Album Reviews

Listening to Le Dancing Pepa’s latest album while doing the dishes, I wasn’t won over. The pace was frenetic, the hooks not memorable, the harmonies

A few months back Dan Barrett had an essay subtitled “What’s in a Name?” which listed off all the amazing jazzmen blessed with monikers that

When “ragtime” is mentioned, many people—perhaps most—think immediately of piano players. In the early 1900s, ragtime was the domain of piano players. Ragtime was “revived,”

Klaus Lessmann’s trad chops are real: his other works have included a sextet tribute to Jelly Roll Morton and his Abbey Road Dixie Band plays

One of the more successful big bands in NYC, certainly of those run by young people, the Eyal Vilner Big Band can be heard at

This trio album is, broadly speaking, the most “traditional” of my reviews this month. That’s saying something considering a mere 18 months ago the means

A couple of years ago when reviewing the Missing Pieces CD, I wrote this: Two years from now the New Black Eagle Jazz Band will

Michael McQuaid should be a household name among traditional jazz fans. He’s one of the top reedmen of this generation and a force behind many

It was my birthday yesterday. “Bully for you,” you say. “So what?” I’ll tell you what: My gift to myself was some new headphones. Not

While Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson among others have sometimes been criticizing for having “too much technique,” I never thought that that was a problem

Singer and trombonist Emily Asher made her recording debut back in 2005 with the Jim Cutler Jazz Orchestra and the Mighty Aphrodite Jazz Band, playing

One of the greatest jazz clarinetists of all time, Artie Shaw (1910-2004), had a surprisingly brief career considering his stature and his long life. While

Sometimes this job makes me feel uneasy. Because it can’t be easy hawking jazz records at the best of times—which must seem a long, long

The Alpha Rhythm Kings are a frequently rollicking band whose music crosses the boundaries between small-group swing a la Louis Jordan, early rock and roll,

Pete Malinverni is a jazz pianist who has led 15 albums of his own and is normally heard in modern jazz settings. Juliet Kurtzman is

The Secret Six is a pandemic inspired ensemble featuring core members of the Smoking Times Jazz Club, one of my favorite New Orleans bands, as

The West Coast of the U.S. has long been blessed with a large complement of traditional jazz bands—professional and semi-professional—societies, and festivals, it seems. Before

Band names don’t get much grander than The Intercontinental Jazz Ambassadors. But then lockdown-driven remote recording projects don’t get much more ambitious than the tri-continental,

I’ve been waiting patiently for Cait and the Critters to release another full length album. Cait Jones is one of many talented young bandleaders in

This is a most unusual album for Dick Hyman because the great pianist does not play a note. Instead, three of his works are interpreted

At 19 years old Shaymus Hanlin is one of the younger musicians you are likely to see on stage at West Coast jazz festivals this

Albert Nicholas (1900-73) was a masterful New Orleans clarinetist with his own distinctive sound. After gaining experience playing in New Orleans, he was part of

Nicki Parrott is well-known as a popular bassist and occasional vocalist who has performed at a countless number of swing-oriented jazz record dates, parties, clubs,