Nat King Cole’s centennial was March 17, resulting in many tribute albums being released this year. However, good as some of those homages are, none
Trombonist Chris Barber formed his first band in 1949 and retired in August 2019. The Big Chris Barber Band will carry on, and continue to
Highly skilled trios are common enough playing advanced swing or thoughtful chamber jazz and the members of Three Blind Mice are certainly capable of both.
Banjoist Eric Silk may be somewhat forgotten today but during 1955-58 he and his Southern Jazz Band recorded 32 songs for the British Esquire label;
The Revisionists’ debut album captures a classic vocal swing sound you wouldn’t think possible. Like an early 50s Anita O’Day lp that becomes a house
Clarinetist Acker Bilk (1929-2014) will always be best remembered by the general public for his 1962 hit “Stranger On The Shore” which featured his low-register
Trombonist Roger Marks has been a fixture in the British trad/swing scene since at least the late 1970s when he worked with cornetist Rod Mason’s
Back in the early 1970s, small-group swing appeared to be dying a slow death. The survivors of the swing era who had continued to make
I had the wrong idea about the Ulysses Jasz Band. When I popped in their album I was expecting a hot West Coast style band.
Syncopated Times readers will remember Svetlana from her hot band The Delancy Five, who are a staple of the New York traditional jazz scene and
If you’ve heard even 30 seconds of this album you’ve probably already run off to buy it. Every moment of this record is chillingly good
(Jazz Classic of the Month) Art Tatum was amazing. Arguably the greatest musician to ever perform jazz, Tatum could play piano with blinding speed and
Marty Elkins is a delightful swing singer who deserves to be better-known. She worked with pianist Dave McKenna when she was attending college in Boston
Carl Sonny Leyland is well known in the U.S. as a powerful blues, boogie-woogie, and stride pianist as well as being a fine blues singer.
While Queens is not thought of as one of the centers of jazz, quite a large number of jazz artists have lived in the New
Neville Dickie, one of the top stride and boogie-woogie pianists of the past 50 years, has led at least 28 albums since 1966, having a
The Bunk Johnson Story would make for a fascinating movie. Born around 1889 (he claimed it was 1879 so he could say that he had
British bandleader-trombonist Chris Barber was very fortunate to have two great clarinetists in his band for extended periods: Monty Sunshine (1953-60) and Ian Wheeler (1961-68).
Trumpeter Ken Colyer (1928-88) always fought for what he believed in. From the start, he loved ensemble-oriented New Orleans jazz, and he never really veered
Imagine visiting a friend who owns a huge 78 collection, and enjoying an evening discussing music and life with him while your friend pulls out
The latest Shake-em-Up Jazz Band CD, The Boy In The Boat, was released just prior to their second European tour which included Brittany, France; Herrang,
Pete Allen, who plays most of the reeds but is best known as a clarinetist, first recorded with his brother banjoist Bernie Allen’s group in
Joe Licari has been a top clarinetist for over 60 years although widespread fame seems to have eluded him. How many musicians still on the
Since he burst upon the national jazz scene in the mid-1970s, tenor-saxophonist Scott Hamilton has been remarkably consistent. A world-class player from the start, he
