The First Annual Great Northeast Jug Band Festival
“The real history of music is not respectable. Far from it. Neither is it boring. Breakthroughs almost always come from provocateurs and insurgents, and they
Thoughts about the South Frisco Jazz Band and the Pizza Palace
I have often thought about how much chance, or fate, dictates the direction of one’s life. Some—including me—might also attribute surprising occurrences in their lives
The Story of Duke Ellington, Part 4: 1951-1961
Duke Ellington’s accomplishments and innovations as a composer, arranger, pianist, and bandleader are so vast that one or two articles cannot do him justice. This
A Conversation with Guitarist Al Casey
Fats’ ‘Rhythm’ Sideman Remembers Waller, Recording in the 1930s, and Going Electric I was lucky enough to play with Al Casey, the legendary Fats Waller
Jimmy Lunceford Plays a ‘Colored Dance’: Summer 1941
Summer of ’41, before senior year in high school, I worked as bellboy at a resort hotel in Lake Junaluska, NC, a Methodist Chatauqua some
The Story of Duke Ellington, Part 3: 1939-1951
Duke Ellington’s accomplishments, innovations, and sheer productivity as a bandleader, pianist, arranger and composer were so vast that one or two articles cannot do justice
Walnut Creek’s Rossmoor Ukulele Club Provides Ukes to Local Schools
Art Salzfass, a resident of the Rossmoor Retirement Community in Walnut Creek, California, has a unique mission. Art, along with other members of the Rossmoor
Ken Peplowski’s Bouncing Again!
This past September, a gaunt Ken Peplowski appeared as the special guest of Frank Vignola at the outdoor Morristown New Jersey Jazz & Blues Festival.
2022 Giants of Jazz Concert Honors Rufus Reid
I well remember several major jazz celebrities bemoaning the fact that the jazz community had failed to properly honor Louis Armstrong before he died in
Isobel Gathercole Dreams of Career Longevity
Some musicians aspire to awards. Many wish to walk out on the world’s biggest stages. Others hope to headline festivals one day. For recording debutante
Jack Amblin on Playing ‘Stadium Jazz’ with PMJ
As half of acoustic jazz and blues duo The Washboard Resonators, percussionist Jack Amblin no doubt feels most at home on the little stages of
Meschiya Lake: ‘I’m Not Just a Jazz Singer’
By the time I sat down for a chat with Meschiya Lake, in mid-October, I’d been keen to meet her for a long time—since 2019
Texas Shout #15 How to Improvise Solos
Set forth below is the fifteenth “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the March 1991 issue of the West Coast Rag, (now Syncopated Times.) Because
Texas Shout #25 Popular Histories
Set forth below is the twenty-fifth “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the February 1992 issue of the West Coast Rag, (now Syncopated Times.) The following note
Texas Shout #48 Will Dixieland Jazz Make A Comeback? Part 2
Set forth below is the forty-eighth “Texas Shout” column. The concluding installment of a two-part essay (here’s part 1), it first appeared in the March
From The 2022 San Diego Jazz Festival
The 2022 San Diego Jazz Festival, the first held in person in three years, got underway on Thanksgiving Eve at the newly (since 2019) expanded
From the 2022 West Coast Ragtime Festival
My review in these pages of the 2019 West Coast Ragtime Festival began with this statement: “Sometimes too much of a good thing is, well, too
Interview with Chip Templeton
In 1987, Charles H. Templeton, a 1949 graduate of Mississippi State University, donated his collection of 200 antique music players dating from about 1895 to
Lucy Lambert’s Violet Drift
Russell Welch • Time On My Hands
Gina DeGregorio and Hal Smith • Penthouse Serenade
Marsalis & Clapton Play The Blues
Rufus Temple Orchestra • Original Rags & Tracks
Hal Smith’s New Orleans Night Owls • Messin’ Around
Phonographic Yearbook • 1904
Lucinda Fosker • I Get Along
Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Underworld
Carmen Caramanica • It Started with a Guitar: Six Strings and a Dream
Crazy Rhythm: My Journey from Brooklyn, Jazz and Wall Street to Nixon’s White House and Beyond…
Life Through The Eyes Of A Jazz Journalist: My Jazz Memoirs by Scott Yanow
Glenn Miller: Profiles in Jazz
Of all of the swing era bandleaders, Glenn Miller had more hit records than anyone else in the jazz world, more than Benny Goodman, Artie
Jimmy Dorsey: Profiles in Jazz
When one thinks of the top alto-saxophonists of the swing era, the names of Johnny Hodges, Benny Carter and perhaps Willie Smith (from the Jimmie
Illinois Jacquet: Profiles in Jazz
It was May 26, 1942 and 19-year old tenor-saxophonist Illinois Jacquet was set to be featured on “Flying Home” with the Lionel Hampton big band.
From the 2022 San Diego Jazz Fest & Swing Extravaganza
The 2022 San Diego Jazz Fest & Swing Extravaganzawas held at the Town & Country Hotel over the Thanksgiving weekend after several years of “inactive”
Classic Jazz In Chandler, AZ!
The Arizona Classic Jazz Society held it 33rd annual Festival in Chandler, Arizona, in early November much to the delight of its many members and
Autumn in New…Orleans!
It is glorious time of the year when summer (and hurricane season) ends, when strolls through the French Quarter are pleasant and when parading groups
The Unexplored Possibilities of Hoagy Carmichael’s Stardust Road
I can’t think of a musical production I’ve looked forward to for quite as long as Hoagy Carmichael’s Stardust Road. Nor one that has disappointed
Tchaikovsky Meets Ellington: The Nutcracker Suite
The Nutcracker was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-93) in 1892 for a two-act ballet. Nine of the numbers from the ballet were selected by
The 2nd Annual Glenn Jenks Ragtime Revue, 2022
Glenn Jenks was a favorite at ragtime events, both as a pianist and for his compositions. Though he had a significant following in the ragtime
The Distinction of Fred Hylands
Every pianist has their own style, and as we study the accompaniments of the earliest acoustic recordings of the regular studio pianists of the 1890s
Okeh: Breakthroughs and Changes in 1923
With a new year upon us, often we think of what will be entering in its centennial year. In 1923, the Okeh record company went
Zon-O-Phone: Universally Dysfunctional
In the late 1880s Thomas Edison perfected his phonograph, and set up the Edison phonograph works in Orange, New Jersey, and at the same time
New Year’s Evolution
Here I am. Just about three years later still not doing much of anything. And unlike many of you it took me until a few
Celebrating Ian Whitcomb: ‘We’ll Meet Again’
I recently went to one of the most profound and joyful memorials I have ever attended, held for Ian Timothy Whitcomb (July 10, 1941-April 19,
Sinatra, Lee, and . . . Eilish?
My one concert of 2022 was at The Hollywood Bowl and it was an evening to be remembered. A tribute to two icons of jazz:
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, 1937-49
A Brief History of the Premier All-Women Swing Orchestra The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was a racially mixed sixteen-piece all-women Swing orchestra. The word ‘International’
Ada Leonard Part Two, 1943-55 and The Sharon Rogers Band Overseas, 1945-46
The all-female Big Band of Ada Leonard (see Part 1) was the best-known of around 100 “all-girl” Swing orchestras playing for the troops during WWII.
Ada Leonard and the All-American Girl Orchestra, Part One 1940-43
Bandleader Ada Leonard was a dancer, singer and show business professional who led the first all-female Swing orchestra touring Army training camps during WWII filling
Jerry Lewis
As a musician, over the years, we occasionally have the opportunity to play with some giants or the industry. And about a decade ago, I
How to Impress Your Date with Modern Jazz
So you’ve just met that special someone, but you’re worried they might be a little “out of your league.” You’ve taken them on a few
The Age We Live In
After many years touring in the US, playing traditional jazz festivals, cruises and what have you, there’s an unavoidable truth that we’ll have to address
The Demise of Names & Numbers
We have faced many obituaries of major figures in music since the pandemic and a similar increase in the number of program and event cancellations
SIU Carbondale: 50th Anniversary of their Staging of Treemonisha
I was delighted to receive an email from Walter Ray last week regarding my TST column on contemporary performances of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha. He is
Lovestruck Balladeers and Young Pianists
My first attendance at a live concert in months brought many emotions and memories. First, and foremost I was reminded how much pure joy radiates
Chris Daniels, founder of the Climax Jazz Band, has died at 84
Chris Daniels, the founder, leader, and bassist of the Climax Jazz Band has died, he was a youthful and vigorous 84. Daniels was born in
Guitar Virtuoso Carmen Caramanica Passes Away at 77
Jazz guitar virtuoso, bandleader, composer, and teacher Carmen Caramanica died January 16, 2023; he was 77 years old. Carmen was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in
Louise Tobin dies at 104
Louise Tobin, the last surviving musician to have recorded in the 1930s, died on November 26th; she was 104. Her place in popular history was
