The Rise of a Jazz Vibraphonist: Evelyn Yosmali
Garry Berman
What are the most exciting and essential classic jazz recordings that have taken place since the end of World War II? I accepted the challenge of that question to put together a list that everyone can argue about. This five-part series briefly discusses 100 great recordings that all Syncopated Times
There are a fair number of jazz musicians who wrote autobiographies (often “as told to”) including Rex Stewart, Eddie Condon, Louis Armstrong, and Charles Mingus. Many musicians have written technique books and a few have active blogs. However, there are very few musicians who have written scholarly history books, built
Hal Smith: Brother Kevin, let’s stay on the topic of West Coast drummers and talk about one of the best: Bill Dart. I think it’s safe to say that most of our readers associate him with Lu Watters’ Yerba Buena Jazz Band and a particular way of drumming that was
From my house I can hear baseball games at our local stadium. In my youth it hosted a Single A team that regularly sent players on to the majors. Today it hosts a collegiate team under the same name for top college players to stay active during the summer, and
Joshua Rifkin, whose recordings of Scott Joplin’s compositions on the Nonesuch label are considered paragons, is reputed to have helped spark the Ragtime Revival of the 1970s. Yet he had never appeared in Joplin’s stomping grounds in Sedalia, Missouri. That changed on Friday May 30, 2025, when Rifkin performed a
In 1952, the Gibson Guitar Company unveiled a new instrument at a special event featuring star guitarists Tony Mottola, George Barnes, and Mundell Lowe. It was to present the first version of what came to be the iconic Les Paul line of guitars. That line long reigned as a dominant
Seventy-five years ago, I was introduced to trad and big band jazz. A close friend, Don Boyer, asked me if I had any jazz records. I told him I had no records, and I knew very little about jazz. He invited me to his home and he played two 78s:
JB: I’m concluding an interview/listening session with New Black Eagle Jazz Band members Stan Vincent (trombone), “Pam” Pameijer (drums) and Billy Novick (reeds) about the band they were in together in Boston for almost 40 years, the New Black Eagle Jazz Band (NBEJB). The NBEJB accomplished performing complicated pieces like
The banjo was an essential mode of entertainment in the latter 19th century, but often it was accompanied by other instruments, usually piano. There were, however, since the beginning of the 19th century performers who became famous for singing and playing the banjo. When it comes to recording, banjo and
Bix the Cult Figure A legend among many musicians and fans even during his relatively brief life, Bix Beiderbecke was jazz’s first cult figure. After his passing in 1931 at the age of 28, Beiderbecke’s fame grew steadily through the decades. Those “in the know” savored every note that he
I was ten when Star Wars changed the world in 1977. This film was special to me for multiple reasons. It was a movie my Dad and I went to see, just us: two blokes going to a real he-man film with violence, monsters, spaceships, aliens, villains, heroes, a damsel
In Downtown Tucson, the Hotel Congress is definitely the “place to be” with several onsite music venues at any one time. Recently the lobby area held the monthly First Tuesday Pop-Up Piano Bar series originated by vocalist Briggs Clinco and multi-instrumentalist Marco Rosano. Marco is primarily the reed player with
BIX BEIDERBECKE JAZZ FESTIVAL (Davenport, IA) July 31-Aug 2 Hot Jazz will return to the Upper Mississippi River during the Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival. Scheduled bands include: Graystone Monarchs, led by Quad Cities drummer Josh Duffee, this big band plays music from the 1920s and 1930s made famous by Jean
This past month, I made noises in a fundraising letter that I was planning to shut up for a month or two. “I am likely at this point to cede my monthly column because I cannot focus on music. That should come as a relief to those of you who
Eddie Durham was born August 19, 1906, in San Marcos, Texas. From an early age, Durham performed with his family in the Durham Brothers Orchestra, which consisted of Eddie and his three brothers along with three cousins and family friend, trumpeter Edgar Battle. The Durham Brothers spent a dozen or
Broadway Rag (1922) is James Scott’s final published composition. It is thickly-chorded in keeping with Scott’s style. However, the tonic chord resolutions in the B section are not according to the norm of other Scott rags: these chords come to rest in root form, versus the usual first inversion. The
Alan Bergman, the Oscar-winning lyricist whose timeless songs became jazz and pop standards, died July 17, 2025, at 99 in Los Angeles. With his wife, Marilyn Bergman, who died in 2022, he crafted iconic songs like “The Windmills of Your Mind” and “The Way We Were,” introducing poetic depth to
It has come to my attention that there is a problem with postal delivery of the paper. Subscribers to The Syncopated Times have written to say that their copies of the July 2025 issue had arrived late or had not showed up altogether. In a few instances the one-section, 32-page
The word that best describes the Hot Toddies Jazz Band’s Live From Somewhere Nowhere is celebratory. The performances by the seven-piece band which is led by drummer Patrick Soluri are so full of energy, enthusiasm and excitement that they are irresistible. While the group frequently performs for dancers as in
Marjorie T. Scooros, affectionately known as Washboard Marj, passed away on June 11, 2025, at the age of 84. Born on April 5, 1941, Marj was a beloved figure in the jazz community of Arizona, where she was well known as a washboard player always ready to answer the call.
At a dinner party hosted by Scott Asen, the founder of Turtle Bay Records, pianist-singer Champian Fulton and altoist/clarinetist Klas Lindquist performed a set of duets. Asen enjoyed the relaxed music so much that he knew that he wanted to record the duo. A few months later at two sessions
One of the finest ragtime ensembles around today, the Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra was founded by Andrew Greene in 2010. The group has a gigantic repertoire with over 15,000 scores in their library. For That Eccentric Rag, their sixth recording, Greene put together a well-rounded program of some of the
When one thinks of such songs as “About A Quarter To Nine,” “She’s A Latin From Manhattan,” “Is It True What They Say About Dixie,” “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” and “Change Partners,” the names of Al Jolson and Fred Astaire come to mind, but not that of
JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH Duke Ellington could have made his debut at Carnegie Hall during Benny Goodman’s historic concert in 1938 that did include trumpeter Cootie Williams, altoist Johnny Hodges, and baritonist Harry Carney on “Blue Reverie” and the latter two as guests on a jam session version of
Sister Rosetta Tharpe was one of America’s great gospel singers, arguably its greatest gospel singer. She was also an accomplished jazz and blues musician, as well as being a herald of rock and roll and being acclaimed by many giants of that genre as their mentor. Discographies show that over
While a number of British trad jazz players are fairly well-known in the US, Roger Marks is not one of them. He enjoys considerable acclaim in the UK, however, having formed his first Armada Jazz band in 1976 and having been been part of the jazz scene there ever since.
In 2007 the late Big Bill Bisonnette issued, on his Jazz Crusade label, a CD he titled Slip Horn (JCCD 3119) as part of his “Rare Cuts Well Done” series, Slip Horn being Vol. II. As the title would indicate, the CD featured trombone players. When Upbeat Recordings acquired the
Vol.10, No.8, August 2025
The Rise of a Jazz Vibraphonist: Evelyn Yosmali, by Garry Berman
Get Out and Get Under the Moon!, commentary by Joe Bebco
Bill Dart: Unblocked and Uncaged Drumming!, by H. Smith & K. Dorn
Allen Lowe: Saxophonist, Composer, and Music Historian, by Steve Provizer
100 Hottest Classic Jazz Albums 1945-2025, Pt 3: 1959-1977, by Scott Yanow
In Sedalia, Joshua Rifkin Recounts 1970s Rag Revival, by Christian Frommelt
Les Paul: From Chicago to New York, by Schaen Fox
Jazz Birthday of the Month: Eddie Durham, illustration by Sara Lièvre
Static from my Attic, by Andy Senior
Final Chorus, compiled by Joe Bebco
My Inspirations: The Remarkable John Williams, by Jeff Barnhart
Quarter Notes: Downtown Where Lights Are Bright!, by Shelly Gallichio
Ragtime Vignettes: Broadway Rag, by Brandon Byrne
Banjo and Vocal Records, by R.S. Baker
Profiles in Jazz: Bix Beiderbecke, Legend and Reality, by Scott Yanow
Festival Roundup, compiled by Michael Buonaiuto
Ain’t Cha Got Music: NBEJB, Pt. 3, by Barnhart, Vincent, Pameijer, & Novick
Delayed and Missing Papers Beset our July 2025 Issue, by Andy Senior
Once Upon a Time: Early Days of the Elkhart Festival, by Van D. Young
Nights at the Turntable, CD reviews by Scott Yanow
Bert’s Bits and Beats, CD reviews by Bert Thompson