AUTHORS INTERVIEWING CHARACTERS: Denny S. Bryce Interviews Lil Hardin Armstrong

Jazz-age Chicago comes to vibrant life in Denny S. Bryce’s evocative novel that links the stories of an ambitious chorus girl and a modern-day film student, both coming to grips with loss, forgiveness, and the limitations—and surprises—of love.

1925: Chicago is the jazz capital of the world, and the Dreamland Café is the ritziest black-and-tan club in town. Honoree Dalcour is a sharecropper’s daughter, willing to work hard and dance every night on her way to the top. Dreamland offers a path to the good life, socializing with celebrities like Louis Armstrong and filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. But Chicago is also awash in bootleg whiskey, gambling, and gangsters. And a young woman driven by ambition might risk more than she can stand to lose.

2015: Film student Sawyer Hayes arrives at the bedside of 110-year-old Honoree Dalcour, still reeling from a devastating loss that has taken him right to the brink. Sawyer has rested all his hope on this frail but formidable woman, the only living link to the legendary Oscar Micheaux. If he’s right—if she can fill in the blanks in his research, perhaps he can complete his thesis and begin a new chapter in his life. But the links Honoree makes are not ones he’s expecting . . .

Piece by piece, Honoree reveals her past and her secrets, while Sawyer fights tooth and nail to keep his. It’s a story of courage and ambition, hot jazz and illicit passions. And as past meets present, for Honoree, it’s a final chance to be truly heard and seen before it’s too late. No matter the cost . . .

I sat down in my time capsule, also known as my apartment in Savannah, Georgia, to have a heart-to-heart with Lil Hardin Armstrong, who plays an important role in Wild Women and the Blues, my debut historical fiction. Mrs. Hardin Armstrong is an inspiration to Honoree Dalcour, the novel’s protagonist. When they meet in the book, Honoree is dumbstruck by an experience she had only dreamed of. So, I thought it would be fun to interview Lil.

Good morning, Mrs. Armstrong. I am thrilled you had time to chat. To begin, tell me about how you met your husband, Louis, the greatest horn player in the world.

My name is Lillian “Lil” Harden. I was only Lil Hardin Armstrong for a little more than a decade beginning in 1924. That’s when I married Louis Armstrong. And I was the one who had him billed as the greatest trumpet player in the world, by the way. I told the owner of the Dreamland Café that those words had to be on the marquee. Period. Back then, most club owners on the south side did what I told them to do. So, no one was surprised when they saw those words in the newspaper, describing my band’s opening night.

Why is that Ms. Hardin?

Why is what? Why did he come play with my Syncopators? Or record, along with me and some other musicians, as the original Hot Five? Or why did the night clubs listen to a woman? 

(I must admit I was feeling a bit intimidated, but I tried not to let on.) OK, then, Ms. Hardin, why did the club owners listen to a woman?

That’s easy to answer—didn’t you know I was the Queen of the Stroll? I’d had my own band for years before Louis showed up on the city’s jazz scene. He’d been in New Orleans playing his music, and I’d been in my town, since I left Tennessee. I got a job playing arrangements at Jones Music Store. Met Jelly Roll, and soon I was all the way into the city’s jazz scene. I was a jazz pianist, composer, arranger, singer, and bandleader. I was one of a few women, perhaps the only one in Chicago, leading her own band, and it wasn’t a novelty act. We played all the best clubs, and I had all the notoriety I could handle long before I ran into that sweet-talking man from New Orleans.

What about Honoree? What did you make of her?

What I recall is that she was mighty talented. Excellent dancer and could carry a tune. Had a sweet face. Very pretty girl. But there was a hardness about her, too. She had plans. She wanted things. Trouble was how to get those things considering where she started. I don’t want to tell her business, but it’s never easy when you’re on your own. With no one to rely on but yourself, it takes determination and luck. She had a decent dose of both, but she also faced some bad times, too. She was smart, though. I liked her. My friends enjoyed her company. Alberta Hunter. Cab Calloway. 

What about the legendary Black filmmaker?

You mean, Oscar Micheaux? You know about him? He was a legend. Charming. Tall and handsome, and an entrepreneur. Wrote, produced, directed his own Race films, and raised the money to make those films. Great motion pictures. Showed Black people as people, not the foolishness we had to watch in the Hollywood films. 

Did you see Body and Soul? I myself preferred Within Our Gates, the one he made in 1920. But Body and Soul had Paul Robeson. And he’s one of the greatest actors to ever live. He could also sing, and they say his Othello was brilliant. 

When did Robeson play Othello?

In New York City at the Theatre Guild production in 1943 to 44. Longest running Shakespearean play in the history of Broadway.

So, how did you get the nickname Queen of the Stroll? 

In Chicago, I would leave the house dressed in a nice outfit, and if the weather was cold, wearing a fur coat, mink, beaver, or squirrel, and take my daily constitution on The Stroll, those blocks on State Street between 26th and 39th streets where all the action took place. It gave me energy. I could hear music, anytime day or night. And there was singing, laughter, dancing in the streets…it was Chicago and I love that town. Truly loved it! 

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Denny S. Bryce, an award-winning recipient of the RWA Golden Heart®, was a three-time GH finalist, including twice for Wild Women and the Blues, her debut novel. She also writes book reviews for NPR Books and entertainment articles for FROLIC Media. Additionally, the former professional dancer and public relations professional is a self-proclaimed history geek. 

In college, she minored in history but her love of 20th century American history, 19th-century British history, and Africa she credits to her maternal grandmother, Ella Elizabeth Joseph, who immigrated from Montego Bay, Jamaica to New York City in 1923, and her father, Leicester Collinwood, born and raised in Bermuda (a British Overseas Territory) who came to America to attend Wilberforce University in the 1950s.

Denny recently relocated from Northern Virginia to Savannah, Georgia, and is enjoying the bright sunshine and warmer weather and looks forward to working on her next project. 

Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dennsbryce or Instagram: https://instagram.com/dennysbryce 

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Praise for Wild Women and the Blues

In a stirring and impeccably researched novel of Jazz-age Chicago in all its vibrant life, two stories intertwine nearly a hundred years apart, as a chorus girl and a film student deal with loss, forgiveness, and love…in all its joy, sadness, and imperfections.

“Ambitious and stunning.” —Stephanie Dray, New York Times bestselling author
 
“Vibrant…A highly entertaining read!” —Ellen Marie Wiseman New York Times Bestselling author of THE ORPHAN COLLECTOR
 
“The music practically pours out of the pages of Denny S. Bryce’s historical novel, set among the artists and dreamers of the 1920s.” —OprahMag.com

“Perfect…Denny S. Bryce is a superstar!” —Julia Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of the Bridgerton series

“The author deftly weaves fiction with reality and paints a vibrant picture of the sparkling yet seedy era…Perfect for fans of…historical fiction led by a complex heroine.” –KIRKUS REVIEW

 

 

 

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Interviews, On Writing