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
Reviewing these three albums is the first time I’ve had the chance to really listen to the Brian Holland/Danny Coots combo. I’ve put their names
Children’s music is trash, isn’t it? Take “Baby Shark,” or that Colomelon dross, or anything released by the cringeworthy cover factory Kidz Bop—it’s all a
Paying tribute to a jazz instrumentalist can be a tricky proposition, particularly if one plays the same instrument. A balance has to be found between
Some records you really can judge by their cover. Take the latest release by Jane Scheckter, for instance. There’s a picture of Jane on the
In these days of diminishing audiences and venues, it takes a brave soul to start a traditional jazz band, not alone keep an existing band
These days we seem to be witnessing the sunset of traditional jazz. The number of traditional jazz clubs and festivals, along with that of their
Noelle Goforth has a beautiful voice and a love for swing standards. On her CD ’Deed I Do, she performs a dozen of her favorite
JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH Jimmy McPartland (1907-91) played rewarding cornet solos for over a half-century. McPartland also took an occasional vocal and was always
2024 is the centennial of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody In Blue,” serving as an excellent excuse for exploring his music. Classical pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and pianist-singer
Listening to Al Jolson (1896-1950) is always a guilty pleasure for me. On the one hand, he was considered by many to be the world’s
There are some albums which are done a terrible disservice by either not getting the press nor the reviews they deserve. Such is the case
Work has had me on the road a lot lately, so that new in-car MP3 player has been a lot of use. (Promoters, take note:
With the UK state pension now standing at 68 for people born in 1987—and likely to rise further, given our shambles of an economy and
Over the past years, I have seen it claimed quite often, sometimes with a tinge of resentment by black speakers, that Elvis Presley co-opted the
