Album Reviews

I have yet to watch Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom on Netflix, though I am familiar with August Wilson’s play, have tuned into conversations about the

Full many a flower is born to blush unseen And waste its sweetness on the desert air.  ― Thomas Gray, An Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard

Pianist Chris Hopkins, an American who has spent much of his life based in Germany where he leads Echoes Of Swing, meets up with three

It’s not often a traditional jazz band of conventional size—six or seven pieces, usually—lacks a horn in its front line, but such is the case

Although it was compiled 35 years ago and released by the DRG label, the two-CD set Ridin’ In Rhythm is still difficult to top. At

This CD picks up where the same group’s previous one, Jazz Crusade JCCD3079, left off, the first six tracks here being from that same recording

A highly appealing singer who has overcome some major health problems to make a full comeback, Deborah Silver had strong success with her previous album,

When “Louisiana” and “music” are mentioned in the same breath, for many people the conjunction suggests “jazz.” But Louisiana is also known for bluegrass, blues,

Following the release about a year ago of the CD New Orleans Jazz: Remembering Doug Kennedy, a tribute to their late banjo/guitarist, the West London

Drew Nugent learned piano as a child and was initially attracted to ragtime. As a teenager, he added the cornet while his interest shifted towards

Duke Ellington had many sidemen who stayed with him for lengthy periods, topped by baritonist Harry Carney who was part of the Duke Ellington Orchestra

Axel Schlosser is a talented trumpeter from Germany. While he played the clarinet and saxophone early on in a Dixieland band, he switched his focus

I can’t imagine that any other cultural phenomenon has had the same impact as jazz, worldwide. I know I’m expected to think that, as a

The names of Peter Bocage and Emilé Barnes are not as well known as those of others who figured more prominently in the New Orleans

A good Christmas album is one that your family can enjoy year after year, becoming recognizable in a few notes. It can fade into the

Unlike many of the white groups that frequented the recording labs of the 1890s the Unique Quartette was not just a studio group, they had

Aged 90 and now retired from playing, Chris Barber is an institution in the annals of British traditional jazz, having been on the scene since

I’m almost beginning to appreciate this pandemic—just a minuscule bit, mind you—for forcing jazz musicians worldwide back into the studio and me off the dance

As anyone who’s read one of my reviews will know, I love a good keyboardist. Well, if I were naming The Schwings Band’s new album

There have been occasional recorded tributes to Bessie Smith since the 1950s, but French singer Sarah Lenka’s I Don’t Dress Fine is one of the

Alex Welsh (1929-82) is best known as a hard-driving trumpeter who led bands in England that were inspired by Eddie Condon. His clarinetist during 1955-64

Pulled at random from a bag of new releases, The Oxblood Melodians is the second disc I’ve reviewed recently which is bookended by two versions

There is certainly no shortage of Ella Fitzgerald recordings. Starting with Chick Webb during 1935-39, fronting his orchestra after Webb’s death, (1939-41), and then in

There are plenty of outfits striving to reproduce the sounds of classic jazz recordings, be they big band or small group. There are plenty writing

A major New Orleans-style clarinetist since the early 1990s, Evan Christopher has often teamed up with Django Reinhardt-inspired guitarists, most notably David Blenkhorn and Dave

Art Tatum was such a dazzling pianist with his remarkable speed, rather incredible technique, and competitive spirit that it was often said that few other

With all of the “Hot Clubs” in the world (it must number over 100 at this point), there is a tendency of some of the

In my communications with Archeophone regarding Charles A. Asbury: 4 Banjo Songs, 1891-1897 I  foolishly suggested that I could do a review based on digital

Back in 2005, the Jazz Oracle label came out with a limited-edition CD called A Gift From The President. It consisted of rare recordings discovered

Traditional jazz can be played well and enjoyed in any instrumental combination from soloist to symphony, even a guitar and clarinet duet can produce a

While Paul Adams and the Lake label have been slowing down a bit in recent times, whenever he runs across a valuable and previously unheard

Jon-Erik Kellso is one of the overlooked greats holding down traditional jazz today. Overlooked not because he is unknown, nearly all of our subscribers will

One of the most rewarding reissue programs of vintage British traditional jazz is Lake’s At A Tangent series. There have been nine previous volumes, each

Throughout much of his career, trumpeter Ken Colyer (1928-85) had a devoted cult following in the United Kingdom. He was never a virtuoso or a

Evan Christopher is serious about New Orleans jazz. Our cover profile of him highlighted his commitment to high order artistic expression from within a set

The 2016 debut of The Dime Notes made a splash in the London traditional jazz scene. The team of pianist Andrew Oliver and David Horniblow

It was the best jazz group on record in 1923 and was considered a sensation among up-and-coming Chicago jazz musicians. King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band

I like the oldies. Back when I hosted a swing radio show, I had a strict limit of two modern tracks per broadcast—the rest was

There are so many guitarists in Europe currently playing in the Django Reinhardt style that there are always new talents to discover. Guitarist Fapy Lafertin,

In 2018 Ted des Plantes launched a label, TdP Productions, to release new material from his own collection of live tapes and studio outtakes as

One of the top swing/mainstream cornetists from England, Digby Fairweather has had several overlapping careers. Born in 1946, Fairweather led Dig’s Half Dozen starting in

Fess Williams (1894-1975) was definitely the product of a different era, a clarinetist and alto-saxophonist who mixed together hot jazz with comic effects, music with

As soon as I started writing for The Syncopated Times fans of Sinne Eeg began sending me emails to insist I needed to cover her.

Pierre Christophe obviously loves the playing and music of Erroll Garner. On Tribute To Erroll Garner, he often sounds just like the pianist, emulating the

Champian Fulton is a favorite of our readers, and appears frequently at the classic jazz parties and jazz society events they attend. Though her albums

If you’re a swing dancer, you know how frustrating it is when the band booked for an event hasn’t been briefed on what good dancing

I’m over it now but about a decade ago I went through a few year stretch where my most listened to new groups played what

Bean Soup is a quintet comprised of tenor-saxophonist Michel Bescont, trumpeter Michel Bonnet, pianist Jacques Schneck, bassist Leigh Barker, and drummer Stephane Roger. On Odidrep

The French Preservation New Orleans Jazz Band, while not well known in the U.S.A. other than, perhaps, in New Orleans itself, enjoys wide recognition in

Bill Brunskill got involved in the jazz scene about the same time as Chris Barber and members of the Barber band along with others of

Last month I reviewed the latest album from the French group Les Rois du Fox-Trot, a group formerly fronted by Jean-Pierre Morel. Morel is also

The River Raisin Ragtime Revue is a Michigan based orchestra that puts on exciting community events to educate the public about the American popular repertoire

A superb guitarist in the Django Reinhardt style, Angelo DeBarre (who was born in 1962), has been a major force in the European jazz scene

“A Spoon Full of Sugar” sounds like a jazz song title, doesn’t it? Turns out the familiar tune from Mary Poppins also swings, at least

Sidney Bechet (1897-1959) was one of the true masters of not only New Orleans jazz but all of jazz history. While the soprano-saxophonist and clarinetist’s

Janet Klein & Her Parlor Boys have always had a few Jewish novelty numbers in their book. They use them to bring levity to their

It has been nice to have another visit with the Dixie RB Five. Though I passed the review of their first album along to Scott

Samoa Wilson is a singer with a real feel for vintage material. She has had a long association with guitarist-singer and jug band leader Jim

Emily Asher was featured on our cover last month so I won’t spend too much time on her background. A daughter of the Northwest traditional

For two chaps with a guitar and a washboard, Martyn Roper and Jack Amblin—a.k.a. the Washboard Resonators—can really belt it out. They’ve proved as much

Gene Austin (1900-72) was arguably the first great crooner. During a period when many of the male pop singers used on pop and jazz recordings

While many of the studio recordings from the prime years of the British trad movement (1950-65) have been superbly compiled and reissued by the Lake

This concert for the BBC Jazz Club program opens with what to Chris Barber fans will be the familiar signature tune of the band, “I

A casual listen to Paul Bocciolone Strandberg’s Narcisse Jazz Band’s Look At The World And Smile reveals an excellent eight piece group consisting of cornet,

Les Rois Du Fox-Trot is a 10 piece French dance band. Once led by cornetist Jean-Pierre Morel,  they are still a world class outfit worthy

Some sequels are unwarranted and altogether unwelcome: A second coronavirus outbreak. World War II. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. But there was one return I was

Lizzy and the Triggermen were on a major upswing when the pandemic hit. They’d been selling out shows at larger and larger venues around LA

St. Louis has had a uniquely bluesy and sassy revival jazz scene for going on 70 years. I’m happy to say the younger generation, led

During 1913-14 the African-American bandleader James Reese Europe recorded eight groundbreaking selections with his Society Band, some of which contained basic improvising and the strong