Album Reviews

Jazz Classic of the Month Oscar Aleman (1909-80) was born and raised in Argentina but is best-known today for his work in Europe in the

Bobby Leecan (1897-1946) was a fine banjoist and guitarist who straddled the boundaries between jazz, blues and hokum during his relatively brief recording career. What

Upbeat recently reissued a collection originally put out by Big Bill Bissonnette’s Jazz Crusade label that was titled Rare Cuts – Well Done, Volume 8.

When Jack Teagarden (1905-64) arrived in New York in 1927, he created a bit of a sensation in the jazz world. Sounding years ahead of

British trombonist Roger Marks led one of his finest groups during 2000-2001, a period when his Armada Jazz Band was captured on no less than

I’ll lead this by saying this is a different album from the one Scott Yanow reviews in this issue. He is quicker on the draw

The story of the Clef Club and its impact on jazz has almost always been told through the lens of its most famous alum, James

Many albums from New Orleans are recorded in houses in the 9th Ward, supplying a poetic mental image of the festivities, but this one actually

The first album I heard from Crawfish Wallet was their third, 2022’s Ti Flanboyan, and two years later I still play it on my walks

Every year is now a centennial year for historic jazz. Between 2017 and 2023 we didn’t commemorate that many recordings. The ODJB got their articles

I’ve had a lot of unsolicited CDs lately, which have made up the bulk of my recent album reviews. And while it’s always nice to

I’d like to say that Britain is the spiritual home of jazz in Europe: we produced enduring heroes like Humphrey Lyttleton, Acker Bilk, Chris Barber,

It is easy to divide the musical life of Nat King Cole (1919-65) into two. Prior to 1950, he was well known as a very

JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH Two formerly rare ten-inch LPs were reissued on the single CD Classic Jazz at Saint-Germain-des-Prés which was released as part

Charles LaVere (1910-83) was a talented pianist, singer and songwriter who managed to stay busy through his entire career without ever becoming well-known. Born in

Trumpeter Cootie Williams (1911-1985) will always be most famous for his association with Duke Ellington. He became Bubber Miley’s successor as Ellington’s plunger mute specialist

In the 1930s, Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire introduced and popularized dozens of songs that became standards. Cliff “Ukulele Ike” Edwards (1895-1971) preceded them in

Ruth Etting (1896-1978) was the female equivalent of Bing Crosby during her peak years. Like Crosby, Etting gave jazz feeling and relaxed phrasing to pop

While the names “Wally Fawkes” and “Ian Christie” are well-known in UK trad jazz circles, they are probably not so well-known in those here in

A New Orleans group without familiar players is always a nice find. I love how the city contains and continues to attract multitudes. Amber Rachelle

This album could have fell through the cracks. On first glance at the attractive album art by Stephen Lack, it looks like many albums I

If a poll were taken of jazz pianists, other instrumentalists, critics, and knowledgeable fans that asked who was the most remarkable jazz musician of all

Hal Smith, the drummer, author, producer, and current elder statesman of trad jazz is due for a column highlighting his amazing series of albums focused