Frederick Hodges: Sophisticated Syncopation
Brian Sheridan
March 31, 2022
Last month, my husband Jeff and I traveled to Jekyll Island, Georgia, to attend a five-day Road Scholar course. The name of the course was
I met him on a Sacramento city bus. I was thirteen. Often after school, I would ride the city bus into downtown to explore the
Arguably the top jazz trumpeter or cornetist on records prior to 1923, Phil Napoleon has somehow managed to miss being prominently included in most jazz
In the entertainment biz, a triple threat is generally defined as someone who can sing, dance and act. Such performers are not rare—consider Fred Astaire,
Each of them pushed the UP button, because they didn’t know if the others were going up. The doors opened. They entered. The doors closed.
Preface to the 2022 Republication of this Interview1 For those who are not familiar with how player piano rolls are made, a quick explanation is
Billie Holiday (Eleanora Fagan, 1915-59) continued a busy schedule of recordings, concerts, radio broadcasts, television appearances and international tours in the 1950s. Publication of her
Jeff Barnhart: My erstwhile collaborator, Hal Smith, needs a while to erst on other projects this time around and requested I invite a guest. I’ve
This month, I will be doing something a little bit different in this column, as I just took a week long trip to NYC. On
This is a pleasant article for me to write, though it resurrects a reminder of unpleasant times. I hope readers will find the healing nature
The San Diego Jazz Party celebrated its 33rd year with a dynamic return featuring many of the “World’s Leading Jazz Musicians”! Held at the beautiful
Recently I was asked from where stems my fascination with silent film comedy. I was five years old when my Grandma took me to the
I had an enlightening summer in the mid ’90s. I met a lifelong friend, was employed with work I loved, and had a unique experience
Before his passing in 1982, Tom Shea was a key Ragtime figure, synthesizing several turn-of-the-century styles in his compositions. Prairie Ragtime: the Music of Tom
As I write this, I’m sitting at a cafe at St. Kilda, Melbourne (Australia, that is). Because of, ahem, certain recent pandemia, it’s been almost
Alberta Hunter was born April 1, 1895, in Memphis, Tennessee. She never knew her father, and was not happy with her stepfather. She left home
I was lucky to grow up in a community that was ethnically (if not racially) diverse. Certain nationalities predominated, and in the cul-de-sac where I
To the Editor: As per your editorial [How Are You?, March 2022], both my wife and I are fine. Thanks for asking. I was a
For almost 30 years Shanghai Jazz in Madison New
I first heard Conrad Janis back in the 1960s
JAZZ PENSACOLA’s JazzFest 2022 (Pensacola, FL) — April 2-3
George Girard (1930-57) could have been a big star
Zutty Singleton (1898-1975) was long overdue for a retrospective
504 Records (named after the area code of New
It was a short-term musical partnership but it helped
Charlie Halloran is a hard working trombonist central to
The current queen of jazz vocalists, Catherine Russell, is
The question posed by this album is “What would
Most readers of The Syncopated Times are familiar with
Vol.7, No.4 April 2022
Frederick Hodges: Sophisticated Syncopation, by Brian R. Sheridan
Debunking Piano Roll Mythology, by Matthew de Lacey Davidson
The Barnharts’ Road Scholar Program on Jekyll Island, by Rhonda Cardinal
Elise Roth is an Old School Entertainer with Social Media Savvy, by Dave Doyle
Remembering the Remarkable Charles William Midgley, by Matías Bombal
Elevator Music, short story by Dean Norman
The Real Billie Holiday, Part 3: the 1950s, by Dave Radlauer
Ain’t Cha Got Music: Bennie Moten 1928-30, by Jeff Barnhart & Dan Barrett
The Woman Behind The Iron Curtain, by Randi Cee
Jazz Birthday of the Month: Alberta Hunter, illustration by Joe Busam
Static from my Attic, by Andy Senior
Final Chorus, by compiled by Joe Bebco
My Inspirations: The Ground Round and Making Silents Sing, by Jeff Barnhart
The Professor is IN: Australianisms, by Adrian Cunningham
Ragtime Vignettes: Prairie Ragtime: The Music of Tom Shea, by Brandon Byrne
Quarter Notes: California, Here I Come!, by Shelly Gallichio
Tin Pan Alley Travels, Part One, by R.S. Baker
Festival Roundup, compiled by Joe Bebco
Blowing off the Dust: Healing a Racial Divide, by Larry Melton
Profiles in Jazz: Phil Napoleon, by Scott Yanow
Adrian Cunningham Trio at Shanghai Jazz, by Schaen Fox
Nights at the Turntable, CD reviews by Scott Yanow
Billy Novick and Andy Schumm, Reviewed by Ted des Plantes
Off the Beaten Tracks, CD reviews by Joe Bebco
