Album Reviews

Nanna Carling’s Melodies For Two, released on February 14, 2025, is a romantic collection of her original compositions. Coming from the Carling family of Swedish

The Jumbo Shrimp Jazz Band is a popular New Orleans group cutting their own path through the Crescent City since 2009. While rooted in traditional

My impression of the Dandelion Stompers is heavily influenced by a late fall experience at the family camp. We spent the day closing things up

A superb swing and classic pianist (he held his own with Dick Hyman on a duo piano album), Chris Hopkins is based in Germany where

The combination of tenor-saxophonist Harry Allen, pianist Romano Sportiello, and drummer Bryan Carter (who takes an occasional vocal) is certainly a hit throughout their new

Bela Fleck has been undoubtedly the most remarkable banjo player of the past half-century, often taking his instrument to places it had never been before.

Oscar Moore (1916-81) will always be best remembered for being the guitarist with the Nat King Cole Trio during 1937-47. His tasteful and fluent guitar

Frog Records has quite a history of re-releasing early jug band music recordings, to their immense credit. Their catalogue features artists such as the Dixieland

JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH George Buck (1928-2013) recorded and released so many rewarding New Orleans jazz albums throughout his life that it is easy

Sometimes, important stuff just gets busied out: I still haven’t put the tumble dryer back together, called someone to fix the dishwasher and, until today,

I don’t know about you, but I simply cannot focus on work if I haven’t got music on. As an undergrad, Miles Davis and Dave

With the rapid evolution of jazz and the emphasis on coming up with new ways to play the music, there have been periods when certain

Hello, reader—it’s been a while. (Happy New Year, by the way!) A while since I wrote, a while since I danced—a while since I did

Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano have created something truly special with their new album, Painting the Town. Celebrating two decades of marriage and a deep

Of the fourteen tracks on this CD, ten have not been previously issued. The four tracks previously issued (on Southland LP 220: Mike Lala and

Throughout his career and during the nearly 60 years since his death, Paul Whiteman (1890-1967) and his music have been both overrated and underrated. The

By the time that the concert on Live In Paris (from Apr. 24, 1962) was performed, Louis Armstrong had been a world traveler for quite

JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH The music at the Super Bowl halftime shows are famous for being pretty forgettable (some would say horrendous) except for

It is my pleasure to introduce Gavin Rice to our readers. Here at The Syncopated Times there is nothing that thrills us more than to

Polish trombonist Dzimek Markiewicz is one of the best friends of this paper, having been a listener to Andy Senior’s RADIOLA! program for years ahead

Among the long runningest of the many traditional jazz bands that have achieved extreme longevity is the New Orleans Rascals of Osaka, Japan. Americans who

Jazz Classic of the Month The Jubilee radio shows, which were aired during 1942-53 and were at their prime during 1943-46, were geared towards African-American

[The EP referenced in the below review is now sold as a full 11 track album called Winter’s Day.] Gunhild Carling is a bit of

In recent columns for The Syncopated Times, I have reviewed reissues compiled by Alan Eichler for the Jasmine label of Nat and Freddie Cole’s lesser-known