Browse the Mayl Issue

Emmet Cohen Has a Lot to Say

Emmet Cohen is a multi-talented and innovative musician/pianist who captivates his audiences with style, panache and good humor. He began studying the piano at the

The Festival Roundup April 2025

DURANGO RAGTIME & EARLY JAZZ FESTIVAL (Durango, CO) – April 3-6 JOIN US for the return of the Durango Ragtime and Early Jazz Festival in

A 1925 Playlist for Jazz Appreciation Month

April 2025 ushers in Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM), a nationwide celebration of America’s homegrown musical treasure. Launched in 2001 by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of

The 2025 NYC Hot Jazz Camp

The 10th annual (except for 2020 when it was cancelled by Covid) New York Hot Jazz Camp convened at its regular home, the Greenwich House

JazzFest at Sea: January 17-27, 2025

After a good experience on my first cruise (the coast of Alaska and British Columbia in 2023), I was open to cruising again. Such an

Buck Clayton • Profiles in Jazz

Buck Clayton is most famous today for his association with Count Basie but that is only a small part of his musical legacy, a seven-year

Mary Lou Williams: Profiles in Jazz

Mary Lou Williams had a unique career. For much of her life she was called “jazz’s greatest female musician” but in reality she was simply

Duke Ellington’s Singers, Part 2

Duke Ellington’s compositions have been sung so often, particularly those that he wrote prior to the early 1950s, that it is surprising that it was

Live Jazz in Tucson, AZ!

Spring begins early in Tucson and The Learning Curve (an adult education program) offered a four week class on The Magic & Music Quincy Jones,

From the San Diego Jazz Party 2025

The San Diego Jazz Party held its annual event the weekend of February 21st and its 20+ musicians and vocalists made it an extremely memorable

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Our January visit started off at Fritzel’s with Colin Myers (tb), Zach Lange (tp), Ellis Dyson (bj), Brett Gallo (dr) and Ted Long (bs). This

Texas Shout #1 “Dixieland”

The following introduction was added when the Shouts were reprinted in the late 90s: Set forth below is the initial “Texas Shout” column, reprinted from

A Study in Condition

When collecting records, we can only hope that each record we acquire plays well enough so we can enjoy its contents. Collecting acoustic era recordings

Siblings in the Early Recording Industry

In several articles I have written about performers whose siblings got into recording, this seemed to have been a more common pattern than expected. To

‘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

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

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

Helen Traubel Defends Popular Music

My grandmother used to say she couldn’t see because she had Cadillacs in front of her eyes. Well, it must be genetic because I’ve gone

Edward Grogan

Edward Grogan passed away on April 5th; he was 98 years old. Born in Bolton, England, he was an officer of the Royal Navy during

Alvin Gotlieb

Alvin Maurice Gotlieb passed away on April 6th; he was 84. He grew up in a musical family that had an informal family band. He

Jitka Vrbova

Jitka Vrbova passed away on March 3rd; she was 84. A notable Czech vocalist, guitarist and sometimes actress she sang for Pražský Dixieland, Hot Jazz

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