A Foxtrot Too Far: The Savoy Bands Story on BBC Radio 3
A century ago, they were undoubtedly one of the biggest names in broadcasting in the UK, Europe, and large parts of the world. The Savoy
Lester Young Speaks! Rare Interviews of the Elusive Tenor Sax Legend
We’ve all heard many of the jazz history’s more accomplished musicians resist explaining the creative process behind their composing or playing, preferring instead to let
Tom Guralnick and the Outpost: Albuquerque’s Performance Space
Most Jazz musicians have a dual, connected complaint: the lack of gigs and the lack of places where they can play their kind of music.
World Class Syncopation at 2026 Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival
“Eureka!” the thundering cry of the Gold Rush! In 1848, gold was discovered at John Sutter’s Mill in Coloma located on the outskirts of Sacramento.
Monk Rowe interviews Bob Wilber (1998)
Bob Wilber was born in New York City on March 15, 1928. He began performing professionally while still in high school, playing clarinet and saxophone
Bix House Musicians Discuss Home History, Renovation Plans
Friday, July 31st, was the second day of the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz festival. But for a select group of musicians in the festival it
Harry Connick, Jr. Keeps a Promise to his Mom
Some performers spend their careers chasing Carnegie Hall. Harry Connick Jr., however, spent much of his career avoiding it. That isn’t a typo or a
Gary Giddins on Life, Music, and the Art of Criticism
If the contributions Gary Giddins has made in the last 50 years to the dissemination of Jazz and Jazz history were all listed here, they
Reedman Dan Levinson’s Back (and Ready to Play)!
Dan Levinson has been one of the most prolific reedmen on the jazz circuit over the past four decades, both as a leader and sideman,
“Ragtime: Cakewalk in Pianoland” opens November 13th, at the Morgan Library and Museum
Coming soon! “Ragtime: Cakewalk in Pianoland” opens November 13th, 2026, at the Morgan Library and Museum This exhibition introduces a new generation of visitors to
Bixophile Musicians Adopt Bix’s Endangered Boyhood Home
You’ll read my report of the Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival in next month’s issue, but something happened there last month that deserves your immediate attention
A Stopover in St. Louis
Immediately following the Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival in Davenport, Iowa, I extended my musical odyssey in St. Louis. On Sunday, August 2, I went to
From The 2026 Davenport Bix Fest
The 55th annual Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival got off to a rousing start on Wednesday, July 29 at Jim’s Knoxville Tap in nearby Milan, IL
From the 2026 Evergreen Jazz Festival
This July 24-26 marked the 23rd Evergreen Jazz Festival in the Front Range of the Rockies (elevation 7500 ft.) about 30 miles southwest of Denver.
A Walk On The Wild Side
Hot British Dance Bands 1925-1937
Mosaic Records • The Complete Louis Armstrong in New York 1924-1925
Ma Rainey • Mother of the Blues: The Complete Paramount Recordings, 1923-1928
Eddie Miller • New Orleans Tenor Sax
Ella Fitzgerald • Live at Falkoner Theatre
Dawn Lambeth • I Get Ideas
Scott Hamilton • In The Still Of The Night
What the Chauffeur Knew: The Hidden Story of Rudy Vallée
A Companion Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Jean Goldkette Orchestras, 1926-2026
The Ghosts of Harlem: Sessions with Jazz Legends By Hank O’Neal
Cool Heat—Anita O’Day and Her Dangerous Jazz Life
Helen Humes and Big Joe Turner: Profiles in Jazz
Helen Humes and Big Joe Turner never recorded together and do not seem to have ever shared a vocal, but their careers had several things
Ma Rainey: Profiles in Jazz
Of all of the classic blues singers of the 1920s who were able to record, Ma Rainey’s history went back the furthest. In an interview
Andy Kirk and Jay McShann: Profiles in Jazz
Kansas City was one of the centers of jazz during the 1920s and ‘30s. One of the main benefits of having a corrupt political boss
Enjoying Cooler Weather with Hotter Jazz!
ThePop-Up Piano Bar at the downtown Coronet Restaurant gathers a fun group of amateur and professional singers for various solos, duets and general sing-a-longs. Hostess
Jumping and Jiving at the Jazz Jubilee!
And a little bit of wailing too! What a fantastic Labor Day weekend celebration at the 11th Annual Hot Jazz Jubilee in Sacramento—great bands, venues,
A Little Night Music…
While the rest the world is scorching, Tucson welcomes monsoon rains and its afternoon cooling effect. The monthly Tuesday night Pop-Up Piano Bar group has
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
Texas Shout #64 Should that Tune Really be Revived?
Set forth below is the sixty-fourth “Texas Shout” column. The concluding installment of a two-part essay, (part 1,) it first appeared in the August 1995
Texas Shout #62 Contemporary Ragtimers
Set forth below is the sixty-second “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the June 1995 issue of West Coast Rag, now known as The
The West Texas Jazz Party: Sixty Years of Classic Jazz in Odessa, TX
The West Texas Jazz Party continues to hold the top spot when it comes to longevity for jazz parties, having celebrated its 60th anniversary in
Mike Durham’s International Jazz Party: What a Blast!
At 4 am on a Monday last year, I ambled down the front steps of the Village Hotel, humming “Clap Yo’ Hands” from Michael McQuaid’s
Jazz is Where You Find It: Fest Jazz 2025 in Brittany
It has been our pleasure over the years to combine sight-seeing trips abroad with visits to diverse jazz clubs, festivals, and concerts in Ascona, Edinburgh,
The Ear Tube Era of Coin-Operated Phonographs
Here a typical early coin phonograph scene is illustrated. In the early 1890s people described the rise of coin phonographs as a disease, “popping up
Emile Berliner’s Unique Recording Method
Here the unusual recording system for Berliner is illustrated. Throughout Berliner’s existence in the United States, he did not use recording methods typical of the
The “Voice of Edison”: Arthur Collins
It is difficult to determine who the most popular singer of the acoustic era was, and while many of the time claimed this title for
The Heartbreak and Inevitability of Saying Goodbye
If I could take anything from my mom, it would be her pathological optimism—the optimism of a single woman with a kid, a cat, and
‘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
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
‘Smiley’ Wallace, Beloved in Ragtime Community, Dies at 93
When Mary Grace Lanese called to tell me “Smiley” Wallace had died at age 93, on October 2, delightful memories of a long friendship with
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
Don Franz of the St. Louis Ragtimers has died
Don Franz, tuba player and a founding member of the St. Louis Ragtimers, died August 28 in St. Louis. He was 92. A musician, engineer,
Tony Fisher
Tony Fisher, a British trumpeter whose career joined big-band jazz to decades of London studio work, died September 27. He was 90. Born in Manchester,
Gene Bertoncini
Gene Bertoncini, a jazz guitarist known for bringing the nylon-string acoustic guitar into swing, standards, and Brazilian music, died August 29 in Englewood, New Jersey.
