Browse the February Issue

Texas Shout #29 Picking Tunes You Can Swing

Set forth below is the twenty-ninth “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the June 1992 issue of  the West Coast Rag, (now Syncopated Times.) As I

vernon irene castle

Texas Shout #49 Movies

Set forth below is the forty-ninth “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the April 1994 issue of  The West Coast Rag, now known as

The Joplin House Museum in St. Louis (photo by Bill Hoffman)

The Scott Joplin House

In early June, on my way home from the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival, I visited the Joplin House State Historic Site. I had been to

From the Final Arizona Classic Jazz Fest

For the third, and unfortunately last, time I attended the Arizona Classic Jazz Festival at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Chandler on October 31-November 3.

Duke Ellington’s Singers, Part 1

It may seem surprising that Duke Ellington, who took over Elmer Snowden’s Washingtonians in 1924, did not have a regular vocalist until late in 1931.

Teddy Wilson

Teddy Wilson: Profiles in Jazz

Teddy Wilson always stood apart from the stereotypes attached to jazz musicians of the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s. He was soft-spoken, distinguished, reliable, and very

Palm Court – Thanks For the Memory!

When we visited with Nina Buck, owner of the now-closed Palm Court, during our last trip in October, she mentioned that she wanted to have

George Schweinfest: The Last Pioneer

In this column I have written about many figures who were instrumental in the acoustic recording era, but often go unnoticed. One figure who fits

The Piano Solo and the Recording Horn

Historically, many of us have been told that recording the piano in the acoustic era (before 1925) was extremely difficult, and that because of this

‘Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh!’

How I wish I could fact check with a time machine! As with many formative strong childhood memories, music swirls in and out of the

The Lost Hook Tapes

It really is a waiting game based on luck and endurance. I am banking on the idea that if you stick to your artistic career

Birthday Blues

“Everything happens for the best” Does it really? In a continuation of last month’s theme of reality being how we perceive it, perhaps the better

The Odd Brilliance of P.T. Stanton

Horn player P.T. Stanton was a creative, original and mysterious musician who left his signature on the second wave of the Great San Francisco Jazz

Ain’t No Wrong Notes in Jazz

It is easy to be impressed by jazz musicians… if you are not one yourself. We are, after all, an impressive bunch. And I know

Bad Moon Rising

Jazz musicians are a mischievous bunch. I doubt that’s a surprise to any of you, as the history books are filled with stories of pranks

The New Syllabus

There’s been a lot made in the news in recent times about systemic issues in our education system. As I understand it, there seems to

Help Save Ragtime’s History

I was recently contacted by a gentleman in New York who has had to curtail playing the piano due to the challenges of aging and

Fifty Years Later, Here We Are!

We got old. Fifty years added to our twenties, thirties, and forties in 1974 equals old for those who have managed to survive. And. for

Helen Traubel Defends Popular Music

My grandmother used to say she couldn’t see because she had Cadillacs in front of her eyes. Well, it must be genetic because I’ve gone

Frank Demond

Trombonist and banjo player Frank Demond died on November 21st; he was 91. Born in Los Angeles he would at one time be the only

Bill Carter

Photographer and clarinetist William “Bill” Carter died on New Year’s Day; he was 90 years old. His photography books varied in subject from Iraqi Kurds

Paul Fontaine

Boston area trumpet player Paul Fontaine passed away January 11. From his published obituary: Paul’s career spanned many years, starting as a student studying trumpet

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