Album Reviews

The Galvanized Jazz Band is in their 48th year of existence, having been formed in 1971. A no-nonsense and hard-driving band that is driven by cornetist

The story of the Riverboat Stompers begins in 1990 among an extended group of trad jazz players filling in a regular gig under the generic

Led by sousaphonist Roman Bartnicki, the R.B. Five is a quintet that also features trumpeter Dominik Mietla, trombonist Robert Szczerba, Janusz Witko on clarinet, tenor

Tom Stagg informs us in the CD booklet, “This session was recorded during the annual Ken Colyer Trust visit to New Orleans and was listed

The California Feetwarmers were recommended to me by no less than Vince Giordano of the Nighthawks and Robin Rapuzzi of Tuba Skinny. I’ve long enjoyed

During the dozen years that Jack Teagarden had left after leaving the Louis Armstrong All-Stars in 1952, the great trombonist and singer mostly played a

Eric Seddon is a New Orleans-styled clarinetist who plays in the Cleveland area. In 2017 he led a trad invasion of Cleveland’s Bop Stop, an

Evan Arntzen comes from a very musical family. His grandfather played soprano and clarinet, his father is a pianist, his mother is a singer, and

When I heard the name Tenement Jazz Band my first thought was “I bet they’re from Scotland”. I was hoping Glasgow, where twenty years ago

Cornetist Paul Strandberg from Sweden played in the late 1970s and 80s with Scanjazz, the Absalon Orchestra, and the Hot House Jazzmen. Strandberg led Paul

Formed in 2003 in Grenada, Spain, the Potato Head Jazz Band has stayed somewhat under the radar—my radar, at least—until now, and that is unfortunate

“Listening jazz that just happens to be great for dancing” is the gist of one recommendation I read about Jack’s Cats, a surprising group of

The French cornetist Jean-Pierre Morel has been playing classic jazz at least since 1966 when he made his recording debut with the Famous Melody Boys.

St. Louis has deep roots in American musical history. It was the cradle of classic ragtime and a destination city for jazz age riverboats. During

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

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.