Album Reviews

Sidney Bechet was not only the first significant soprano-saxophonist in jazz but the most significant one during his lifetime. Arguably one of the two top

The performances on this CD were taken from recordings made at several concerts during the band’s tours of Germany in the early seventies and from

A major performer from Australia, George Washingmachine is an actor, a comedian, and has played guitar and string bass. However it is as a swing

After Hurricane Katrina clarinetist Evan Christopher spent two years in Paris exploring the legacy of Django Reinhardt. The result was a band joining Christopher’s classic

All of the New Orleans jazz pioneers stressed that the music they played was for dancing, not just for listening. The group on this CD

Bria Skonberg, who made her recording debut back in 2002 and has led her Mighty Aphrodite Jazz Band (a fine classic jazz band) since at

Composer Frederick Loewe (1901-88) and lyricist Alan Jay Lerner (1918-86), who met in 1942, wrote the music for such Broadway hits as Brigadoon, Paint Your

At 41 reedman David Lukács has already been playing the classic jazz circuit internationally for over 20 years. In 1998 he won the Kobe Jazz

Together since 1971, The Galvanized Jazz Band has had an amazingly stable line up but they’ve also enticed many friends to join them on stage.

David Horniblow, clarinet, Andrew Oliver, piano, Nicholas D. Ball, percussion. If you’ve been reading my reviews for the last few months you’ll know that this

Ken Colyer was an important force in British jazz for decades. Inspired by George Lewis and Bunk Johnson, his trumpet playing and his band were

All eras of jazz are being played somewhere. Swing is very much alive in certain pockets of the world. Austin, Texas, is the home for

The Dutch Swing College Band, which was founded by Peter Schilperoort in 1945, is still in existence, having recorded as recently as 2015. The versatile

Sometimes record labels do not realize what they have. The outside of this two-CD set says “Edmond Hall with the Ralph Sutton Quartet ‘Live’ At

Allan Vaché is a veteran of the Jim Cullum Jazz Band and appeared for years on the Riverwalk Jazz radio show. He is known for

The British trad movement of the 1950s and ’60s found dozens of jazz bands popping up throughout England. The music they focused on fell into

The British trad movement of the 1950s and ’60s found dozens of jazz bands popping up throughout England. The music they focused on fell into

Bing Crosby loved New Orleans jazz and Louis Armstrong throughout his long life. He began his career as a jazz-oriented singer and, while modest about

Is Ragtime in its second golden age? After its quick fade-away during 1915-17 (with Scott Joplin’s death being the final straw), ragtime was difficult to

Eastern Europe, and Poland in particular are crazy about jazz. Joanna Morea, a Polish singer and instrumentalist, is publicly recognizable in a way that just

The Peanuts Gang Trio is perfectly situated to play comforting yet titillating festive music. They’ve been together in the Reno Nevada area since 2015, initially