Album Reviews

Ricky Alexander is the quintessential New York jazzman of the twenty-teens. After being exposed to civic and legacy bands while growing up in the DC

Last August I highlighted albums from several hot young jazz groups in Europe. I took special notice of The Dizzy Birds, a group that I

The Wolverine Jazz band has been providing hot traditional jazz all over the North East and at festivals nationwide for almost 25 years. They’ve maintained

A veteran of the New York City Jazz scene known for taking deep dives into the American Songbook Daryl Sherman delivers on her latest album,

Producer John Hammond was always a major proponent of integration and of recognizing the greatness of the top African-American jazz artists. While still in his

It is felt by many that when one plays a rag, the pianist should stick exactly to the written music, treating it as if it

Trumpeter Danny Tobias is perhaps best-known for his association with the Midiri Brothers Sextet, but he has also led his own groups and worked with

The British Lake label, which has done an admirable job of reissuing and repackaging British traditional jazz from 1950-65 along with putting out newly recorded

One of the best known of the early traditional New Orleans brass bands was the Eureka Brass Band. Founded around 1920 by trumpeter Willie Wilson,

The GHB/Jazzology collection of labels includes Paramount. While Paramount is primarily known for its large assortment of classic and country blues recordings, it also documented

COMES LOVE by Eli and the Chocolate Factory Featuring Tamar KornIn America, the name Eli is typically pronounced (E-lie), in much of the rest of

Nirav Sanghani pulled in an all-star crew for his first release with his Pacific Six. Clint Baker is on trombone for the opening track and

Frog and Henry are the most interesting of several cooperative bands with fluid lineups coming together around a musical idea. In their case, that idea

Established in 2014, this woke young collective of jovial jazz players achieved regional success touring two albums around Scandinavia. But their urge to change the

Though they have only been performing together since last fall the duo of Miss Maybell (Lauren Sansaricq) and Charlie Judkins share a groove that is

Jimmie Noone (1895-1944) was one of the great clarinetists to emerge from New Orleans. Compared to Sidney Bechet and Johnny Dodds, Noone had a softer

The British Lake label has reissued hundreds of valuable sessions by most of the best-known and most influential trad players of the 1950s and ’60s

Jonathan Ng, is a lindy hop, balboa, and blues dancer with classical violin training. He traveled widely with Ellis Dyson & the Shambles, a band that

Let’s Go To Town has four National Guard radio shows that probably date from 1961. While the pitching for the National Guard (and its “up-to-the-minute

Due to the popularity of Dixieland and New Orleans jazz in the United States during the 1950s, bands were often featured on the radio, including

The Messy Cookers have been heating up the New Orleans night since 2012. Led by trumpet player Alex Owen and including on this album Crescent

During October and November 1957, trombonist Jack Teagarden and pianist Earl Hines co-led an all-star group that toured England and France. In ways, the sextet

Ziggy Elman (1914-68) could have been a contender but he waited too long to start his own big band. Born Harry Finkleman, he learned to