Browse the December Issue

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

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

Judy Garland Johnny One Note

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

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

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

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

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

Randi Cee

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

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,

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

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

Support Our Advertisers

Or look at our Subscription Options.