There have been a countless number of Christmas jazz albums since the 1950s. Probably my favorite of them all is ’Tis The Season To Be
A good Christmas album is one that your family can enjoy year after year, becoming recognizable in a few notes. It can fade into the
Unlike many of the white groups that frequented the recording labs of the 1890s the Unique Quartette was not just a studio group, they had
Aged 90 and now retired from playing, Chris Barber is an institution in the annals of British traditional jazz, having been on the scene since
I’m almost beginning to appreciate this pandemic—just a minuscule bit, mind you—for forcing jazz musicians worldwide back into the studio and me off the dance
As anyone who’s read one of my reviews will know, I love a good keyboardist. Well, if I were naming The Schwings Band’s new album
There have been occasional recorded tributes to Bessie Smith since the 1950s, but French singer Sarah Lenka’s I Don’t Dress Fine is one of the
Alex Welsh (1929-82) is best known as a hard-driving trumpeter who led bands in England that were inspired by Eddie Condon. His clarinetist during 1955-64
Pulled at random from a bag of new releases, The Oxblood Melodians is the second disc I’ve reviewed recently which is bookended by two versions
There is certainly no shortage of Ella Fitzgerald recordings. Starting with Chick Webb during 1935-39, fronting his orchestra after Webb’s death, (1939-41), and then in
There are plenty of outfits striving to reproduce the sounds of classic jazz recordings, be they big band or small group. There are plenty writing
A major New Orleans-style clarinetist since the early 1990s, Evan Christopher has often teamed up with Django Reinhardt-inspired guitarists, most notably David Blenkhorn and Dave
Art Tatum was such a dazzling pianist with his remarkable speed, rather incredible technique, and competitive spirit that it was often said that few other
With all of the “Hot Clubs” in the world (it must number over 100 at this point), there is a tendency of some of the
In my communications with Archeophone regarding Charles A. Asbury: 4 Banjo Songs, 1891-1897 I foolishly suggested that I could do a review based on digital
Back in 2005, the Jazz Oracle label came out with a limited-edition CD called A Gift From The President. It consisted of rare recordings discovered
Traditional jazz can be played well and enjoyed in any instrumental combination from soloist to symphony, even a guitar and clarinet duet can produce a
While Paul Adams and the Lake label have been slowing down a bit in recent times, whenever he runs across a valuable and previously unheard
Jon-Erik Kellso is one of the overlooked greats holding down traditional jazz today. Overlooked not because he is unknown, nearly all of our subscribers will
One of the most rewarding reissue programs of vintage British traditional jazz is Lake’s At A Tangent series. There have been nine previous volumes, each
Throughout much of his career, trumpeter Ken Colyer (1928-85) had a devoted cult following in the United Kingdom. He was never a virtuoso or a
Evan Christopher is serious about New Orleans jazz. Our cover profile of him highlighted his commitment to high order artistic expression from within a set
The 2016 debut of The Dime Notes made a splash in the London traditional jazz scene. The team of pianist Andrew Oliver and David Horniblow
It was the best jazz group on record in 1923 and was considered a sensation among up-and-coming Chicago jazz musicians. King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band
