Twelve Bar Blues is a 2001 novel by Patrick Neate, and the winner of that year's Whitbread novel award.
The story is essentially about two people who share a common history - Fortis 'Lick' Holden, a cornet player in early 20th Century New Orleans, and Sylvia Di Napoli, a retired prostitute living in modern-day London, who is searching for her ancestry. Louis Armstrong is also featured in the novel.