Album Reviews

As a follow-up to their Tribute To Buddy Johnson CD, the Planet D Nonet, a band based in Detroit pays homage to Duke Ellington on

We cover a lot on New Orleans musicians around here, but there are always those that get missed and until now I don’t think we

Scott Yanow’s Jazz Classis of the month. In 1928, a very influential record date by the McKenzie-Condon Chicagoans helped launch the Chicago jazz movement, one

Lucy Lambert’s unique vocals fit remarkably well with what she is going for in this accordion-focused and very expressive traditional jazz album. Audiences, especially in

The first two times I listened to Russell Welch’s new album, I was busy doing something else. Doing what, you ask? As it happens, I

One of the best things about albums is that they have always been an opportunity for collaborations. This is especially true in the era of

The correct completion of this album’s title should have read “and Traditional Jazz.” Four of the titles performed are New Orleans early jazz staples, and

The name of this album seems a little odd. I originally read it to refer to railroads or something like that, but it is what

Following on the success of their previous Early Hours recording, drummer Hal Smith’s New Orleans Night Owls have released Messin’ Around. As with their earlier

Archeophone, the top label in reissuing pre-1920 music, recently added 1904 to their Phonographic Yearbook series. Just as in their other releases in this series

Oh, this one’s going to be divisive—that’s what I thought after listening through I Get Along, the new offering by London-based vocalist Lucinda Fosker. A

With a name like the Cosmo Alleycats, one may think that this group plays lowdown music for science fiction movies. But while some may use

Fats Sadi (1927-2009) was never a household name in the United States (he does not seem to have ever visited America) but he was one

Most musicians today are trained on the jazz of the bop era and beyond, then are released into a youth culture more interested in the

Pianist Earl Hines recorded prolifically throughout his career, particularly during 1928-79. He made a major comeback in 1965 after almost being forgotten by many jazz

To read David Bandrowski’s musical biography you’d be shocked to find that after 30 years French Onion Superman is his debut album as leader. A

A decade ago Cassidy Holden led a group called Cassidy & the Orleans Kids. It featured some of the best young players in New Orleans.

I first heard this record on the same day I was scheduled to interview the lady on its cover. Isobel had only recently come to

Crawfish Wallet is a hot jazz quartet out of Bordeaux, France featuring banjo, bass, trombone, and a washboard in the hands of a talented vocalist

Banu Gibson became a major attraction at jazz festivals in the early 1980s and has long been one of the top singers on the classic

Notes From A Jazz Life, Volume 3 is the third twofer that draws its material from trumpeter-cornetist Digby Fairweather’s earlier records. While one would expect

I’m always in two minds about whether to call a jazz tune a “banger.” On the one hand, I’d like to think I’m a bona

British pianist Ray Smith has worked and recorded with Ken Colyer (1968-81), cornetist Steve Lane, the London Ragtime Orchestra, cornetist Rod Mason, Bent Persson, and

The teaming up of New Orleans clarinetist George Lewis and England’s Ken Colyer always made perfect sense. Colyer (1928-88), who was always a proponent of