Album Reviews

In 2014, pianist Jacob Adams ran across a book of rags (Eight Ragtime Pieces For Piano) by veteran Larry Porter that instantly intrigued him. Porter’s

As I write this, I’m lying in bed with a banging headache, running a temperature. Listening to this album through headphones made the headache worse—no

A beloved patron of ragtime who not only attends ragtime festivals but hosts many of the pianists at his home in Sutter Creek, California, Arlo

When I stumbled on three swinging albums under the band name the Christmas Reapers I at first assumed they were somehow related to the popular

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: I have a soft spot for jazz in a Continental accent. And by that I mean

Fools for Yule is a wonderful Christmas record from the Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet, a remarkable team of vocalists accompanied here by an excellent band.

During the swing era in the 1930s, it became a common practice for the best big bands, for variety’s sake and to the delight of

George Wein (1925-2021) will always be best remembered for being the founder of the Newport Jazz Festival and many other significant annual jazz events, but

I’m pretty sure that my desert island disc would be a Louis Jordan one, possibly his collaboration with Chris Barber titled Louis Jordan Swings! Jordan’s

Big Boy Goudie’s life and career were fully explored in a definitive article by David Radlauer that appeared in three issues of the Syncopated Times

The late English trombonist and bandleader Chris Barber was known but not a star performer in the US. On the other hand, he and his

Ethan Leinwand is an important part of the traditional jazz scene in St. Louis, a scene marked by its youth and a number of excellent

Adam Swanson introduces his new release Ragtime Australia! Twenty never before recorded works by Australian composers of the ragtime era (1902-1943) as if it was

On Let’s Face The Music, drummer Reinhardt Winkler heads a trio with pianist John DiMartino and bassist Boris Kozlov, adding tenor-saxophonist Harry Allen to five

Geoff Power is well known within the Australian Traditional Jazz community. He toured the US with the New Wolverine Jazz Orchestra and appeared at the

I first heard trumpeter Danny Tobias when he was playing a supportive but important role with the Midiri Brothers’ Sextet. A pro since he was

I had intended to review this album of “hapa haole” songs during the more appropriate summer months, though maybe you can use them to keep

Marieke Koopman makes her jazz recording debut on Chapter One. She is certainly a fearless singer as she shows on the opener, a high-powered version

The passing of Steve Yocum last year was felt profoundly across the traditional jazz world, and perhaps surprisingly among the many young fans he had

Although he tends to get overlooked in jazz history books, Albert Nicholas (1900-73) was one of the great New Orleans clarinetists. Part of the New

Rebecca Kilgore thrives in the recording studio. She has been part of over 50 albums and performs frequently with nearly everyone on the jazz party

There can never be too many Duke Ellington albums. After his passing in 1974, a steady stream of previously unreleased Ellington recordings continued to come

First of all, let me state up front that I am not a pianist. Never had a lesson and when I sit at a keyboard,

Back in the 1960s, Epic in their Columbia Special Products series released a superb three-Lp set titled Jack Teagarden – King Of The Blues Trombone.

A world traveling Australian who has appeared everywhere from Lincoln Center and the Sydney Opera House, to the Davenport, Iowa Bix Fest, Leigh Barker recently

I wasn’t going to review Ted des Plantes’ latest because I’d already covered several of his releases and thought I’d give our other reviewers a

I went to a dance last week—not an awkward daytime shuffle on asphalt, but an honest-to-goodness indoor, after-dark event on a wooden floor and everything.

Sarah Vaughan (1924-90) had one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century. Her wide range, impeccable phrasing, improvising talents, and golden tone were

Cats and Dinosaurs books themselves as “The world´s most radical swing band!” They play original trad jazz and swing tunes with feminist and socialist lyrics.

Humphrey Lyttelton (1921-2008) led the top British traditional jazz band of the first half of the 1950s before he gradually switched to mainstream swing and

It is often intriguing hearing jazz performers at the very beginning of their career. While some are already fully-formed and quite recognizable, others only give

Like many a full generation before him Tony Kieraldo was introduced to ragtime by the movie The Sting. His father, Joe Kieraldo, a jazz fan

Tony Pastor (1907-69) was a likable Italian-American singer and tenor-saxophonist who had commercial success during his career. While he made some recordings with Irving Aaronson’s

Western swing isn’t easy to find these days, the real stuff anyway, and most of it falls heavily on the vintage western side rather than

A superior stride and classic jazz pianist since the 1970s, Ted des Plantes started his TdP Productions label a few years ago to put out

In another review this month I mention my 78 record-crate digging style; one part of my process is always to put aside Collins and Harlan

Pianist John Royen was born in Washington D.C., moved to New Orleans in 1976, studied with Don Ewell, and worked with such notables as Pete

As a collector of 78 RPM records for a quarter century, I have learned to flip through bins with a certain precision, making split second

Nat King Cole had two overlapping careers. A brilliant swing pianist who had developed his own style with the King Cole Trio in the late

Last year I edited a biography of John Hendricks, founding member of multi-award winning vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. Together with Dave Lambert and

In the early days (and perhaps even today for some folks), jazz, particularly the blues, was denigrated as “the devil’s music.” Somewhat ironically this charge

Valaida Snow (1904-56) had a unique life. While she was the second significant female trumpeter in jazz history (following Dolly Jones), in reality she was

When Peter sent his latest CD, I was intrigued that he had been working with Jeff Barnhart. Jeff’s novelty ragtime is as unique and wonderfully

What was the Caribbean up to while New Orleans, New York, and Chicago were bouncing to the sounds of ragtime, jazz, and swing? If you’re

In celebration of his life, his upcoming 85th birthday, and as an excuse to make fun music, pianist Erwin Helfer recorded a jam session with

This superb two-disc set honoring bassist Ron Russell consists of material recorded during the 1970s. This is also the first time it has been issued,

Humphrey Lyttelton’s Conway Hall Revisited is a reunion of the frontline of his most popular group. Trumpeter Lyttleton, clarinetist Wally Fawkes, and trombonist Keith Christie

The Crane River Jazz Band, which first came together in 1949, looked towards Bunk Johnson and George Lewis for their inspiration. Their most famous member,

Since the earliest days of jazz New York City has been a beacon for performers looking to make a go of it. From the teens

Balboa is my thing, right now. There’s been a real dearth of dancing in my life since 2019, other than one online camp and the

Chema Peñalver is an accomplished clarinetist and music professor in Spain but may be unfamiliar to our readers. That will hopefully change in coming months

Listening to Le Dancing Pepa’s latest album while doing the dishes, I wasn’t won over. The pace was frenetic, the hooks not memorable, the harmonies

A few months back Dan Barrett had an essay subtitled “What’s in a Name?” which listed off all the amazing jazzmen blessed with monikers that

When “ragtime” is mentioned, many people—perhaps most—think immediately of piano players. In the early 1900s, ragtime was the domain of piano players. Ragtime was “revived,”

Klaus Lessmann’s trad chops are real: his other works have included a sextet tribute to Jelly Roll Morton and his Abbey Road Dixie Band plays

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