May We All Be as Obscure as Porter Brown!
If you never heard of Porter Brown and only skimmed the broad strokes of his biography, he might seem like an obscure sideman whose life
Author Fumi Tomita Delves into Early Jazz
Fumi Tomita is Associate Professor of Jazz Pedagogy and Performance at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is the author of The Jazz Rhythm Section:
A Subversive in Sedalia
I could be the wrong person to report on a ragtime festival. My first piano hero was Teddy Wilson, so the crowd at the Scott
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
Corte Swearingen Introduces a Ragtime Master to a New Generation
Like most pianists who have devoted their lives to ragtime and early jazz, they remember the precise moment—and maybe even the exact work—when they first
Olli Soikkeli: A Guitarist’s Journey from Finland to New York
Olli Soikkeli is from a family of nonmusicians. His parents, however, tried to interest his two older brothers in playing some instruments, but the only
Yankee Doodle Dandy and the Fourth of July
Where do we learn about love? About hate? About selfishness? About generosity? We learn from our parents. We learn from our friends. From our Clergy.
Buy a Gift Sub to TST or Upgrade to Print, Get a Free CD!
The Syncopated Times could use some new subscribers right now, and we’re offering a free CD to every reader who orders a new print subscription
Basin Street Regulars to Host Midiri Brothers in Pismo Beach in July
The Basin Street Regulars have two truly outstanding events coming up in July. The incredible Midiri Brothers are making the trip to California to perform
Arthur Vint: Bringing New York-Style Jazz to the Desert
Arthur Vint has capitalized on a series of life experiences that has enabled him to make a major contribution in the creation of a highly-successful
That Most Soulful Scot: Saxophonist Joe Temperley
Judged by looks alone, Joe Temperley did not live up to any cliché of a jazz musician. Rather, he looked like a successful businessman, always
Trombonist Craig Klein: A NOLA Native Keeps the Music Playing
New Orleans jazz and brass band music in the ’70s Ellis Marsalis once stated that “In other places, culture comes down from on high. In
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 #38 Jazz Singers
Set forth below is the thirty-eighth “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the April 1993 issue of the West Coast Rag now The Syncopated
Texas Shout #70 Melodic Improvisation
Set forth below is the seventieth “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the March 1996 issue of The American Rag. The text has not
The 50th Old Time Piano-Playing Contest
The 50th Old Time Piano Playing Contest and Festival took place on Memorial Day weekend at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. Ole Miss has
The Cellar Boys at the Green Mill
I was finally able to catch my favorite Chicago band, the Cellar Boys, at one of their regular habitats on Tuesday, May 21. I was
From The 2024 Templeton Ragtime Fest
The annual Charles H.Templeton, Sr., Ragtime and Jazz Festival at Mississippi State University in Starkville has, for the past ten years, begun with the Gatsby
The New Wonders • Steppin’ Out
The Timber Men Stompers • Jig Time
The Hot Toddies Jazz Band
Ed Clute • Shadows on the Moon
Raymond Burke • The Southland Recordings 1958 &1960
The Palomar Trio • The Song In Our Soul
Oscar Aleman • Ritmo Loco – El Rey de la Guitarra Swing
Bobby Leecan • Suitcase Breakdown
Agent Josephine: American Beauty, French Hero, British Spy
Stars Of Jazz: A Complete History of the Innovative Television Series, 1956–1958
Big Joe Turner: Feel So Fine A Bio-Discography
Jelly Roll Blues: Censored Songs & Hidden Histories
Benny Waters and Joe Turner: Profiles in Jazz
Benny Waters and Joe Turner (no relation to blues singer Big Joe Turner) were two of the many American jazz artists who found life to
Lil Hardin Armstrong: Profiles in Jazz
Lil Hardin Armstrong had a long career as a pianist, songwriter and occasional singer but she is chiefly remembered today for her work during a
Frank Trumbauer and Adrian Rollini: Profiles in Jazz
They were two of the finest saxophonists of the 1920s, ranking at the top with Sidney Bechet (soprano sax), Jimmy Dorsey and Johnny Hodges (alto),
Saying Goodbye to The Palm Court
Nina Rimington and George Buck met once again in Atlanta, Georgia in 1984 when the effervescent mother of three was looking for a job with
Jazz Fest in NOLA—Eight Days of Joy!
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival added an extra day this year to host the Rolling Stones on their third attempt to play the
Marching into an Arizona Spring…
After exciting trips to New Orleans and San Diego, the schedules for March included more local attention to the incredible talent we have right here
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
Dick Hyman’s Century of Jazz Piano (5 CD + 1 DVD Box Set)
Within Dick Hyman’s Century of Jazz Piano (Arbors), a five-disc CD set totaling 121 selections, pianist Dick Hyman seeks to demonstrate the development of jazz
The Five Points, the Bowery, and the Phonograph
Between the 1820s and the early 1890s, the Five Points slum was the most feared neighborhood in New York. It was, however, the most diverse
Labor Unions and Phonograph Workers
Musicians who worked in phonograph studios in the acoustic era were basically forced to fend for themselves for pay. The Musicians’ Union as we know
A Weekend in Morrisania: Hager in the Bronx
For over eight months, I have lived in the Bronx, specifically the neighborhood of Morrisania. Nothing is quite as exciting and inspiring as living in
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
Reality is a Cruel Mistress
If I was a rich man, I would have a right proper mid life crisis. I suppose that is a very sexist idea that you
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
Jazz in San Francisco, Pt. 3: Bagdad-by-the-Bay, 1940s, ‘50s & ‘60s
West Coast Blues & Russell City; Fillmore venues; Sugar Pie DeSanto, Vince Guaraldi; Ralph J. Gleason & Jazz Casual TV San Francisco was a crossroads
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
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
(Mis)Remembering the 1974 Joplin Fest
As I blow the dust off of the fifty-year-old files of Joplin Ragtime Festival documents, it isn’t just the dust causing my eyes to tear.
Claus Jacobi
Claus Jacobi, a reedman, arranger, scholar of jazz history, and for the last decade the music director of Mike Durham’s Whitley Bay Classic Jazz Party
Bob Butters of the Buffalo Ridge Jazz Band
Robert Bruce “Bob” Butters trombonist for the Buffalo Ridge Jazz Band and other groups in the Ohio area passed away, he was 94. The following
Joel Schiavone
Joel Schiavone, founder of the Your Father’s Mustache chain of venues for banjo bands and traditional jazz, died on April 22nd, he was 87. Starting
