Recording the Cotton Club Soundtrack, Part One
I could not have been more pleased when Mike Zirpolo contacted me, and asked me to share my memories about having played for the soundtrack
Baby Briscoe: Crescent City Queen, Sweetheart of New Orleans
With the exception of a few lady pianists, Swing Era women sang while the men played; that’s what some less academic, coffee table jazz histories
Slam Stewart and Major Holley: Jazz Bass Masters of the Bow
The role of each instrument in a jazz ensemble has changed as the music has changed, but the most dramatic transformation has been the role
Bob Mielke: A Reminiscence
Bob Mielke, a very great jazz artist, a hero on trombone and a dear friend, has just died at 93. For me, Bob defined a
Trad-jazz bandleader Dick Sheridan branches out as author of ukulele songbooks
A Happy Accident that Lasted a Lifetime For most of his musical career, Upstate New York banjoman Dick Sheridan has made his bones with trad-jazz
Doug Benson on the Record
Doug Benson’s work on King Oliver and Wolverines material quickly became benchmarks for what proper audio restoration could reveal. Since those discs in 2007 and
Musicians Rise to the Occasion with Good Deeds
Guitarist Jared Engel is one of the more than 175,000 residents of New York City, considered the epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic in the United
54th annual West Texas Jazz Party rescheduled for August 6-8th
The 54th annual West Texas Jazz Party is rescheduled for August 6-8, 2020 in the beautiful brand-new Odessa Marriott Hotel & Convention Center. It was
Your CD Baby Store has been Deleted. What to do Now?
At the end of March cdbaby.com took down all of the storefronts that at one point were a primary way for independent artists to sell
David Ostwald Bringing Trad Jazz to Birdland
Tuba player David Ostwald got hooked on Louis Armstrong and his music at age 15. “I went to Sam Goody’s (remember record stores?) to buy
Clint Baker: Preserving the Fire of Early Jazz
Clint Baker is one of the most important musicians in the contemporary Traditional Jazz and Swing world. Besides being a first-class musician (a multi-instrumentalist), he
Alex Mendham and the Classic British Dance Band
At 30 years of age, British bandleader Alex Mendham is too young to have seen any of the swing band leaders of the 1920s, ’30s,
Texas Shout #75 The Final Shout, Part 2
Set forth below is the seventy-fifth and last “Texas Shout” column. The concluding installment of a two-part essay, (part 1,) it first appeared in the
Texas Shout #56 Fats Waller and Crediting Composers
Set forth below is the fifty-sixth “Texas Shout” column. The initial installment of a two-part essay, it first appeared in the November 1994 issue of
Texas Shout #61 Johnny One Note
Set forth below is the sixty-first “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the May 1995 issue of the West Coast Rag). The text has
A Visit with Paris Washboard
The renowned French quartet Paris Washboard made a brief trip across the pond in February to play four concerts in my neck of the woods.
A Visit with Matt Tolentino
At the West Coast Ragtime Festival in November I sat down for about half an hour for a wide-ranging conversation with multi-instrumentalist Matt Tolentino, who
From the 2019 San Diego Jazz Festival
Combined with my trip to the West Coast Ragtime Festival as reported last month, I attended for the second time the San Diego Jazz Fest
The Shirt Tail Stompers: Billet Doux
Chris Barber: Back In Copenhagen 1961
Glenn Crytzer’s Secluded Seven: The Melody That Follows Me
Azure by Acker Bilk and Wally Fawkes
Nat Brusiloff and his Orchestra: Out of a Clear Blue Sky
Preludes, Rags and Cakewalks: Joplin, Debussy, Milhaud, Satie and Auric
Jesper Thilo: Swing Is The Thing
Candy Jacket Jazz Band LIVE!
I Thought You’d Never Ask: The Recollections of “Ragtime Bob” Darch
Sweet Thunder: Duke Ellington’s Music in Nine Themes
Adrian Rollini – The Life and Music of a Jazz Rambler
Rex Stewart’s Boy Meets Horn is a Jazz Classic Worth Reading
Wilbur DeParis: Profiles in Jazz
In the 1950s, trombonist Wilbur DeParis led his New New Orleans Jazz Band, one of the most exciting groups of the era. Accomplishing his stated
Ben Pollack: Profiles in Jazz
Decades ago, a classic Fletcher Henderson four-LP set was titled A Study In Frustration. I always thought that that title was inaccurate as far as
Bunk Johnson: Profiles in Jazz
There have long been two extreme schools of thought about trumpeter Bunk Johnson. His most partisan fans thought of him not only as a genius,
Jazz Festing in Place
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival’s 50th anniversary celebration was cancelled for the weekends of April 23-26 and April 30-May 3. The local radio
Quarantine Reads: Books about New Orleans
Since all of the April festivals have been cancelled, it is a good time to delve into the many available books about New Orleans. The
From the 2020 San Diego Jazz Party
The San Diego Jazz Party began in 1988 and recently celebrated its 32nd anniversary on the weekend of February 21st at the lovely Hilton San
From inside a Livestream with Carl Sonny Leyland
The Basin Street Regulars had finally lined up a band for its March Sunday session and it looked like it was going to be a
Cardinals Host Carl Sonny Leyland and the St. Louis Steady Grinders
What is the best way to spend a Thursday night on the California Central Coast? The best way is by a warm fire, with a
From the 2020 Fresno Sounds of Mardi Gras
On the second weekend in February the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Fresno was filled with the “Sounds of Mardi Gras.” All four venues are located
Fred Hager and ‘Handsome Harry’
This month’s article in this column will step away from the usual type of research done here; this month we will explore a bit of
Fred Hylands in Vaudeville
For researchers, scouring newspaper archives is an essential, yet at times tedious, process. Hours spent reading through century-old papers may yield only a small nugget
Perry Bradford, Fred Hager, and Mamie Smith’s Crazy Blues
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Mamie Smith’s first records. In February of 1920, Mamie Smith made history as the first black woman to
Keep Your ?#@*&%! Distance!
My eyes are drilling into a Walgreens cashier as she chats up a small boy with his family. I look to the other person in
The Old Town Music Hall and the King of Jazz
When your friend Katie Cavera invites you to go to the movies to see “the worst movie ever made” you cringe, ponder, and then say
Give a gig this Christmas
This year I saw a covert “holiday” laced commercial in August. The commercial might have been about hemorrhoid cream. I really don’t remember. I do
Farewell to Bob Mielke: Photo Essay and Rare Audio
This lively tribute to Mielke offers three dozen exclusive photos and music tracks from his personal collection. Included in this profile of an innovative bandleader
Dynamic Women of Early Jazz and Classic Blues, Pt 2
Concealed in the shadows of early Jazz, Blues and Popular music history are dynamic and accomplished women who nurtured, guided and developed the music. Several
Dynamic Women of Early Jazz and Classic Blues, Pt 1
Concealed in the shadows of Jazz and Blues history are dynamic women who nurtured, guided and developed the music. Several of the most talented and
How to Survive Quarantine
Here we are folks—for most of us, it’s just another day in self-quarantine. How long has it been already? A month, a week, two years?
Preparing for a Performance
When you see a jazz musician up on stage, baring their heart and soul to their audience, you’re witnessing something bordering the miraculous. The true
How to be the Star of the Band
At some point, you may have heard some jazz educator rabbit on to a group of students with a speech like, “jazz is a group
Thinking Positive
Like many reading this, I suspect you are nearly overwhelmed by the negativism accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a pessimistic time and for many
Peter Lundberg’s Ragtime Odyssey
One of the great ragtime adventure stories I ever heard was of Peter Lundberg’s tour of America in 1963, vising and interviewing ragtime greats across
Experiencing the Ragtime World from Home
I grew up in the 1940’s reading science fiction stories of time travel and of mysterious flying carpets. Today as I sit here in still
“And That’s Jazz” Trumpet Player Gene Maurice has Died
Gene R. Maurice passed away on April 8, 2020 in Alameda California, he was 93. After service in the Pacific during World War II on
New Black Eagles Pianist Bob Pilsbury has died.
Bob Pilsbury passed away on May 12th in Bedford Massachusetts, he was 93. Bob was the pianist for the New Black Eagle Jazz Band from
Ragtime composer Robin Frost has died
Robert Tuttle Morris Frost died on March 25th of pneumonia complications in California, he was 89. Born in 1930 in Washington DC he was raised
and then 