Album Reviews

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

If you enjoyed Doro Wat’s self titled debut CD you are going to love their latest— Meet Us At The Lost Love Lounge. Recorded before

Of all of the swing era big bands, only two were together nonstop into the 1970s: Duke Ellington and Les Brown. Ellington kept his high-priced

The St. Louis Steady Grinders is a duo comprised of Ethan Leinwand’s piano and singer Valerie Kirchhoff. While Ms. Kirchhoff has been performing in the

This is a delightful trio album with Rebecca Kilgore providing vocals and occasional guitar, Dan Barrett and trombone and Paolo Alderighi on piano. Since I

Stu Pletcher (1907-78) was never a major name and he had a surprisingly brief career in the spotlight. His son, Tom Pletcher, had a more

When it comes to performing music from the 1920s and ’30s, there are several viable approaches. Some musicians closely copy the arrangements and sometimes the

Hard as it is to imagine an in person jazz event these days I’m going to dream big. Someday I hope to see an old

I’d set out to review the new album from the Dirty River Dixie Band for the July issue. I’m glad I waited. In June, before

During 1948-55, trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton led what was arguably the top British traditional jazz band. His group, which teamed him with clarinetist Wally Fawkes, performed

Formed on May 5, 1945, just a few days before the official end of WWII, the Dutch Swing College Band is still playing all these

Peggy Lee (nee Norma Deloris Egstrom) was one of the vocalists who made their mark with big bands in the 1940s. Some of these included

When Lil Hardin Armstrong’s name is mentioned, many, if not most, people probably think immediately of Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five’s piano player or Armstrong’s second

Don Vappie, who is interviewed in this issue, has had a long career for a man of 64. He drifted into traditional jazz from other

This album is vol. 1, “Then,” of a two-volume set of the Easy Riders Jazz Band on the Jazz Crusade label, titled “Then” and “Now.”

This album is vol. 2, “Now,” of a two-volume set of the Easy Riders Jazz Band, “Then” and “Now,” on the Jazz Crusade label. (“Then”

As a pianist, I’m drawn to any album which puts the storehouse center stage. It’s rare that I’ll get excited about a Benny Goodman, Louis

As an alto-saxophonist, arranger, composer and bandleader, not to mention trumpeter, Benny Carter (1907-2003) recorded many classics during his 70-year career (1927-97). Further Definitions is

Despite writing over 600 songs, many of them “hits,” as the booklet notes inform us, Walter Donaldson never seemed to become a household name. This

While vocal groups are very common in pop music, jazz vocal groups have always been rarer. Duchess is a collaboration between singers Amy Cervini, Hilary

Kenny Ball (1930-2013) was one of the top stars of the British Trad Jazz movement. A colorful trumpeter, a personable singer, and a witty personality

Trust a Japanese band to take what you and love, tune it up and hand it back better than ever, all shiny and new—in a

Even experts on jazz history may not be that acquainted with Johnny Letman (1917-92). An excellent swing trumpeter who also had a bit of New

I knew of Peter Bergin as a fine performer from his YouTube postings, so I was delighted to learn he was recording an album utilizing

Of all of the New Orleans players associated with Wynton Marsalis, clarinetist Dr. Michael White has been the most consistently involved in playing traditional New

Seeing that this group is led by trombonist Geoff Cole and also has Tony Pyke on clarinet might prompt one to think of the early

When Django Reinhardt passed away in 1953, almost no guitarists in the world sounded like him. His influence was far overshadowed by that of Charlie

The Archeophone label makes early recordings available to the public accompanied by comprehensive liner notes that are often nominated for Grammy’s. Past efforts have included

For all the gigs and festivals which have inevitably been cancelled in recent months, there sure have been a lot of great dancing records released—as

Trad jazz was so popular in England by the early 1960s that it is not surprising that its top musicians and bands appeared in quite

This double-disc set is a reissue of what were originally issued as two separate CDs, titled Jumpin’ in Irigny—JCCD 3110 vol. 1 and JCCD 3111

Of all the things being cancelled by you-know-what, the saddest to see knocked on the head would undoubtedly be Shirt Tail Stompers’ tenth birthday bash

British trombonist-bandleader Chris Barber, who recently turned 90, retired from playing last year after a 70-year career. But even though he has stopped performing, it

Glenn Crytzer, facing all the musical hurdles that everyone is right now put on his bandleader hat and assembled an all-star team that could rise

Clarinetists Acker Bilk and Wally Fawkes both carved out important niches in the traditional jazz world of Great Britain. After a period working with Ken

There’s a very good reason that you’ve most likely never heard of violinist and bandleader Nat Brusiloff. Brusiloff, born Naucham Brusilovsky in Russia in 1904,

Throughout his life, Scott Joplin sought to have his ragtime music accepted as American art rather than have it considered mere entertainment. It was a

Jesper Thilo, who was a month shy of his 78th birthday when he recorded Swing Is The Thing in 2019, has been an important swing-based

There’s something particularly appealing about live recordings right now, when we can’t go out and enjoy bands in person. A 1961 record of Chris Barber

The Syncopation Society of Berlin is a collaboration of jazz and swing artists who even in normal times work to promote and support each other’s

One of the finest clarinetists of the past 30 years, Tim Laughlin long ago developed his own sound within the New Orleans jazz tradition, inspired

Cliff Jackson (1902-70) was one of the great stride pianists to emerge from the 1920s. Despite that, Jackson recorded exclusively during 1924-27 as an accompanist

I didn’t realize just how much I need dancing in my life, until I could no longer do it. I knew I loved it, but

Robert Bell’s Hot Swing Combo has spent the last fifteen years as regional favorites at Midwestern swing events. They are based in Minneapolis and have

I downloaded this album the moment I saw it. At the time it was only five tracks with maybe six or seven musicians on board

Veteran clarinetist and saxophonist Bob Fanelli pays tribute to Louis Armstrong on a CD with the Dixie Boys. The performances are not strict re-creations and

The recordings on this CD date from the last days of Louis Armstrong’s membership in the King Oliver Creole Jazz Band until the time when

Recently I picked up a used self-titled LP by a group called Wholly Cats since it had some potentially hot swing performances on it. Only

Rarely has one musician made such a difference. When Louis Armstrong moved from Chicago to New York in September 1924 to join Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra,

Turk Murphy (1915-1987) was one of the giants of jazz in the San Francisco area, beginning with his tenure in the Lu Watters Yerba Buena

When it comes to reviewing recordings by tenor-saxophonist Scott Hamilton, all one really has to say is that a particular release is “what you expect,”

Here is a group and a leader who I know nothing about and are not listed in jazz discographies. In 2012, Ted Shafer, who ran

The U.K. has always been fortunate, it seems, in the number of traditional jazz bands that have emerged over the years. One of them is

Fred Hunt was most notable for being the longtime pianist with trumpeter Alex Welsh’s Eddie Condon-influenced band in the 1950s and ’60s. An excellent stride

The story of the beginnings of Preservation Hall in New Orleans is one with a few twists and turns. While many people ascribed the founding

While trumpeter Sonny Morris gets the first billing on this collection from Upbeat (which is titled Sonny Morris & Friends In Germany with Lutz Eikelmann),

Ever since the advent of George Webb’s Dixielanders in the forties, the UK has been fortunate in its abundance of traditional jazz groups. Dozens have

Among the Jazz Oracle CDs that are now being made available by the Upbeat Company is Jack Teagarden’s 1930 Studio Sessions. In a parallel universe

While Lu Watters was the leader of the pioneering and highly influential Yerba Buena Jazz Band starting in 1941, he retired prematurely in 1950 to

The CD notes tell us that Dick Hyman made partial arrangements of these pieces, setting up a platform for improvisation. When clarinetist Ken Peplowski arrived

Jazz is powerful word, so powerful that the decade 1919/1929 was held in its grasp, known as the Jazz Age. Yet it has a strange

The mere announcement of a new Fat Babies album should inspire most readers of The Syncopated Times to run out and buy it. They are

While Dick Hyman has often concentrated in recent decades on playing classic jazz, stride and swing, he is a very rare pianist in that he

I haven’t been this excited about discovering a new band in a long time. I mean T-shirts and bumper stickers excited. Part of my interest

Clancy Hayes was a unique figure in jazz history, one of its first singer/songwriters and an underrated and versatile musician. He was part of the

I can thank drummer Hal Smith for sending this great little album my way. Without his endorsement I might have easily skipped over it in

While the classic Red Nichols and his Five Pennies sessions are in the Brunswick series, Nichols was so prolific during the 1920s that there is

The Funkrust Brass Band is a 20-piece “post-apocalyptic disco-punk brass band playing all original music with megaphone vocals, heavy tuba bass lines, thundering percussion and

Russell Welch is a name that comes up again and again as I explore the new crop of New Orleans musicians. I’m delighted to cover

In Jan. 1934, trombonist Jack Teagarden, in what he thought was a very good move that would let him ride out the Depression, signed a