Paul Smith (1922-2013) was a brilliant pianist whose superb technique and swinging style often sounded a lot like Oscar Peterson, particularly on his many later
Whoever composed the title to this CD was having a bit of fun. First is the playfulness of the rhyming “Marks/Sparks.” There may also be
Jazz Classic of the Month There have been a countless number of jazz Christmas albums recorded and released during the past 60 years. One of
The long-venerable practice of “ragging the classics” is at play in Bob Milne’s Christmas-themed CD Silent Night, Ragged Night. The disc contains fifteen popular Christmas
Of all of the “ghost bands” that have survived their leader’s passing, the Count Basie Orchestra is the most successful. One of the few fulltime
After all this time, Syncopated Times readers ought to be familiar with Tuba Skinny; the band has been the subject of many articles and reviews
You can bet an album review is going to be positive when, by the time you read it, I’ve already learned to play parts of
For the past three decades the Westcott Jug Suckers from Syracuse, N.Y. have bravely carried the torch for country blues which they present with an
Ithaca, N.Y. painter Brian Keeler is one of the most accomplished visual artists in Upstate New York. He’s also a gifted guitarist and an accomplished
Founded in 2002, the River Rasin Ragtime Revue is one of the premier ragtime ensembles in the country. They have grown support in their local
The George Gee Swing Orchestra is the house band at Swing 46, a long-running nightclub in Times Square. Gee has been leading big bands since
How’s your French? Tea for 20’s is a traditional jazz band playing for swing dancers in Montreal. While their last full length album was a
Dan Gabel, the remarkable young man on the cover of our March 2021 issue, started a band while still a Dorsey obsessed 13 year old
A chanteuse from LA who performs under a single name, Jeudi likes to dig deep for vocal gems of the ’30s to ’50s. Her album
I reviewed a very special album from the UK-based Down for the Count a few months ago. They are a jazz collective, something like James
The Christmas albums I reviewed this year progressed from full band to big band to orchestra and on up to orchestra with strings and vocal
At just 26 years old, Hannah Gill could hardly be better established as a performer. She’s toured the world twice with Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox
In the end, it comes down to your Moldy Fig quotient. If, like me, you rooted yourself in a jazz era that barely stretched into
There have been many tributes to cornetist Bix Beiderbecke (1903-31) during the past 92 years. Besides being second only to Louis Armstrong in importance among
Danny Jonokuchi features on both of the records I’ve reviewed this month—yes, it’s a Doyle’s Discs double-Danny discourse. He isn’t someone I was too familiar
An all-star French jazz trio comprised of tenor-saxophonist Michel Pastre, pianist Louis Mazetier, and drummer Guillaume Nouaux performs a wide-ranging set of music on their
Back in 2003, pianist-singer Champian Fulton, who had recently graduated from high school, moved to New York and made her first appearance performing at Birdland.
Trombonist and band leader Roger Marks from the UK probably gets little name recognition in the traditional jazz community in the US. As this CD
The late New Orleans bassist Walter Payton (died 2010) had a busy musical career that found him playing with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the
