Album Reviews

The great New Orleans soprano-saxophonist and clarinetist Sidney Bechet was 52 when he went to Paris in 1949 to perform at a jazz festival. The

Nothing is lost in translation with the fantastic Five O’Clock Orchestra who are celebrating 45 years of spreading the gospel of hot jazz to audiences

Here we have preserved for posterity the memorable collaboration between Willie “The Lion” Smith and Don Ewell. They were first brought together for a Canadian

In 1950, Louis Armstrong acquired his first reel to reel tape recorder. During the next 20 years, he often recorded his own band’s performances which

Mike Davis is one of the bright new voices in classic jazz. The 25-year old New York-based cornetist has forged his own musical path by

I first listened to Lessons Lyrical, the new disc from husband and wife duo Petra van Nuis & Andy Brown, during the mad rush of

Flip Phillips is known for playing tenor sax with Jazz at the Philharmonic between 1946 and 1957. During the semi-retirement that followed he developed a

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

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

For 42 years Rich Conaty, who passed away near the end of 2016, delighted in playing rare recordings from the 1920s and ‘30s on his

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

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,

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

Chris Barber has been a major part of the British trad scene for over 70 years. While he recorded studio sides as a leader as early

Arguably the top jazz vocal group before the rise of Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross in the late 1950s (with the 1930s Mills Brothers being the

I direct your attention to Champian Fulton’s album with Scott Hamilton titled The Things We Did Last Summer, released on Blau Records. Reedman Scott Hamilton

The Jazz Oracle label can always be depended upon to reissue and repackage excellent hot jazz from the 1920s. Quite a few New Orleans jazz

While ragtime is often thought of as a music performed by solo pianists, there is something very special about a ragtime orchestra. Even the most

It all began back in 2010 when the Jazz Legacy Dixieland Band was organized at Brigham Young University. Trumpeter Austie Robinson, trombonist Brian Woodbury, and

In his short life, Charlie Christian (1916-42) revolutionized the jazz guitar. While he was not the very first electric guitarist (being preceded on records by

Trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton (1921-2008) and his band never tried to sound like anyone else. Lyttelton, who had a long and episodic career, teamed up with

Since its formation in 1984 as a subsidiary of Fellside Recordings, Lake Records has compiled and released a large assortment of high-quality traditional jazz with

Drummer Hal Smith has been one of the most valuable players in a countless number of settings through the years, from 1920s music and New

Will Perkins, 23 at the time of recording Snowy Morning Blues, is a talented ragtime and stride pianist from California. He has a relaxed style

Owing to the transmission over the internet of my radio program, RADIOLA!, I’ve found friends and listeners far outside my own bailiwick of upstate New

Fred Hersch, prolific composer, and pianist releases his newest solo CD and LP to coincide with his memoir Good Things Happen Slowly. The release date

This independently produced CD features tenor saxophonist Woody Witt collaborating with pianist Larry Ham’s trio. Rounding out the group are bassist Lee Hudson and drummer

Australian jazz musician Adrian Cunningham fronts a prestigious quartet which includes pianist Ted Rosenthal, bassist John Clayton, and drummer Jeff Hamilton. Cunningham is now based

In 1929 Jabbo Smith, who turned 21 that Christmas Eve, was arguably the second best trumpeter in jazz behind Louis Armstrong. While one could hold

Although it is not obvious while listening to Nat King Cole’s live set from Zurich, Switzerland (performed on Oct. 19, 1950 and only previously available

Ma Rainey (1886-1939) has been accurately called the “Mother Of The Blues.” Born before almost all of the other classic blues singers of the 1920s

Bix is a unique two-CD tribute to Bix Beiderbecke. The first CD is fourteen tracks of music associated with Bix Beiderbecke. It is performed by

When Banu Gibson formed her New Orleans Hot Jazz group on April 1, 1981 and began gigging with the sextet in the Crescent City, she

While few think of him that way, Johnny Guarnieri (1917-85) was one of the top stride pianists for decades. He had his highest visibility in

The British JSP label’s four-CD set  –Head Rag Hop Piano Blues 1925-1960 is overflowing with classic performances. Compiled by Neil Slaven who also wrote the liner

Louis Armstrong amassed a large collection of tapes in his lifetime which are now stored at the Louis Armstrong House Museum. While some of the

Clarinetist George Lewis, who would become one of the most popular of New Orleans jazzmen in the 1950s when he toured the world, was a

Those familiar with my previous reviews of pianist Rossano Sportiello’s CDs already know that I’m among the converted. He’s a classically trained Italian pianist who

Bill Cunliffe is a prolific pianist, composer, and conductor. I am already among the converted, so was excited to see/hear Cunliffe’s newest effort. On most

What fun! Imagine a four-day leisurely jam session with great musicians and no repeat takes! Senior vibraphonist Terry Gibbs had “retired” some months previously. Neal

The back-story about the production of this CD is as fascinating as the music. Most people reading this, I hope, will recognize the name of

Few today probably know about Teddy Grace’s excellent recordings of the 1930s even though she was one of the finest jazz and blues singers of

This year, 2017, is the centennial year for the first jazz recording, Original Dixieland Jazz Band’s Original Dixieland Jazz One Step and Livery Stable Blues,

What do Knocky Parker, Richard Zimmerman, Dick Hyman, John Arpin, Richard Dowling and William Appling have in common? Somewhere in their careers, all six pianists

Bunny Berigan (1908-42) was one of the greatest trumpeters of all time. Whether hitting high notes or exploring the lower register of his horn, he

Trombonist Ralph Grugel was a major force in keeping Dixieland alive and well in the Cleveland area for many years. He led a band that

There’s a relaxed, mellow feeling throughout this disc that is evident right from the start.  Many ragtime fans will remember Will Perkins as part of

Do you remember 1909? If one has to be at least four years old to have long-term memory of any event, then first-hand memories of

Trombonist Wilbur De Paris’ New New Orleans Jazz Band was one of the most exciting trad jazz bands of the 1950s. De Paris teamed up

What would the music have sounded like if Sidney Bechet and Django Reinhardt (who were both in France in the early 1950s) had recorded together,

The Dime Notes is a young group based in Great Britain although its leader-pianist Andrew Oliver is originally from Oregon. Comprised of Oliver, clarinetist David

This Arbors CD is vocalist/string bassist Nicki Parrott’s interpretation of songs associated with late vocalist/pianist Blossom Dearie. It’s interesting to compare and contrast these two

Johnny Burke (1908-64) may be a little-known name today but he was one of the top lyricists of the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s. Among the