The late New Orleans bassist Walter Payton (died 2010) had a busy musical career that found him playing with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the
This compilation of tracks by the West London Rhythm Kings gives some idea of the various personnel who played with the band or “depped” (“subbed”
Jimmy Jones (1918-82) was a sophisticated and harmonically advanced pianist who emerged out of the swing era. He made his recording debut with violinist Stuff
While most of the musicians’ names will be familiar to UK Traditional jazz fans, such will probably not be the case here in the US.
The French Preservation New Orleans Jazz Band has issued numerous recordings—in his liner notes JP Alessi speaks of this latest one being the 36th—and like
JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH Gene Krupa (1909-73) was the first drummer to become a matinee idol and a household name. He was also the
The UK, that relatively small country, has produced many fine traditional jazz musicians and bandleaders during the last century whose names will be familiar to
While fishing for excuses for being beyond my deadline, I told the publisher this was the most important jazz release we have ever covered. For
It’s easy to prejudge an album, based on a band’s blurb and the first track or two. The latest release by Southside Aces promises “original
Tatiana Eva-Marie, who was born in Switzerland and is based in Brooklyn, is best-known for her spirited renditions of Gypsy jazz and swing standards, inspired
Before Coleman Hawkins, Sidney Bechet, Frank Trumbauer, Jimmy Dorsey, and Adrian Rollini made their first recordings, there was Loren McMurray (1897-1922). A technically skilled alto-saxophonist
We Brits like to think of ourselves as European—or 55 percent of us do, judging by a 2023 YouGov survey on Brexit “Bregret” (well, quelle
The Hot Toddies Jazz Band, a popular attraction in the swing scene of New York, performs vintage standards with impressive musicianship and abundant spirit. It
She was the most versatile singer to emerge from the classic blues movement of the early 1920s. Ethel Waters (1896-1977), who had a very rough
When the Original Dixieland Jazz Band settled in London for an extended stay in 1919, they were essentially introducing jazz to the United Kingdom. While
This compilation of tracks by the West London Rhythm Kings gives some idea of the various personnel who played with the band or “depped” (“subbed”
Let’s see just how far off the beaten tracks I can go in this column! If your 78 RPM collection casts its net wide enough
Spain has an abundance of traditional jazz that would surprise most Americans. Enric Peidro brings players from America including Jonathan Stout, Glenn Crytzer, and Dan
The Wit’s End Brass Band is a large community band in New Orleans “gathered and guided” by Shaye Cohn of Tuba Skinny. Founded in 2012,
All I know about The Rag Messengers is that they hail from Montpellier, France, and play New Orleans jazz as hot as the weather there
Down for the Count is down for anything. The UK based collective includes 30 musicians on call in various formats, all of them within this
A reader suggested this album to me just in time for summer and I’m glad they did! I was expecting just another ukulele album but
Do you like scat singing? My Mum absolutely hates it—the wordless vocal improvisation featured on so many of Ella Fitzgerald’s sides (which she loves, by
How many albums is “a lot of albums”? Not to own, I mean—I’ve got around a hundred LPs, a number which most collectors would consider
