Guide to Traditional Jazz Record Labels
Even in 2023 buying albums is one of the most direct ways you can support jazz. It’s also one of the most rewarding. While many
Grace Johnston: ‘Dixie’s Duchess of Syncopation’
Grace Johnston could sing and swing a tune with a drive and delivery that almost transcended description. And she really WAS from Dixie! She was
When Scott Joplin Made the Top 40: Fifty Years of The Sting
As the year speeds to an end and we focus on holiday gaiety, I am reminded of a Christmas day anniversary that deserves acknowledgment. The
The Voyage of the Flugelhorn Through Jazz
The flugelhorn has become a staple in the jazz brass player’s arsenal. Its large bore and conical tubing make the tone mellower than the trumpet
EUREKA! From The Redwood Coast Music Festival!
The Redwood Coast Music Festival was an ecstatic experience, an overwhelming banquet of music and friendship. (If that seems hyperbolic, I can adopt Eddie Condon’s
Dusting Off Sheet Music Collections in Blue Hill, Maine
Loose pages, handsomely hard-bound volumes with ornate covers, and every configuration in between of sheet music are stacked on floor-to-ceiling shelves, cascading out of boxes
Colin Hancock Gets GRAMMY Nod for The Moaniest Moan
On Friday, November 10, Colin Hancock received a GRAMMY nomination as producer of Archeophone’s The Moaniest Moan of them All: The Jazz Saxophone of Loren
Correction and Apology to Central Pennsylvania Festival
It has come to our attention that we have grossly mischaracterized the 2023 Central Pennsylvania Ragtime & American Music Festival in our review of the
Remembering Lee Berk (1942-2023)
Dr. Lee Eliot Berk, the namesake and second president of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, was a champion of music who dedicated his
Royce Martin Charts a New Path for Ragtime
Fifty years after The Sting, it takes a special kind of musician to breathe new life into “The Entertainer” or “Solace”—those Scott Joplin masterpieces that
Digby Fairweather on Bebop, the Beatles, and British ‘Jazz Accents’
Very, very occasionally I receive fan mail from a reader who has enjoyed one of my articles. Often it’s about one of my “forgotten ladies”
Aaron Hawthorne Keeps Theater Organs Alive and Singing
Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside. I grew up in a quiet coastal town, where the shore and adjacent pine forests were
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
Texas Shout #27 Economics of Dixieland Part 2
Set forth below is the twenty-seventh “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the April 1992 issue of the West Coast Rag, (now Syncopated Times.) It is
Texas Shout #30 Introducing Creativity and Imagination to your Band
Set forth below is the thirtieth “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the July 1992 issue of the West Coast Rag, (now Syncopated Times) In
From The 34th Arizona Classic Jazz Festival
The 34th Arizona Classic Jazz Festival, held as usual at the Crowne Plaza Golf Resort in downtown Chandler on November 2-5, was blessed with beautiful
From the 2023 Central PA Ragtime Festival
Since its beginning in 2009, the Central Pennsylvania Ragtime and American Music Festival has grown in stature, if not in size. Originally held in early
Chicago Reedwoman Natalie Scharf
I encountered reedwoman Natalie Scharf after she joined the front line of the Chicago Cellar Boys. If you’re not aware of this band (and you
Samara Joy • Linger Awhile – Deluxe Edition
Masumi Ormandy • Beyond the Sea
The Viper Club • Tain’t No Use
Angela DeNiro with the Ron Aprea Big Band • Swingin’ with Legends 2
Presenting Rare & Obscure Jazz Albums: The Cass Harrison Trio
Paul Smith • The Complete Liquid Sounds Sessions
Roger Marks • Marks & Sparks
A Chiaroscuro Christmas
Jazz à la Creole: French Creole Music and the Birth of Jazz
Jazz à la Creole: Fench Creole Music and the Birth of Jazz
The Tunesmith: The Musical Journey of M.K. Jerome
Rhythm Man: Chick Webb and The Beat That Changed America
Count Basie: Part 1 – The Old Testament Years
In a word association game, it would not be unusual for the word Swing to be followed by that of Count Basie. For nearly a
Louis Jordan: Profiles in Jazz
Louis Jordan is today remembered for his many popular recordings with his Tympany Five. Considered a transitional figure between swing and rhythm & blues, during
Three Great Jazz Guitarists: Carl Kress, Dick McDonough and George Barnes
They were three of the greatest jazz guitarists of the 1930s although they have been overshadowed in the jazz history books by Eddie Lang, Django
Meanwhile, Back in the Quarter…
October is definitely the most beautiful month in New Orleans and after a mild hurricane season but extremely hot summer, it was welcomed by all!
Music Clubs & Positive Acts of Congress
The 17th Street Music Club in Tucson started with an idea that was developed 15 years ago, when the former 17th Street Market and World
Jazz in Arizona’s Mile High City!
The Prescott Jazz Summit takes place the weekend before Labor Day and this year they were celebrating the 22nd year of the event. Situated about
EUREKA! From The Redwood Coast Music Festival!
The Redwood Coast Music Festival was an ecstatic experience, an overwhelming banquet of music and friendship. (If that seems hyperbolic, I can adopt Eddie Condon’s
Soundies: The Ultimate Collection • Blu-ray; four discs; ten hours
The Panoram was a sleek, Art Deco style wooden cabinet standing nearly seven-feet tall with a 27-inch ground-glass screen. The cabinets were three-feet wide and
Bude Jazz Festival 2023: Still Going Strong After 34 Years!
That this festival even happens could be the most striking fact about it. Located more than five hours’ drive from London, and an hour from
Seminary Music and Recording the Fringes of Pop
In 1908, a relatively small publishing firm named Seminary Music published a piece called “Pineapple Rag” by Scott Joplin. At this time, Joplin had freshly
When the Phonograph Met Moving Pictures
In the 1890s, many new technologies were being developed at the same time, and it’s no surprise that many of these fledgling fields would occasionally
Ruby Brooks: The Champion of the Banjo
In the era of Tin Pan Alley, a few recording artists tried to unite their record making with sheet music publishing. In the latter 19th
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
Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks at The Soraya
With his right arm resting on the body of his bass saxophone, and the other arm draped around the shoulder of his best gal—his stand-up
The Elusive Legacy of Bill Erickson 1929-1967
“Erickson, usually erroneously labelled a Dixieland jazzman, was in every way a comprehensive modern musician, performer and composer whose interests ranged from the blues to
San Francisco Jazz, Phase Two, 1940-66
WWII Jazz boom, The Fillmore, Oakland Blues, North Beach & Forbidden City Nightclubs San Francisco was the location for dynamic developments in popular entertainment: Traditional,
Jazz in San Francisco, 1916-66, Pt. 1: From Terrific Street to Nob Hill
We first met, Jazz and I, at a dance hall dive on the Barbary Coast. It screeched and bellowed at me from a trick platform
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
Ron Jennings: He Told Our Stories
Recently while working on the history of the 1974 Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival, I was distracted by an article an old friend had written, and
Percy Franks and Jess Williams
It has been great fun to recall old memories of the first 1974 Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia. This month I remember two gentlemen
Guitarist Steven Hancoff
This month I continue to write about the premier 1974 Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri. Last month I featured Flint Long, piano contest
Remembering Lee Berk (1942-2023)
Dr. Lee Eliot Berk, the namesake and second president of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, was a champion of music who dedicated his
Banjo Hall of Famer Steve Caddick has died
Steve Caddick passed away on November 5th, he was 73 years old. He spent his last day singing his favorite songs surrounded by his family.
Chicago bassist John Bany has died.
Chicago based jazz bassist John Bany died on 5 November 2023, he was 81. He was the fifth in a generational family legacy of bassists
