Album Reviews

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

Tim Laughlin has long had a fluent and infectious style, a beautiful tone on his instrument, and the ability to conceive of and record definitive

Duke Ellington has been gone for 43 years but “new” music by him still continues to be discovered and released. It is fair to say

Ella In Hollywood, a live set from 1961 when Ella Fitzgerald was 44, features her at the peak of her powers on a very jazz-oriented

Earl Hines was one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. Most biographies on Hines go something like this: In the 1920s he developed

Clarinetist Leif Juul Jorgensen took a long time before finally deciding to play jazz fulltime. He took up the clarinet nearly 70 years ago but,

Jean-Francois Bonnel is a reed player best known for his decade as one of the solo stars of the Hot Antic Jazz Band. In the

The concert hall experience is by its very nature ephemeral—once the notes drift and reverberate they are remembered only by those in attendance. Sometimes, however,

Anders Bergcrantz is a prize-winning Swedish trumpeter/composer. He has just released this recording of seven compositions, six of which are his originals and the seventh

Here’s a professionally performed CD—just vocal and piano with fifteen tunes by Gershwin, Ellington, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, and others. What makes it special is

During the first years of the swing era, freewheeling jazz of the 1920s was considered out of vogue and old fashioned despite being less than

In the fall of 1957, an all-star group filled mostly with Louis Armstrong alumni toured England. Co-led by trombonist Jack Teagarden and pianist Earl Hines,

Late last year, Gordon Au—trumpeter, arranger, composer, bandleader, writer, thinker, scientist, satirist, linguist—sent me the digital files for the second CD by the Grand Street

Kid Ory was one of the most important early jazz trombonists, leading legendary early groups in New Orleans during the 1910-20 period that had such

46 years after his death, Louis Armstrong is still the most famous, beloved and influential figure in jazz history. As an innovative trumpeter, singer and

This April 25 marks the centennial of Ella Fitzgerald’s birth. The First Lady Of Song was at one of the turning points in her career

It has been too long since Banu Gibson recorded. One of the major New Orleans jazz and swing singers of the past 30 years, Banu’s

Although Jelly Roll Morton did not invent jazz, he was certainly one of its early innovators. His distinctive piano playing developed as early as 1905-10

While 2017 is being celebrated as the centennial of jazz’s first recordings, it is also the 100th anniversary of Scott Joplin’s death. The ragtime era,

An excellent swing trumpeter with a warm sound and a melodic improvising style, Danny Tobias is best-known for his association with the Midiri Brothers although

While jazz was born in the United States, it has been an international music ever since the recordings of the ODJB were heard overseas. While

Guitarist-banjoist Glenn Crytzer had two causes in mind when he organized That New Old Sound. He wanted to release a CD whose proceeds would go

On Feb. 26, 1917, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band recorded “Livery Stable Blues” and “Dixie Jass Band One-Step” (soon better known as “Original Dixieland One-Step”).

It is possible to be a jazz expert and still have no idea who Mel B. Kaufman was. Kaufman (1879-1932), a traveling salesman who sold

From Apr. 7, 1945 through Nov. 1945 and again from Apr-Oct. 1946, Duke Ellington and his Orchestra appeared on a weekly series of 55-minute programs

Greg Murphy is a seasoned pianist and composer who has assembled a great team for this, his fourth CD as leader. It’s a mix of

I’ve heard sports fans discussing football “Dream Teams,” a hypothetical assembling of great historical players and coaches, putting together theoretical plays, and games, styles, and

Bassist Alcide “Slow Drag” Pavageau was a member of Bunk Johnson’s band during 1944-46 and was a regular fixture with clarinetist George Lewis for decades.

Henry “Red” Allen (1908-67) was one of the greatest and most advanced of the early New Orleans trumpeters. He was always a bit of a

Any self-respecting swing fan should know about the Midiri Brothers. The twins, clarinetist Joe Midiri and vibraphonist Paul Midiri, are two of the most consistently

Woody Allen has long loved early jazz, whether it is Sidney Bechet, Django Reinhardt or virtually any of the giants of the 1920s and ‘30s.

Do you enjoy hot small-group swing? Then Michael Gamble and the Rhythm Serenaders’ self-titled CD is definitely for you. Bassist Gamble utilizes an octet or

In The Tradition/April In New Orleans is a single CD containing the music of two very complementary former LPs, both of which feature the frontline

Ken Peplowski assembled his team-mates for this charming CD and chose a variety of tunes, some of which are outside the usual jazz repertoire. His

The Galvanized Jazz Band was formed in Connecticut in 1971. From the start, the core of the hot jazz group was cornetist Fred Vigorito, Noel

Wild Bill Davison (1906-89) was one of the most colorful of all jazz cornetists/trumpeters. He had a distinctive sound and filled his solos with emotions

Due to its recent revival and modernization on Broadway, the pioneering Eubie Blake/Noble Sissle Shuffle Along show has been getting a lot of publicity lately.

Here’s another Harry Allen gem from Arbors Records. Harry has assembled an all-star team with fellow tenor saxophonists Grant Stewart and Eric Alexander and baritone

Paul Asaro’s Fat Babies Jazz Band has emerged since its founding in 2010 as one of the finest classic jazz groups currently active in the

Ethan Uslan, who had recorded two previous CDs for Rivermont, is a classically-trained pianist who in college switched permanently to syncopated music. He plays both

Ted Lewis occupies a unique place in jazz history. On the one hand, he became famous for his overly sentimental singing (which looked back nostalgically

Because they followed the Original Dixieland Jazz Band by a few years and directly preceded the first recordings of King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, the

Joe Daniels may not be remembered much today but he was one of Great Britain’s top jazz drummers for decades, starting in the mid-1920s. In

This is an “outside the box” recording in that it is not the standard jazz CD. It features poetry by Langston Hughes set to music

This CD features pianist/vocalist Daniela Schachter with a small group performing eleven of composer Jimmy Van Heusen’s famous tunes. She is visiting professor of voice

The Ramblers was a Dutch swing band that made its first recordings in 1929 and lasted until the mid-1950s. It is perhaps best known for

Many jazz history books underrate the contributions of European musicians prior to 1960, other than mentioning Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. The truth is that

The British Halcyon label has compiled an intriguing set of music from 1932-38 called American Hot Bands Of the 1930’s – Bouncin’ In Rhythm. While

This is the third CD by the PsychoAcoustic Orchestra under the direction of pianist/composer Pat Kelly. It is the first full recording in two decades.

When I assert that this is the best time to be alive if you are a jazz enthusiast, I’m not just whistling Dixieland. I am

Monika Herzig is a performing pianist, educator and author. She has assembled a group of talented women musicians to perform on this recording. She brings

Very few jazz musicians have made it to their 100th birthday but last Fen. 28 the great Danish violinist Svend Asmussen began his second century.

The Red Hot Mama (Gloria candens) was presumed to be extinct in 1966 with the passing of Sophie Tucker, who proclaimed herself the last of

Rich Conaty has hosted his weekly radio show The Big Broadcast since 1973, featuring jazz, dance music and singers from the 1920s and ‘30s. Since

Jeff Barnhart makes everything look so effortless. Like his idol Fats Waller, Barnhart not only finds it easy to take a vocal while playing heated

James P. Johnson may not have been the very first stride pianist in history but he was the most influential and the pacesetter of the