This is the infamous New Reformation Jazz Band “Lithuanian set” from 1986. Bandleader Dave Tatrow decided at the last minute to riff on the importation
Francesca Biagi’s love of mid-century and earlier American theater, cinema, and jazz is genuine. Well known in Italy, and on the European scene generally, she
Muggsy Spanier loved to perform New Orleans and early jazz songs. The cornetist considered King Oliver and Louis Armstrong his musical heroes but he had
A Summer Night’s Magic, on Rivermont Records, is a set of piano solos by blind virtuoso Ed Clute, performed at his home in Watkins Glen,
Cornell student (and up and coming phenom) Colin Hancock has released Wild Jazz, his first album with the band he formed to commemorate the centennial
Pianist Jeff Barnhart and guitarist Spats Langham, both of whom sing in their own charming way, love playing together. They enjoy coming up with obscure
No, the music on The Unheard Artie Shaw does not contain new recordings by the great clarinetist. Instead, the set released by the Hep label
Jerry Krahn’s New Orleans Parlor String Band has released a six-song promo CD that I very much enjoyed. With this disc, Jerry is reviving a
Peggy Lee (1920-2002) was at one of her highpoints of her career in 1955. Her prime singing years were during 1942-68 and in 1955 (the
In anticipation of reviewing Here We Go! I found myself excitedly in line at the Pulaski Meat Market, a landmark institution anchoring a quiet corner
Bud Freeman (1906-91) was one of the greatest tenor-saxophonists of all time. When he emerged in the late 1920s, his only competition on tenor was
With the success of Louis Armstrong’s recordings for Okeh, several other labels in 1929 signed promising trumpeter-vocalists in the hope of equaling Armstrong’s success. Victor
There’s plenty of great music to help us celebrate Christmas, but my all-time favorite holiday album has to be Leon Redbone’s Christmas Island. Leon burst
Trombonist and record producer Delfeayo Marsalis has produced his first live album. The group here group includes father Ellis Marsalis on piano, Reginald Veal, bass,
Christmas With Champian is the seventh recording for this accomplished New York City based pianist/vocalist. She is supported by bassist David Williams, drummer Fukushi Tainaka,
Wouldn’t It Be Loverly is a new and noteworthy CD by chanteuse Lisa Lindsley. She performs on two continents, usually around the San Francisco Bay
Clarinetist Dave Bennett performs on his new CD, Blood Moon, with a small combo. He has a mix of original compositions co-written with record producer
Always very industrious, Irving Mills was not only Duke Ellington’s manager (also managing Cab Calloway, Fletcher Henderson and the Mills Blue Rhythm Band), a music
The World’s Greatest Jazz Band (an obviously outlandish name for a group but one that got immediate attention) was an all-star Dixieland ensemble that was
The trad jazz movement in the United Kingdom was a bit of a phenomenon. From the mid-1950s until the rise of the Beatles in 1964,
The ragtime era is generally thought of as being roughly 1899-1915, and certainly ending with the death of Scott Joplin in 1917. Other than “Maple
Trumpeter Joe Smith formed the Spicy Pickles in Denver, Colorado in 2013 as a sextet that played swing and New Orleans jazz for dancers. The
2003 was the centennial of cornetist Bix Beiderbecke’s birth. Celebrating Bix! is a very well-conceived tribute to Beiderbecke that Arbors released that year. Organized by
A hard-charging trumpeter whose screams, roars, and growls on uptempo pieces and whose sentimentality during ballads made him instantly recognizable, Wild Bill Davison was such
