Album Reviews

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.

Since this album is a “retrospective,” drawing from previously recorded and issued material in the thirty year period 1923-1953, Sidney Bechet devotees will undoubtedly already

Clarence Williams was one of the most prolific bandleaders on record during the 1920s and early ’30s. Not counting sessions recorded using pseudonyms, during 1923-31

Long time readers will know that we’ve been following Colin Hancock for almost all of our five years. Back in 2016 we discovered him as

One of the best known of the British traditional jazz musicians is the late Ken Colyer (1928-1988), and interest in his recorded output has not

Although it was a lucky break when drummer Chick Webb (1905-39) hired Ella Fitzgerald to be his band’s vocalist in 1935, it was his ironic

On this recording we hear Humphrey Lyttelton (1921-2008) being just a little retrospective in that he returns to the style of jazz of his early

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

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