To read David Bandrowski’s musical biography you’d be shocked to find that after 30 years French Onion Superman is his debut album as leader. A
A decade ago Cassidy Holden led a group called Cassidy & the Orleans Kids. It featured some of the best young players in New Orleans.
I first heard this record on the same day I was scheduled to interview the lady on its cover. Isobel had only recently come to
Crawfish Wallet is a hot jazz quartet out of Bordeaux, France featuring banjo, bass, trombone, and a washboard in the hands of a talented vocalist
Banu Gibson became a major attraction at jazz festivals in the early 1980s and has long been one of the top singers on the classic
Notes From A Jazz Life, Volume 3 is the third twofer that draws its material from trumpeter-cornetist Digby Fairweather’s earlier records. While one would expect
I’m always in two minds about whether to call a jazz tune a “banger.” On the one hand, I’d like to think I’m a bona
British pianist Ray Smith has worked and recorded with Ken Colyer (1968-81), cornetist Steve Lane, the London Ragtime Orchestra, cornetist Rod Mason, Bent Persson, and
The teaming up of New Orleans clarinetist George Lewis and England’s Ken Colyer always made perfect sense. Colyer (1928-88), who was always a proponent of
Tex Beneke (1914-2000) certainly had an odd career. One of the main stars of the Glenn Miller Orchestra during 1938-42 where his good-natured singing and
There are many albums released each year by small and not so small labels featuring a talented female vocalist covering songbook standards. The promotors sending
Last month I reviewed My Window Faces The South, a charming album of Western Swing and trad jazz from Sweet Megg, who has been recently
In the past, Jonathan Doyle has lent his always aggressive tenor sax and clarinet playing to the traditional and classic jazz bands Tuba Skinny and
Tony Kieraldo is a pianist for Postmodern Jukebox, an outfit known for reimaging current pop songs as jazz age hits on YouTube. Since growing large
The High Standards’ latest release is a four-track EP called My Josephine, which isn’t much music to review. Fortunately the band completed a full-length, self-titled
Clarinetist Pee Wee Russell (1906-69) and tenor-saxophonist Coleman Hawkins (1904-69), despite being active during the same decades, rarely crossed paths in the studios. On Nov.
Strange as it seems, Louis Armstrong never recorded a Christmas album. Xmas records have become so common since the 1970s but they were rarer before
Recently I’ve been thinking about what it means to be a British jazz fan. I’d heard a lot about the drive for authenticity, which seems
Greg Ruby is one of the most notable guitarists in traditional jazz right now. His albums are often much more than albums, full on projects
Christmas songs have always had chord changes that appeal to trad jazz and swing players (probably because many were written prior to 1950) and serve
While Benny Goodman recorded an enormous amount of music in his career, particularly if one includes radio broadcasts, transcriptions and live concerts, it is fairly
On this third volume of Once More from the Beginning! by the Red Beans ‘n’ Rice Jazz Band, only three members play on all 29
June Richmond (1919-62) is best remembered (if she is remembered at all) for being the first African-American singer to be part of a white big
JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH Al Hirt (1922-99) was one of the most popular of all New Orleans trumpeters. Blessed with phenomenal technique, he sometimes
