Album Reviews

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,

In October 2019 a group of top tier traditional jazz musicians decided to learn from King Oliver‘s iconic Creole jazz Band recordings by playing them

There are scores of swing era big bands whose recorded histories are well worth exploring. Once one has heard the highlights of the obvious greats

Chris Hopkins leads the fine Echoes of Swing group, which we profiled several years ago when they released a double album tribute to Bix. An

Jazz history of the 20th century will be best remembered through its recordings. Just as stage actors who did not appear in films are doomed

Remote recording albums may stick around post Covid-19. Younger musicians have been jamming with each other online for years. In the studio playing in separate

Big Bill Bissonnette (1937-2018) was a spirited trombonist (inspired by his idol Jim Robinson), an occasional drummer, and the leader of the Easy Riders Jazz

Roya Naldi, a singer with a deep and haunting voice, is most inspired by Al Bowlly while at various times hinting at Annette Hanshaw, early

No doubt that readers of The Syncopated Times are as leery of stylistic fusion and “cross-over” projects as I am. I’m not a die hard

The Archeophone label, in their Yearbook series, had previously released CDs dedicated to the music of every year from 1906-1922 (not to mention two CDs

A number of jazz concerts aired in the U.K. on BBC Radio in the early 1960s while the “trad boom” was underway and rock and