by John Zenoni
What a fascinating documentary film regarding the life of Sharon Preston-Folta, the only daughter and child of American icon and legendary jazz musician Louis ‘Satchmo’ Armstrong. ‘Little Satchmo’ is based on the memoir of Preston-Folta, whose mother was the mistress of Armstrong and whose affair was never revealed until after his death. Due to his fathering a child with a dancer from the famous ’Cotton Club’, Armstrong never could reveal his affair and was never able to publicly acknowledge his child. The documentary is narrated by Preston-Folta and her personal stories and letters she shares about her father are very interesting. She seems to be primarily reading from a script, and that can be off putting at times, but overall it's very well done. There were moments of excitement and, of course, disappointment in that she could not be with her father in the same home.
I don’t think anyone can deny that Armstrong is without a doubt a legend and musical icon and the clips of his performances and songs confirm it. But it was interesting hearing about this side of his life probably that very few knew about. Very good film!
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