Eddie Durham: Jazz Pioneer, Innovator, and Virtuoso
Eddie Durham was born in 1906 in San Marcos, a small, rural horse and buggy town formed in 1808 and located in Hays County, Texas,
Louisa ‘Blue Lu’ Barker Was More Than a Blues Singer
When I’m not writing about jazz, I’m a kids’ science educator. It’s true—since 2020 I’ve run a small business which delivers workshops and parties to
One Hundred Sets Amidst Tall Trees: The Redwood Coast Music Fest
“If I had the wings of an angel,” goes the old song. I would have needed wings to enjoy all the music at the 2024
Hot Channels: When Jazz Was on Television
Jazz fans in the 21st century enjoy jazz primarily by listening to recordings on LPs, CDs, music streaming services, and by attending live performances in
America Grapples with the First Decade of Jazz
I think it’s safe to say that most of us jazz enthusiasts are viewed by the youth of today as amusing yet hopelessly insulated from
The New York-Barcelona Connection: The EarRegulars at Jazzing, 2024
The theme of this year’s 11th annual Jazzing Fest in Barcelona, hosted as always by the Sant Andreu Jazz Band, was dubbed “The New York-Berlin-Barcelona
Essentially Ellington is Spreading the Joy of Classic Big Band Swing
In May, 2025, the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival (EE) will, as usual, convene in New York City’s Jazz at Lincoln
Art of the Duet: Addendum
While perusing the recent Syncopated Times article “Art of the Duet” (TST, August 2024) about jazz duet albums recorded over the years, some reader is
Revamped ‘Jazz Jubilee Central Coast’ Promotes Multiple Events this Fall
Jazz Music Enthusiasts of all persuasions are invited to join together for an à la carte jazz week orchestrated by the Basin Street Regulars Hot
Defne Incirlioglu’s Roots Journey from Ankara to NOLA
Busking in NYC The “Good Old New York” that Jelly Roll Morton wrote about has served as an evident launch-pad of hot jazz and its
‘There’s [MISTER] MICHAEL McQUAID!’
Yes, that’s what I once whisper-yelled to my siblings during a concert, as recorded in my vignette. Too many thrills were happening for the first
Jazz Clarinet Phenom Nathan Tokunaga is Going Places!
In just a little over a dozen years, 17-year-old Nathan Tokunaga has had opportunities and experiences that many adult musicians don’t have in a lifetime.
Texas Shout #37 Ensemble Skills
Set forth below is the thirty-seventh “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the March 1993 issue of the West Coast Rag now the Syncopated Times).
Texas Shout #73 Art Form vs. Functional
Set forth below is the seventy-third “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the June 1996 issue of The American Rag. The note below was
Texas Shout #16 Why Most Young People Don’t Like Dixieland Jazz (And What To Do About It.)
Set forth below is the sixteenth “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the April 1991 issue of the West Coast Rag, (now Syncopated Times.) The following
Central PA Ragtime & Music Fest 2024
The 15th annual Central Pennsylvania Ragtime and American Music Festival this year continued a change begun last year. This festival is held in mid- to
Lauren Sansaricq and Charlie Judkins
My bassist-tubist friend Brian Nalepka put me wise to the quintet Miss Maybell and the Jazz Age Artistes and suggested they’d be a good fit
From the 2024 Bix Fest
For the eleventh year in a row, I traveled to Davenport, Iowa for the Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival. This makes about 15 Bixes that I
Rebecca Kilgore • A Little Taste
Charlie Parker • Bird in Kansas City
Trudgeon’s Trad Jazz Troubadours
The Hot Toddies Jazz Band • Triple Step
Gunhild Carling • Jazz is my Lifestyle
Louis Vasnier • Genius of the Seventh Ward
Centennial: King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band
The Complete Keynote Collection
Jazz With A Beat by Tad Richards
Early Jazz by Fumi Tomita
In With the In Crowd: Popular Jazz in 1960s Black America
Songbook Summit: Fifteen Pioneers of American Sound
Lionel Hampton: Profiles in Jazz, Part 2
By 1941, Lionel Hampton (who turned 33 that year) was quite famous. His exuberant playing with the Benny Goodman Quartet and Sextet and his series
Lionel Hampton: Profiles in Jazz, Pt. 1
Lionel Hampton, the first significant jazz vibraphonist in history, was a one-of-a-kind entertainer. He would do almost anything to excite audiences and it was impossible
Erskine Hawkins: Profiles in Jazz
He was billed as “the 20th Century Gabriel” because of his high-note work and flamboyant solos. Very popular during his heyday and the leader of
From the Sacramento Hot Jazz Jubilee 2024
We attended the 9th Annual Celebration of the Sacramento Hot Jazz Jubilee over Labor Day weekend. There were eight in our group, with six of
Fun & Music a Mile High in Prescott!
The City of Prescott, Arizona, held its 23rd annual event mostly at the Hassayampa Inn, an historic hotel near the Old Square in the heart
It’s Too Darn Hot!
It may be hot outside but it is more than “cool” at our local jazz club, The Century Room in downtown’s Hotel Congress! The Mysterious
Summer Delight in Switzerland: Ascona Jazz Fest 2024
In Italian there is a wonderful expression, “sensa parole,” meaning “beyond words.” It’s the only way I can define Ascona in the Italian-speaking canton of
Rhythm in Gloucestershire: The 2024 Cheltenham Jazz Festival
I’m not much of a festival-goer, to be honest. I find myself getting a bit bored after two days of non-stop music and two nights
Wham Re-Bop-Boom-Bam: The Swing Jazz of Eddie Durham
Arranging is an underrated element in jazz and arrangers have not been given the credit they deserve. Arranging has almost always been considered piecework, paid
Music Publishers and Recording Companies
When looking through acoustic era recordings, it can be easy to assume that the more common songs we see must have sold well in sheet
From Piano to Orchestra: The Evolution of Accompaniment
In the beginning of recording, among the first things to be recorded regularly were orchestras. Recording so many different instruments was perfected and improved upon
Len Spencer: Ragtime and the Dawn of Recording
There were several recording stars in the 1890s and early 1900s who were known for performing ragtime songs, but one of the most famous of
‘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
Agent Josephine: American Beauty, French Hero, British Spy
“It seemed the perfect way to fight my war.”– Josephine Baker No American was ever more beloved by the French nation than Josephine Baker. In
Bush Street above Powell in San Francisco: The Club Hangover Story, 1949-61
Club Hangover was the foremost Dixieland and New Orleans Jazz nightclub on the West Coast in the 1950s. The intimate nightspot featured music six nights
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
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
Richard Zimmerman and the First Joplin Fest
This month I conclude my reflections on the first Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia in July of 1974. Hopefully someone will write about the
Bob Bequillard of the GJB has died
Bob Bequillard, drummer for Connecticut’s famous Galvanized Jazz Band passed away on October 11th, he was 92. An accountant by day he was also a
Tubist Bob Bauchens has died
Bob Bauchens, a tubist who played at Your Father’s Mustache in the 1970s and would go on to found ARTRA Artist Management passed away on
Brian Towers of Toronto’s Hot Five Jazzmakers has died
Brian Towers, tailgate trombonist and vocalist for Toronto’s Hot Five Jazzmakers died this summer. He left England in 1969, emigrating to Canada for work. In
