Daniel Louis Armstrong—trumpeter and singer—was one of the most important musicians in jazz and in twentieth-century music, achieving seemingly insurmountable odds given his humble origins. Armstrong proved himself as the first vital jazz soloist and one of jazz's most creative innovators, winning worldwide appeal and achieving commercial success. Armstrong helped to transform the traditional New Orleans jazz style—based on collective improvisation—to jazz featuring a star solo, thereby elevating jazz to a sophisticated form of music. Clearly a versatile musician, he was an active participant in a number of jazz styles, including the New Orleans style of the 1910s, the Chicago style of the 1920s, the New York style in the 1930s, and the jazz of the wider world in the 1950s. Armstrong was one of the first blacks seen in feature-length films; in total he appeared in nearly 50. In addition...