Current Issue
‘As Long as They Can Blow’: Steve Provizer on Interracial Jazz
NOTE: This is an edited excerpt of the interview I did with Steve Provizer after reading his new book, As Long As They Can Blow:
Monterey by the Bay: The Bash Was a Smash!
NASA hasn’t perfected the robot that would be the ideal reviewer for a jazz festival like the Jazz Bash by the Bay in Monterey, California,
Celebrating the Centennial Jazz of 1924
1924 found America deep in the Jazz Age with speakeasies, bootleggers, and hot jazz as the soundtrack. Calvin Coolidge was president (winning re-election in November),
Drummers’ Summit: Let’s Talk About Morey Feld
Hal Smith: Well, Brother Kevin…It seems like forever since we “talked shop” for an article in The Syncopated Times. Before another year slips away, what
Whisper Darkly: Shining a Light on Secretive Jazz Age Theater Project
YouTube is just full of surprises, isn’t it? For instance, today I learned that there’s a channel called Electro Swing Thing, which recently uploaded a
The Spirit of Hot Jazz in St. Louis: T.J. Muller’s All-Star Jazz Band
Traditional jazz and ragtime are back in St. Louis these days and as vibrant and joyful as in the days when the Goldenrod Showboat graced
‘Downsizing’ Duke Ellington in After Midnight
When Paper Mill Playhouse, the State Theater of New Jersey, announced their 2023-2024 season, the production I was most looking forward to was the musical
The Music Never Stops: A Report from Israel
Many TST readers, like me, are of an age that we can recall Pearl Harbor, the camps at Auschwitz, and the atrocities of the Japanese
Wham Re-Bop-Boom-Bam: The Swing Jazz of Eddie Durham
Wham Re-Bop-Boom-Bam: The Swing Jazz of Eddie Durham premiered February 1st on many public television stations nationwide. The 60-minute documentary has been receiving considerable praise
Duved Dunayevsky: There’s Rhythm in Paris
Chapter 1: In Which Paris Comes to New York In 2019, I was lucky enough to be invited to attend Tatiana Eva Marie’s birthday party,
Rossano Sportiello Makes the Ivories Swing
An article in the February 2021 issue of DOWNBEAT Magazine had this to say about the individual who will be the recipient of the 2024
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
Texas Shout #15 How to Improvise Solos
Set forth below is the fifteenth “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the March 1991 issue of the West Coast Rag, (now Syncopated Times.) Because
Texas Shout #12 Women in Dixieland
Editors Note: As I was reading Tex Wyndham’s book of collected Shouts this spring I had a growing feeling that they should be shared again.
Texas Shout #11 Reviewing Records, Part Two
Set forth below is the eleventh “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the October 1990 issue of The West Coast Rag, now known as
A Brief Stop in NOLA
Prior to the Templeton Ragtime Festival in late February, I spent a few days in New Orleans. As my regular readers know, when I travel
Louis and Bria in NYC
On a rainy Friday, December 1, I made my second trip to the Big Apple in just under two months. My main purpose was to
A night in NYC: David Ostwald and Terry Waldo
On October 4, I made one of my periodic jaunts to New York to indulge my passion for traditional jazz. Before Covid I used to
Jeff Barnhart & Spats Langham • We Wish We Were Twins
Darden Purcell • Love’s Got Me in a Lazy Mood
Betty Bryant • Lotta Livin’
Inspiring Elvis: The Music Behind the King of Rock and Roll
Dick Hyman’s Century of Jazz Piano (5 CD + 1 DVD Box Set)
Malo Mazurié • Taking The Plunge
Sunny Side • The Felicity Sessions
Juliet Varnedoe Jazz Band • Cajun Bleu
Big Joe Turner: Feel So Fine A Bio-Discography
Jelly Roll Blues: Censored Songs & Hidden Histories
As Long as They Can Blow: Interracial Jazz Recording and Other Jive Before 1935
Dust Bowl To Disney: The Lost Memoir of Danny Alguire
Humphrey Lyttelton: Profiles in Jazz
In music history, it ranked with Igor Stravinsky’s debut of The Rite Of Spring in 1913 and Bob Dylan “going electric” at the 1965 Newport
Benny Goodman’s Female Singers – 1939-49
During the Swing era, bandleaders had a variety of different opinions about the importance of employing a female singer. Some, such as Artie Shaw, considered
Benny Goodman’s Vocalists: From Helen Ward to Martha Tilton
During the big band era, nearly every orchestra (swing or sweet) was comprised of male instrumentalists, a male vocalist (who was sometimes one of the
From the 35th San Diego Jazz Party
We attended the 35th Anniversary of the San Diego Jazz Party this past February and with beautiful weather at last! The Hilton Del Mar is
Cold Winds Outside, Hot Jazz Inside!
When we hit New Orleans this past January it was 32 degrees and very windy! The Mississippi encourages bitter winds through the Quarter and creates
Quarter Notes February 2024
And The Band Played On… The venerable 62-year old Preservation Hall has announced an expansion of its facilities to further support the 12-year old Preservation
Wham Re-Bop-Boom-Bam: The Swing Jazz of Eddie Durham
Arranging is an underrated element in jazz and arrangers have not been given the credit they deserve. Arranging has almost always been considered piecework, paid
Dick Hyman’s Century of Jazz Piano (5 CD + 1 DVD Box Set)
Within Dick Hyman’s Century of Jazz Piano (Arbors), a five-disc CD set totaling 121 selections, pianist Dick Hyman seeks to demonstrate the development of jazz
Heat from the Whitley Bay Classic Jazz Party is Felt Worldwide
There are two rules I tell everyone when they attend the Whitley Bay International Classic Jazz Party for the first time. One: it’s a marathon,
Frank and John: The Musical Banta Brothers
In the world of 19th century theater, there were many siblings who made their success by performing together. As the phonograph became a legitimate medium
Helf and Hager Set up Shop on Tin Pan Alley
In the latter 19th century, a few daring publishers decided to try and combine their hustling status with the phonograph. In the 1890s it was
Coming Soon: A Biography of Justin Ring
Since I moved to the Bronx back in September, I have been more inspired than ever to write and to draw. Living in the very
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
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
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
Jazz in San Francisco, Pt. 3: Bagdad-by-the-Bay, 1940s, ‘50s & ‘60s
West Coast Blues & Russell City; Fillmore venues; Sugar Pie DeSanto, Vince Guaraldi; Ralph J. Gleason & Jazz Casual TV San Francisco was a crossroads
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
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
(Mis)Remembering the 1974 Joplin Fest
As I blow the dust off of the fifty-year-old files of Joplin Ragtime Festival documents, it isn’t just the dust causing my eyes to tear.
David Reffkin and the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival
There was a knock at the door and when I answered the fellow introduced himself as David Reffkin (not to be confused with Joshua Rifkin
String Groups at the 1974 Scott Joplin Fest
News from Galen Wilkes that Dennis Pash was rushed to the hospital in December brought back a flash of memories and of course great concern
Festival promotor Laurie Whitlock has died
The Jazz world has lost a lifelong contributor to the celebration and preservation of Jazz. Laurie Whitlock spent many long hours volunteering with the most
Seatle Saxophonist Bill Ramsay has died at 95
Well known Seattle saxophonist Bill Ramsay died on March 3rd, he was 95. He was a founding member of the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra in
Kerry “Fatman” Hunter killed in hit and run
Prominent New Orleans drummer Kerry “Fatman” Hunter was killed by a drunk driver while walking near the corner of Claiborne and Elysian Fields on Mardi
