Album Reviews

Back in the spring of 2020, before most of the world knew what was about to hit it, a French five-piece was putting the finishing

Remember going to the movies on Saturdays and seeing cliffhanger serials? These were sometimes sandwiched between a double-feature Western. I doubt I ever saw a

The Upbeat label has proven to be the perfect home for the many recordings organized and produced by the late trombonist Big Bill Bissonnette for

Sometimes you want something a bit different—a fresh take, a quirky arrangement, an original number. Other times you just want a solid classic done well.

Dave Davies shines as one of Ithaca’s most talented and most versatile musicians. In recent years, he’s best known for his work with the Gypsy

Just occasionally, a piece of music makes you go, “Wait, what?” This was my reaction on first spinning Egyptian Ella by Les Bleu Pelouse. The

A member of one of the greatest jazz vocal groups ever, the Boswell Sisters, Connee Boswell (with one early exception) began recording as a single

Jazz And Swing On Screen is the fifth release on the Upbeat label for the London Swing Orchestra. It was preceded by The Roaring Twenties,

There were quite a few “gaspipe” clarinetists who during the 1920s were popular for a time. Those musicians emphasized odd sounds and novelty effects, whether

I have a bit of an infatuation with Martha Raye. Born in 1916, “The Big Mouth” was a vaudeville child star before appearing in the

Clarinetist George Lewis, trumpeter Kid Howard, and trombonist Jim Robinson made for a potent frontline, one that was featured on some of Lewis’ best-known records.

While his name is barely known in the United States and even many jazz fans in England may not be that familiar with him, pianist-bandleader

It has recently come to our attention—and it may be news to others—that the Golden Record created to accompany the Voyager space probe missions with

Miss Maybell (AKA Lauren Sansaricq) has pursued an old timey musical bug for years but matched with virtuoso pianist Charlie Judkins she has found something

With this double CD, Kit Johnson and the Black Swan Classic Jazz Band are on solid ground by aiming the contents at dancers, as is

Over the three-and-some decades of its existence, Michael Law’s Piccadilly Dance Orchestra has recorded eight full-length albums. That may not sound like much, until you

The last two years have made the world smaller, remarkably smaller. The technology to record remotely has matured to the point where remote records are

Back in 2018 I devoted a full column of reviews to albums from female led jazz bands. It was in that search that I discovered

Standing at some six feet five inches and weighing around 250 lbs, Frank “Big Boy” Goudie (pronounced “Goody”) was an imposing figure on the bandstand,

We’ve covered a number of artists in the last several years who have recorded to wax cylinder, usually under the guiding eye of Colin Hancock.

In case someone isn’t familiar with the term, “Backwards Compatible” refers to the ability of a new technology to use material from its predecessor. A

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