Album Reviews

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