Album Reviews

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

Back in my salad days when I first was becoming interested in jazz, I ran across the wonderful name “Muggsy Spanier.” For some reason, that

Lester Young (1909-59) was one of the all-time great tenor-saxophonists, a non-conformist whose floating cool-toned style was much different than that of the dominant influence

It took most European musicians a bit of time to get comfortable playing jazz. In the early-to-mid 1920s, relatively few American jazz recordings were available

For a good many years, now, I have been a fan of Kid Thomas and his various bands; so when I first heard about this

In 2012, Paul Adams of Lake Records issued a three-CD set titled British Traditional Jazz – A Potted History, which consists of 73 tracks in

On Feb. 11, 1940, a new weekly radio program made its debut. Called The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street, it was a satire

Reedsman Evan Arntzen is ready to make a splash in the jazz world with his third release as leader, a gem of an album on

Singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, called “The Poet Laureate of Family Dysfunction” by Rolling Stone magazine, might not spring to mind as someone that you’d expect

In the 1960s, Pete Fountain was the second best-known active clarinetist in the US, only behind Benny Goodman. His brand of New Orleans jazz was

Sometimes one just has the need to hear riotous Dixieland, particularly the style of music where there are lots of notes played at rapid tempos

Scott Yanow reviewed the latest from the Singapore Slingers back in February but I’ve been enjoying this album so much I thought I’d give it

Tis Autumn is Marty Elkins’ fifth album. The first on her new label Elktone Records after four releases on the popular Nagel-Heyer label gained her

Hailey Brinnel is an up-and-coming singer and trombonist who has lots of potential. Originally from Philadelphia, she has worked with the Diva Jazz Orchestra, Anat

Has any jazz musician been emulated after their passing as much as Django Reinhardt? Ironically, when Django died in 1953, hardly any guitarist sounded like