Album Reviews

I like the oldies. Back when I hosted a swing radio show, I had a strict limit of two modern tracks per broadcast—the rest was

There are so many guitarists in Europe currently playing in the Django Reinhardt style that there are always new talents to discover. Guitarist Fapy Lafertin,

In 2018 Ted des Plantes launched a label, TdP Productions, to release new material from his own collection of live tapes and studio outtakes as

One of the top swing/mainstream cornetists from England, Digby Fairweather has had several overlapping careers. Born in 1946, Fairweather led Dig’s Half Dozen starting in

Fess Williams (1894-1975) was definitely the product of a different era, a clarinetist and alto-saxophonist who mixed together hot jazz with comic effects, music with

As soon as I started writing for The Syncopated Times fans of Sinne Eeg began sending me emails to insist I needed to cover her.

Pierre Christophe obviously loves the playing and music of Erroll Garner. On Tribute To Erroll Garner, he often sounds just like the pianist, emulating the

If you’re a swing dancer, you know how frustrating it is when the band booked for an event hasn’t been briefed on what good dancing

I’m over it now but about a decade ago I went through a few year stretch where my most listened to new groups played what

Bean Soup is a quintet comprised of tenor-saxophonist Michel Bescont, trumpeter Michel Bonnet, pianist Jacques Schneck, bassist Leigh Barker, and drummer Stephane Roger. On Odidrep

The French Preservation New Orleans Jazz Band, while not well known in the U.S.A. other than, perhaps, in New Orleans itself, enjoys wide recognition in

Bill Brunskill got involved in the jazz scene about the same time as Chris Barber and members of the Barber band along with others of

Last month I reviewed the latest album from the French group Les Rois du Fox-Trot, a group formerly fronted by Jean-Pierre Morel. Morel is also

The River Raisin Ragtime Revue is a Michigan based orchestra that puts on exciting community events to educate the public about the American popular repertoire

A superb guitarist in the Django Reinhardt style, Angelo DeBarre (who was born in 1962), has been a major force in the European jazz scene

“A Spoon Full of Sugar” sounds like a jazz song title, doesn’t it? Turns out the familiar tune from Mary Poppins also swings, at least

Sidney Bechet (1897-1959) was one of the true masters of not only New Orleans jazz but all of jazz history. While the soprano-saxophonist and clarinetist’s

Janet Klein & Her Parlor Boys have always had a few Jewish novelty numbers in their book. They use them to bring levity to their

It has been nice to have another visit with the Dixie RB Five. Though I passed the review of their first album along to Scott

Samoa Wilson is a singer with a real feel for vintage material. She has had a long association with guitarist-singer and jug band leader Jim

Emily Asher was featured on our cover last month so I won’t spend too much time on her background. A daughter of the Northwest traditional

For two chaps with a guitar and a washboard, Martyn Roper and Jack Amblin—a.k.a. the Washboard Resonators—can really belt it out. They’ve proved as much

Gene Austin (1900-72) was arguably the first great crooner. During a period when many of the male pop singers used on pop and jazz recordings