research is impeccable, the ardor contagious." -- Gary Giddins, Author of Bing Crosby: Swinging On A Star — The War Years, 1940-1946
"This book is an exuberant treasury of new information about one of the most significant and influential musicians of all time. Most significant here is that this careful researcher torches the cliché that Armstrong rose in a 1920s flash and then fell onto the swords of commercialism. In soaring prose, Riccardi walks you through vital musical/cultural decades while re-introducing a man we thought we knew but who was even greater." -- Robert G. O'meally, Founder and Director Of Columbia University's Center For Jazz Studies and Editor of The Jazz Cadence of American Culture and The Romare Bearden Reader
"At last! A thrilling and intimate journey through the most undervalued period of Armstrong's career! Every chapter is a revelation!" -- Catherine Russell, Grammy Award-Winning Jazz/Blues vocalist and daughter of Luis Russell
"This vitally American story has been expertly told in this superlative biography — SWING THAT MUSIC indeed!" -- Loren Schoenberg, Senior Scholar/Founding Director, National Jazz Museum in Harlem
"Riccardi's meticulous scholarship and his exuberance for all things Armstrong make Heart Full of Rhythm a must-read for all interested in Armstrong, jazz, and our shared cultural heritage." -- Jon Faddis, Trumpeter, Conductor, Composer, and Educator
"Dedicated research, access to ideal sources, and fine storytelling combine to shed new light and insight on the most interesting and least well-documented period of Armstrong's fabled life. Riccardi has done it again, but even more so." -- Dan Morgenstern, Director Emeritus of The Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University
"A vibrant portrait of Armstrong focused on his career from 1929 to 1947, when he had a decisive impact on both jazz and popular music... Riccardi, whose previous book covered Armstrong's later years, brings the same erudition and enthusiasm to his latest. An appreciative, deeply informed biography."--Kirkus
"Riccardi brilliantly sums up the life and work of Armstrong."--Publishers Weekly
"Riccardi produces a meticulously researched but readable account that jazz fans will embrace as a standard work about the iconic trumpeter."--Library Journal
"Heart Full of Rhythm is every bit as full and human as What a Wonderful World; in both cases, Riccardi, surely Armstrong's foremost chronicler, mines the copious primary sources in order to flesh out the often turbulent details of Armstrong's personal life... the two volumes together both comprises a pricelessly detailed look at crucial periods in Armstrong's life and also summon the vision of what a full-dress one-volume Satchmo biography by Riccardi would be like."--Open Letters, Steve Donoghue
"An all-encompassing, vividly detailed biographical portrait of one of the richest careers in all of music."--Wall Street Journal
"The scope of Riccardi's research is impressive, as is his talent for fluently presenting the material in a manner that maintains the readers' interest... Riccardi recognizes that he is telling the story of a complex, interesting and significant figure, and understands how to make him come alive on each page."--Jersey Jazz magazine
"In Heart Full of Rhythm: The Big Band Years of Louis Armstrong author Ricky Riccardi focuses on the 1930s and 40s, a period in Armstrong's life that has long deserved more detailed examination... Better than any other Armstrong biographer, Riccardi explains in great detail Pops' often-strained relationship with managers, club owners, and prohibition mobsters."--Syncopated Times
"A brilliantly researched, vivid portrait of the great trumpeter, which covers a golden era from 1929 to 1947."--The Independent (U.K.)
"Heart Full Of Rhythm elucidates and entertains from start to finish. Each chapter ends with a tantalising hook that anticipates the next, keeping the reader engaged and focused. Like its subject, it swings!"--Jazz Journal
"If you want to know what Louis was really like--as a person, not as a trumpet player, but as a person--this book let's you get a look into him as a human being. It isn't all just, 'Well, if you're a trumpet player,' you'll enjoy the book. It does a lot to shine a good light on the relationship between races. If you know Louis, you like this book and you read it, it might change your life if you haven't opened yourself up to it before. I just sat down and started reading the book all over again. I could read this book five times a year, I swear to God I could."'--Doc Severinsen
