1- "His trumpet playing was a revelation and, indeed, a revolution, an audacious breaking away from the New Orleans collaborative, contrapuntal jazz style in which he had grown up. his achievement shook the jazz world to its foundations. No one had ever played quite this way before."
2- Artie Shaw: "I heard this cascade of notes coming out of a trumpet. No one had ever done that before." Pianist Teddy Wilson, summing up Armstrong's style, said: "... [he]... had this high development of balance. Lyricism. Delicacy. Emotional outburst. Rhythm. Complete mastery of his horn."
3- "Armstrong was also a uniquely gifted singer, with an unmistakable gravelly voiced style, who left his imprint on popular singing for decades to come."
4- "He became an onstage clown, mugging and grinning, wiping away sweat with his ever-present white handkerchief, Uncle-Tomming as hard as he could. Armstrong had sold out, taken the easy path, led by his evil manager, gangster Joe Glaser. He could still hit any number of high C's to excite musically ignorant crowds, but, as jazz people would put it, Pops was no longer saying anything with his horn. Jazz had moved on."
5-"He saw himself not just as a musician or a singer, but also as an all-around entertainer, in the old flamboyant style. He believed it was his job to please an audience by any means, a view not shared by a younger generation of black musicians, especially beboppers like Miles Davis."
One reviewer's comment; "Pops" is is a serious attempt to set straight the tangled story of Armstrong's career and to ascertain his rightful place in American popular culture. The author examines claims and counterclaims made about Armstrong's deservedly high status as a trumpet player and singer and makes hard judgments, some of them going against the grain of received critical opinion."
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