Meet Them in St. Louis: Valerie Kirchhoff and Ethan Leinwand
Michael Steinman
August 31, 2024
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My professional baseball career happened entirely inside my head. What went on in there may or may not interest you, but for me it—both the career and the brain-picture of it—was marked by an unforgettable encounter with a retired pro and a great pianist. This will take some explaining, though.
He was billed as “the 20th Century Gabriel” because of his high-note work and flamboyant solos. Very popular during his heyday and the leader of one of the most swinging bands of the Swing era, trumpeter Erskine Hawkins is often overlooked today. Even his famous original “Tuxedo Junction” is best
It may be hot outside but it is more than “cool” at our local jazz club, The Century Room in downtown’s Hotel Congress! The Mysterious Babies’ lead Guy Senese (cnt/sax) just returned from a trip to Turkey and related a story about the “town square’ in Ankara. He came across
How does a tiny, unknown country town such as Three Rivers, California, end up sponsoring an annual world-class Jazz Festival that would last 50 years? It’s an epic story and a musical odyssey. Jazz music, born in New Orleans, took an Irish twist and found an enduring legacy in the
Like the aurora borealis, Swedish swinger Gunhild Carling lit up the night sky over Syracuse’s Clinton Square on June 28, 2024. She sang, she danced, she played tailgate trombone, wooden recorder, a tin penny whistle, and three—count ’em—three trumpets all at the same time. Clad in a royal blue fringed
The Roswell (New Mexico) Jazz Festival takes place throughout the town mid-October. The beloved festival draws visitors from all over the U.S. and from overseas. Musicians who usually appear on the larger stages in New York City, New Orleans, or Kansas City come to the small town in the middle
I’m a little too young to have experienced the philanthropic musical phenomenon that was Live Aid. Organized by Bob Geldof in 1985, the iconic charity concert raised over $100 million to help relieve a devastating famine in Ethiopia. One year earlier the pop supergroup Band Aid—composed of Boy George, Sting,
The Queen’s Cartoonists Caroga Lake Music Festival Caroga Lake, NY, July 24, 2024 It has become a tradition for symphony orchestras to devote an evening to serving as accompaniment to a feature-length movie. In nearby Saratoga Springs this summer, the Philadelphia Orchestra will be pandering to the masses by playing
Jeff Barnhart: Hal my friend, you’ve chosen a musician I know little about, but whose work I’ve heard—and very much enjoyed in the past. Since he’s not a household name like some previous greats we’ve discussed, I hope you won’t mind if I start with a few questions? We’re taking
25th Annual PENTASTIC HOT JAZZ & MUSIC FESTIVAL (Penticton, BC) – Sept. 6-8 Situated between two lakes in the beautiful Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Pentastic Hot Jazz is celebrating its 25th year. As “the best Jazz Party in the Northwest”, the three day Pentastic HOT Jazz Festival brings world class jazz
The present certainly has its discontents. As my veneer of magnanimity and tolerance wears molecule-thin, even I must concede that it is too mean, ugly, and noisy for endurance. It’s cheap in terms of quality and expensive with regard to cost. Shrinkflation irritates me so much, I should see a
There were several recording stars in the 1890s and early 1900s who were known for performing ragtime songs, but one of the most famous of these was Len Spencer. His history as a ragtime singer is rather unusual, and actually includes some unexpected approval from black listeners of his recordings.
Prior to Anne’s and my seven-week performance (and walking, and BEER DRINKING) tour of the UK in May, we played a ragtime festival run by fabulous ragtimist (his word) Bob Milne that’s annually held in Frankenmuth, MI at the world-famous chicken restaurant, Zehnder’s. It’s always a great time; the pianos
Leon Brown “Chu” Berry was born September 13, 1908, in Wheeling, West Virginia. After high school, he attended West Virginia State College for three years. Berry became interested in music at an early age, playing alto saxophone, at first with local bands. He was inspired to take up the tenor
Scott Joplin’s Weeping Willow (1903, published by Val. A. Reis of St. Louis) was one of the first piano rags I learned how to play. The first page is one of Joplin’s most melodically memorable. Ms. 13-14 of the A section, with its B7-Em chord change and aching melodic appoggiatura,
For the eleventh year in a row, I traveled to Davenport, Iowa for the Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival. This makes about 15 Bixes that I have attended, starting intermittently in 2001. One change in the format that was introduced last year and which I appreciated, was extending sets from 45
Citing a diminishing population of traditional jazz fans and declining attendance, Society president and Festival director Helen Daley released a statement that the upcoming Arizona Classic Jazz Festival (Oct. 31-Nov. 3) would be the last festival in a 35-year run, and that the Arizona Classic Jazz Society, which was organized
In Italian there is a wonderful expression, “sensa parole,” meaning “beyond words.” It’s the only way I can define Ascona in the Italian-speaking canton of Switzerland. Often called the “The Pearl of Lake Maggiore” it truly is impossible to describe. On our fifth visit in seven years, I can only
Beloved teacher, clarinetist, and bandleader Don Cantwell celebrated his 100th birthday with 100 friends, family, and past and current students at Unity Hall in Barneveld, New York. His jazz band, the Clef Dwellers (a group including his alumni students and other prominent local musicians), accompanied Don on the clarinet as
Focus on Arbors To the Editor: Thank you for featuring Arbors Records above the fold (“Rachel Domber and Arbors: A Great Jazz Legacy Continues,” TST, August 2024). During my 2007 interview with Mat Domber he offered two memorable quotes. “I’m not a musician. I decided I would leave the music
A SONG OF BLUNDER Years ago I read a clever story And it inspired the song that I will sing: Time-travelers sought prehistoric glory, Went back, and changed a tiny little thing; Their blunder made reality unravel Which felt just like the world in which we swim— As if one
Don’t let a review where I keep my word count in check fool you. This is a remarkable album from one of our best female vocalists. I am keeping it short because it pushes the edge of our genre areas, even as a western swing album featuring such notable jazzmen
I have felt at times that certain studio releases lacked emotion, the bandleader perhaps concentrating too much on the details when given what they perceive as a “big break” to record with a proper label. This album is the opposite, this group of young Europeans given a chance to reach
In a life development I find most amusing I have come to be a regular contributor to what was once well known as the Village Voice Jazz Critics Poll, now published in ArtsFuse. My submissions stand out in that they include no albums or artists appearing on the lists from
I must be up front with you, reader, and confess that I’m no expert on jug bands—they never really piqued my interest. I guess I always considered them as unsophisticated music about unsophisticated things (cows, corn, Kentucky bourbon etc.) and I was too much of a townie to appreciate such
If truly obscure, truly early recordings are your pleasure you should subscribe to the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) semi-annual journal. Though their exploration of sound reproduction is not caged by era or genre there are many exciting features about sound in the jazz era and before. Recently they
1944 was a rather busy year for pianist James P. Johnson (1894-1955). Johnson, if not the first (although he was the earliest on records), was certainly the definitive stride pianist of the 1920s. A brilliant player who was a major influence on his contemporaries and the generation to follow, Johnson
Joe Mares, the younger brother of cornetist Paul Mares of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, played clarinet but did not record himself. More significantly, in 1953 he founded Southland Records and for the next decade documented one rewarding New Orleans session after another. Unlike some of his contemporaries, Mares believed
JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH George Bruns (1914-83),no relation to George Brunies, was the musical director and a major arranger for Walt Disney Studios from the mid-1950s until his retirement in 1976, composing music for many Disney films. While he played as many as 15 different instruments, he is best
TWO RELEASES FROM JAZZOLOGY Two CDs put out by Jazzology in 2020 are well worth discovering. Trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso and clarinetist Evan Christopher are among today’s New Orleans jazz greats although both also play swing and other related styles. Kellso’s Sweet Fruits Salty Roots showcases him in a quartet with
Trumpeter-singer Bria Skonberg continues to stretch herself on her latest recording, What It Means. While designed partly as a tribute to New Orleans, it features her exploring several different musical areas. Skonberg is joined by pianist Chris Pattishall, guitarist Don Vappie (who plays banjo on “Cornet Chop Suey”), bassist Grayson
Vol.9, No.9 September 2024
Meet Them in St Louis: Valerie Kirchhoff & Ethan Leinwand, by Michael Steinman
A Headful of Baseball and Keys, by Jonathan Marks
Summer Delight in Switzerland: Ascona Jazz Fest 2024, by Frank Farbenbloom
Gunhild Carling Thrills Syracuse Jazz Fest Audience, by Russ Tarby
’Tooning In (and Turning On) with The Queen’s Cartoonists, by B.A. Nilsson
The Reunion Jazz Band and the “Band Aid” of Jazz, by Dave Doyle
Jazz Birthday of the Month: Chu Berry, illustration by Sara Lièvre
Static from my Attic, by Andy Senior
Jazz Travels: The 2024 Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival, by Bill Hoffman
My Inspirations: If the Pitch Fits, Hear It!, by Jeff Barnhart
Ragtime Vignettes: Weeping Willow, by Brandon Byrne
Quarter Notes: It’s Too Darn Hot!, by Shelly Gallichio
Len Spencer: Ragtime and the Dawn of Recording, by R.S. Baker
Festival Roundup, compiled by Joe Bebco; illustration by Joe Busam
Profiles in Jazz: Erskine Hawkins, by Scott Yanow
Ain’t Cha Got Music: Johnny Wiggs, by Jeff Barnhart & Hal Smith
“Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah!”, by Randi Cee
Musician Don Cantwell Plays Hot at his 100th Birthday Bash, by Gary Tepolt
Roswell’s Jazz Festival: How It Started and How It Grew, by Christina Stock
Arizona Classic Jazz Society & Festival Ending Operations, by Lew Shaw
Jazzaffair: Regarding Its Roots and Looking Toward Its Future, by Linda Amaral
From the Songbag (lyrics), by Andy Senior
Off the Beaten Tracks, CD reviews by Joe Bebco
Jug Band Millionaire, CD review by Dave Doyle
Nights at the Turntable, CD reviews by Scott Yanow
