The Jazz Age Beyond New Orleans: Rediscovering Carlos A. Saco
Not much has been written about Carlos Alberto Saco Herrera—but a century ago, his music was everywhere in Lima. The scarcity of sustained scholarship is
Jug Band Magic in Japan: The Yokohama Jug Band Festival
Shrink the land mass of the continental United States to the size of California. Link every major city by high speed bullet train. Would you
A Few Words With Vij Prakash
Vij Prakash is a trombonist, composer and educator in both the jazz and pop music scenes. In the jazz world, he has his own projects
Interviewing the Interviewer: A Conversation with David Reffkin
I first met David Reffkin in 1991 at the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri, after he gave a presentation about different personalities he
Remembering Sixty Years of Jazz with Bob Wilber
It is very likely that first Commodore 78 this writer ever owned was by Bob Wilber, “Willie The Weeper” and “Mabel’s Dream” on Commodore 583.
Swing Street: The Golden Age of New York Jazz Clubs
They called it “Swing Street.” It’s only an echo of a memory today for those old enough to have immersed themselves in the sights and
Sherri Colby: Anthropology and the Joy of Music
For the past 40 years, SherriLynn Colby-Bottel has led two lives: one in education and research in the field of anthropology, the study of what
Jon-Erik Kellso: A Motor City Jazz Master in NYC
We all search for our place in the world. Some find it and some don’t. For Jon-Erik Kellso, the stars lined up early. To borrow
Pianist Peter Mintun: The Talk of the Town
Long before anyone used the word “retro,” pianist Peter Mintun fell in love with music from the decades before he was born. And he has
What’s in a Jazz Nickname?
I once met a fighter pilot whose call-sign was “Ice.” I remember thinking it was one of the coolest nicknames I’d ever heard. Obviously this
Praise for “The Miller Effect”
To the Editor: As a consequence of travel, I’m a month behind in my reading of the April edition of The Syncopated Times. Thus, I
Jazz Appreciation Month at the Smithsonian
Last year I took my son to Copenhagen as a reward for doing well in his school exams. It just “happened” to coincide with the
From the Durango Ragtime and Early Jazz Festival
There’s an adage in show business that says “always leave ’em wanting more.” That, in two ways, sums up my reaction to the Durango Ragtime
From the 2026 New York Hot Jazz Camp
I spent Presidents’ Week in New York working at the annual New York Hot Jazz Camp. I have missed only one year in the Camp’s
From the 2025 Central PA Ragtime Festival
The 16th Central Pennsylvania Ragtime and American Music Festival took place, as usual, at several venues in Huntingdon County on September 18-21. While most events
Red Hot Jazzmen: The Singers
The Joymakers • A Texas-Sized Band
Champian Fulton • House Party
Flying High: Big Band Canaries Who Soared
The Doris Drew Story
Heather Pierson • Alone at Last
52nd Street Swing
Joe Sullivan • 1934-41
Speakeasies to Symphonies: The Genius of James P. Johnson
Speakeasies to Symphonies: The Genius of James P. Johnson
As Long as They Can Blow: Interracial Jazz Recordings and Other Jive Before 1935
Concerto for Cootie: The Life and Times of Cootie Williams
Art Tatum: Profiles in Jazz
Who was the greatest musician ever to play jazz? While one can make the case for Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker and John Coltrane among others,
Profiles in Jazz: Svend Asmussen and Oscar Alemán
It has been said, way too often, that “jazz is America’s only indigenous art form.” That cliched statement is inaccurate in two ways. Jazz is
Ken Peplowski: Profiles in Jazz
Although Ken Peplowski had been battling multiple myeloma for five years, his sudden death on February 2 is still a bit of a shock. He
A Quarter for My Thoughts!
The French Quarter Fest in New Orleans was pushed back to the weekend before the two Jazz Fest weekends so we decided to go for
Never Resting on One’s Laurels!
The Learning Curve, one of our local Adult Education programs focusing on Arts, Humanities, Music, Literature & History, held its spring music class with Conductor
California Dreamin’ at the SDJP
What a fun weekend celebrating the 38th anniversary of the iconic San Diego Jazz Party where 19 artists descend on the Hilton Del Mar to
Texas Shout #72 Albums: Important vs. “Good”
Set forth below is the seventy-second “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the May 1996 issue of TAR. Because the text has not been
Texas Shouts #17 & #18 Favorite Musicians
Set forth below are the Seventeenth and Eighteenth “Texas Shout” columns. They first appeared in the May and June 1991 issues of the West Coast Rag,
Texas Shout #32 White New Orleans Dixieland, Part 1
Set forth below is the thirty-second “Texas Shout” column. The initial installment of a two-part essay, it first appeared in the September 1992 issue of
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,
‘We Go for That’: The Redwood Coast Music Festival (Oct. 2-5, 2025)
My title comes from a Thirties phrase for “I really like that,” found in a wonderful Frank Loesser left-handed love song (“Your fuzzy hair, your
A Nickel a Play: Exhibiting the Phonograph
In the 1890s, the phonograph was still so new to most of the public. Not only was it new, it was expensive. Very few people
‘Notorious Adultery’: The Divorce of Justin Ring
In 1911, Justin Ring found himself in court for divorce. It was a rather nasty case, and the reasons for it were different than I
Lambert Cylinders: Indestructible and Intriguing
Most recording companies of the acoustic era can be relatively well tracked in terms of their locations and employees, but there is one that still
‘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
‘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
Daniel Huck
French reed player Daniel Huck, a joyful presence in European hot jazz, died April 25, 2026, in Saint-Christol-lez-Alès, France. He was 78. Born in Paris
Jo Ann Castle (September 3, 1939 – May 8, 2026)
Jo Ann Castle, the pianist and accordionist known to millions of television viewers as the “Queen of the Honky-Tonk Piano,” died May 8, 2026. She
Mike Schwimmer
Mike Schwimmer, a performer, broadcaster, collector, presenter, and historian whose work reached across the traditional jazz and ragtime community for more than half a century,
