Album Reviews

One of the more successful big bands in NYC, certainly of those run by young people, the Eyal Vilner Big Band can be heard at

This trio album is, broadly speaking, the most “traditional” of my reviews this month. That’s saying something considering a mere 18 months ago the means

A couple of years ago when reviewing the Missing Pieces CD, I wrote this: Two years from now the New Black Eagle Jazz Band will

Michael McQuaid should be a household name among traditional jazz fans. He’s one of the top reedmen of this generation and a force behind many

It was my birthday yesterday. “Bully for you,” you say. “So what?” I’ll tell you what: My gift to myself was some new headphones. Not

While Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson among others have sometimes been criticizing for having “too much technique,” I never thought that that was a problem

Singer and trombonist Emily Asher made her recording debut back in 2005 with the Jim Cutler Jazz Orchestra and the Mighty Aphrodite Jazz Band, playing

One of the greatest jazz clarinetists of all time, Artie Shaw (1910-2004), had a surprisingly brief career considering his stature and his long life. While

Sometimes this job makes me feel uneasy. Because it can’t be easy hawking jazz records at the best of times—which must seem a long, long

The Alpha Rhythm Kings are a frequently rollicking band whose music crosses the boundaries between small-group swing a la Louis Jordan, early rock and roll,

Pete Malinverni is a jazz pianist who has led 15 albums of his own and is normally heard in modern jazz settings. Juliet Kurtzman is

The Secret Six is a pandemic inspired ensemble featuring core members of the Smoking Times Jazz Club, one of my favorite New Orleans bands, as

The West Coast of the U.S. has long been blessed with a large complement of traditional jazz bands—professional and semi-professional—societies, and festivals, it seems. Before

Band names don’t get much grander than The Intercontinental Jazz Ambassadors. But then lockdown-driven remote recording projects don’t get much more ambitious than the tri-continental,

I’ve been waiting patiently for Cait and the Critters to release another full length album. Cait Jones is one of many talented young bandleaders in

This is a most unusual album for Dick Hyman because the great pianist does not play a note. Instead, three of his works are interpreted

At 19 years old Shaymus Hanlin is one of the younger musicians you are likely to see on stage at West Coast jazz festivals this

Albert Nicholas (1900-73) was a masterful New Orleans clarinetist with his own distinctive sound. After gaining experience playing in New Orleans, he was part of

Nicki Parrott is well-known as a popular bassist and occasional vocalist who has performed at a countless number of swing-oriented jazz record dates, parties, clubs,

In October 2019 a group of top tier traditional jazz musicians decided to learn from King Oliver‘s iconic Creole jazz Band recordings by playing them

There are scores of swing era big bands whose recorded histories are well worth exploring. Once one has heard the highlights of the obvious greats

Chris Hopkins leads the fine Echoes of Swing group, which we profiled several years ago when they released a double album tribute to Bix. An

Jazz history of the 20th century will be best remembered through its recordings. Just as stage actors who did not appear in films are doomed

Remote recording albums may stick around post Covid-19. Younger musicians have been jamming with each other online for years. In the studio playing in separate

Big Bill Bissonnette (1937-2018) was a spirited trombonist (inspired by his idol Jim Robinson), an occasional drummer, and the leader of the Easy Riders Jazz

Roya Naldi, a singer with a deep and haunting voice, is most inspired by Al Bowlly while at various times hinting at Annette Hanshaw, early

No doubt that readers of The Syncopated Times are as leery of stylistic fusion and “cross-over” projects as I am. I’m not a die hard

The Archeophone label, in their Yearbook series, had previously released CDs dedicated to the music of every year from 1906-1922 (not to mention two CDs

A number of jazz concerts aired in the U.K. on BBC Radio in the early 1960s while the “trad boom” was underway and rock and

Back in my salad days when I first was becoming interested in jazz, I ran across the wonderful name “Muggsy Spanier.” For some reason, that

Lester Young (1909-59) was one of the all-time great tenor-saxophonists, a non-conformist whose floating cool-toned style was much different than that of the dominant influence

It took most European musicians a bit of time to get comfortable playing jazz. In the early-to-mid 1920s, relatively few American jazz recordings were available

For a good many years, now, I have been a fan of Kid Thomas and his various bands; so when I first heard about this

In 2012, Paul Adams of Lake Records issued a three-CD set titled British Traditional Jazz – A Potted History, which consists of 73 tracks in

On Feb. 11, 1940, a new weekly radio program made its debut. Called The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street, it was a satire

Reedsman Evan Arntzen is ready to make a splash in the jazz world with his third release as leader, a gem of an album on

Singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, called “The Poet Laureate of Family Dysfunction” by Rolling Stone magazine, might not spring to mind as someone that you’d expect

In the 1960s, Pete Fountain was the second best-known active clarinetist in the US, only behind Benny Goodman. His brand of New Orleans jazz was

Sometimes one just has the need to hear riotous Dixieland, particularly the style of music where there are lots of notes played at rapid tempos

Scott Yanow reviewed the latest from the Singapore Slingers back in February but I’ve been enjoying this album so much I thought I’d give it

Tis Autumn is Marty Elkins’ fifth album. The first on her new label Elktone Records after four releases on the popular Nagel-Heyer label gained her

Hailey Brinnel is an up-and-coming singer and trombonist who has lots of potential. Originally from Philadelphia, she has worked with the Diva Jazz Orchestra, Anat

Has any jazz musician been emulated after their passing as much as Django Reinhardt? Ironically, when Django died in 1953, hardly any guitarist sounded like

Nothing about this album looks like something we would normally cover. It’s modern in appearance, has a full marketing team behind it, is a likely

All being well, the socially distanced performance of jazz will soon be a thing of the past. Musicians will be able to gather again, arranging

There have been many tributes to Louis Armstrong through the years. Satchmocracy by the Jérome Etcheberry Popstet is one of the more unusual ones. When

Captain John Handy (1900-71) stood alone in the New Orleans revival movement. Virtually the only significant alto-saxophonist playing traditional jazz in the 1960s, Handy’s hard-charging

There are two distinct knots of extraordinary traditional jazz interpreters in Europe right now. One contingent consists of Andrew Oliver, Nick Ball, David Horniblow, Dave

A recording star ever since she signed to the Capitol label in 1944, Peggy Lee was the epitome of the cool-toned singer, one who sang

Anthony Fuscaldo is a New Jersey based guitarist and composer. He has found success scoring films and documentaries, receiving accolades at film festivals in several

Adam Swanson is a brilliant pianist who loves to entertain audiences. His mentor was the late Johnny Maddox and, like Maddox, he performs ragtime, early

I had “Viper Mad” stuck in my head throughout the month of December and I have this album to blame! It features the hottest contemporary

So this rotten thing seems set to follow us, in one strain or another, into the long-awaited year of 2021—the blockade on gigs, festivals and

I’ve been waiting a long time to review Swing in Place. Or maybe it just felt like a long time, in this Groundhog Day mush

The Ventura based Barrelhouse Wailers have been delighting dancers and lovers of high times around Southern California since 2013. It’s a wonder they haven’t become

British violinist Andy Aitchison grew up loving the playing of Stephane Grappelli, yet the music on his LeJazzetal release You Ain’t Never is not a

Duke Ellington recorded an enormous amount of music during 1924-74, and nearly everything that he documented is well worth hearing. The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition:

I would hope our readers know by now to seek out any new album from Paolo Alderighi and Stephanie Trick. They’ve been on our cover

Is bear meat sweet? I’ll never know for sure—I’m vegetarian. Johnny Hodges seemed to think so, when titling the 1954 track which lends its name

The Jazz Band Ball Orchestra has been playing in Poland, and across Europe, since they formed as a music school group in 1962. By 1972

Cornetist Muggsy Spanier (1901-67) was one of the most consistent of all jazz musicians. His approach did not change at all after the late 1920s

Back in the 1990s a group of guys played in a Django devoted string group with an unusual instrumentation. Where an unpright bass might be

Jimmie Noone (1895-1944) was one of the most influential jazz clarinetists of the 1920s, and is considered by many to be one of the big

I’m used to receiving albums from well intentioned and often self financed older musicians who are, to put it nicely, over proud of their accomplishments

Minnesota has a remarkable traditionally jazz history full of larger than life figures. The Hall Brothers Band and their Emporium of Jazz makes up a

Some bands, sadly most bands, will peak in their first few albums, but certain groups just keep getting better. We are blessed that New Orleans

In 2007 singer-saxophonist-accordionist Matt Tolentino formed the Singapore Slingers. A type-of community band based in Dallas, in addition to its leader, the Slingers consist of

The Gramophoniacs present themselves in suit clothes, but not in an overtly vintage style, noddingly so only in the choice of cut. They are one

Some recordings grab listeners from the first note. Lucky Day does just that and never lets go. The Brahmin Bellhops, a group of top classic

We’ve covered the Syncopation Society before. They’re a Berlin based collective of traditional jazz and similar artists working to promote each other. They leverage the

George Barnes (1921-77) was a pioneer of the electric guitar. In fact, he claimed to be utilizing a pickup and an amplifier on his guitar

I love a three-piece jazz combo. More so than a big band, if I’m honest, although saying so feels blasphemous: as a swing dancer, surely

Imagine having Rossano Sportiello drop by your house and spontaneously decide to play your recently-tuned piano in your living room for an hour or so.