Armchair Critics, Angry Purists, and Other Garden Pests
I’ve been a YouTube watcher for a long time, and I’ve been posting video since 2009. If YouTube could collect a penny from every anonymous
AI, the End of Physical Media, and the Future of Record Collecting
My friends on Facebook will have noticed that I have been posting a lot of commentary and links about the reports of books being sliced
History of a Standard: Milestones, Miles Davis (1958)
Some artists thrive on what is known as “the liberating constraint.” The idea that you are forced to do more with less. You don’t necessarily
25 Years Later, Musicians Remember the Day the Towers Fell
Over the years, a number of musicians told me of their memories of September 11, 2001. I have selected a few to mark the 25th
There’s Big Fun in Pismo: Jazz Jubilee Central Coast 2026
The Basin Street Regulars Hot Jazz Society is thrilled to announce the 3rd Jazz Jubilee Central Coast 2026, a vibrant celebration of jazz music stretching
Remembering the Remarkable Henry Blackburn
It’s part of the human experience to encounter people who have major impact on your life. For most of us, it’s our parents. And for
Gary Giddins on Life, Music, and the Art of Criticism
If the contributions Gary Giddins has made in the last 50 years to the dissemination of Jazz and Jazz history were all listed here, they
Reedman Dan Levinson’s Back (and Ready to Play)!
Dan Levinson has been one of the most prolific reedmen on the jazz circuit over the past four decades, both as a leader and sideman,
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
Bixophile Musicians Adopt Bix’s Endangered Boyhood Home
You’ll read my report of the Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival in next month’s issue, but something happened there last month that deserves your immediate attention
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
From the 2026 Evergreen Jazz Festival
This July 24-26 marked the 23rd Evergreen Jazz Festival in the Front Range of the Rockies (elevation 7500 ft.) about 30 miles southwest of Denver.
Dan Announces His Return
TST readers will be happy to know that reedman Dan Levinson is back in action after six months following a medical procedure that cast doubt
Scott Joplin Ragtime Fest 2026
The 52nd Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival, held May 27-30, had not even begun before I met two of the musicians getting off the same train
Saxophobia: Celebrating the Sax Craze of the 1920s
George M. Cohan’s Broadway
The Secret Six • Toot Sweet and Goose the Beat
Roger Marks • Bring Me Sunshine
Louis Stewart • Alone Together
Mike Jones with Strings
John Arpin • Champagne Rags
Classic Oscar Peterson Trio Studio Sessions with Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen
Cool Heat—Anita O’Day and Her Dangerous Jazz Life
More Than The Music by Hank O’Neal
The Rediscovery of George “Nash” Walker: The Price of Black Stardom in Jim Crow America
Cool Heat – Anita O’Day and Her Dangerous Jazz Life
Ma Rainey: Profiles in Jazz
Of all of the classic blues singers of the 1920s who were able to record, Ma Rainey’s history went back the furthest. In an interview
Andy Kirk and Jay McShann: Profiles in Jazz
Kansas City was one of the centers of jazz during the 1920s and ‘30s. One of the main benefits of having a corrupt political boss
Marion Harris, Lee Morse, and Teddy Grace: Profiles in Jazz
Marion Harris, Lee Morse, and Teddy Grace had several things in common. Each were talented jazz-oriented singers who are largely forgotten today. They each had
A Little Night Music…
While the rest the world is scorching, Tucson welcomes monsoon rains and its afternoon cooling effect. The monthly Tuesday night Pop-Up Piano Bar group has
Hot Summer Nights = Hot Jazz!
The Century Room downtown is a go-to place on hot summer nights in Tucson. Besides showcasing our local talent, there are many visiting artists on
Festin’ With No Restin’!
The few days between the weekends offer a quieter respite with afternoon jam sessions at Fritzel’s and casual evening performances while welcoming the various international
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 #35 West Coast Revival Style Dixieland Part 2
Set forth below is the thirty-fifth “Texas Shout” column. The concluding installment of a two-part essay, it first appeared in the December 1992 issue of
Texas Shout #5 Non-Genre Music
The following introduction was added to this column when a series of reprints began in 1997. Set forth below is the fifth “Texas Shout” column.
The West Texas Jazz Party: Sixty Years of Classic Jazz in Odessa, TX
The West Texas Jazz Party continues to hold the top spot when it comes to longevity for jazz parties, having celebrated its 60th anniversary in
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,
The “Voice of Edison”: Arthur Collins
It is difficult to determine who the most popular singer of the acoustic era was, and while many of the time claimed this title for
The First Drag Queen on the Phonograph
When historians think of the first famous drag queens, most will consider the liberated ones of the 1920s. Usually Julian Eltinge and Gladys Bentley come
Simone Mantia, Master of the Euphonium
In this column I have written much about trombonist Arthur Pryor, and while he did lead his own band, his long time assistant was fellow
‘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
Marion Evans (1926-2026)
Arranger Marion Evans died July 22, he was 100 years old. He lived two full careers in music separated by decades of near-total anonymity on
Neil Unterseher (1940-2026)
Banjoist Neil Unterseher, a mainstay of the New Orleans traditional jazz scene for over half a century, died June 20 at his home in Kiln,
John Defferary (1941-2026)
Clarinetist and saxophonist John Defferary, a fixture of the British trad jazz revival for over six decades, died on July 10; he was 85. Born
