![Buster Bailey by Joe Busam](https://syncopatedtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Bailey_Final-300x300.jpg)
Buster Bailey
William C. “Buster” Bailey was born July 19, 1902, in Memphis, Tennessee. Bailey learned the rudiments of clarinet while a student in the city’s public
William C. “Buster” Bailey was born July 19, 1902, in Memphis, Tennessee. Bailey learned the rudiments of clarinet while a student in the city’s public
As I write this on the longest day of the year, I feel like I’ve just lived through the longest week of the year. We’re
The music community is saddened by the incalculable loss of legendary entertainer, broadcaster, and ragtime scholar Max Morath, who died at the age of 96
Guy Lombardo was born Gaetano Alberto Lombardo on June 19, 1902, in London, Ontario. Encouraged by their father, Lombardo (who played violin) and his brothers
As I wrote the thumbnail bio of Guy Lombardo for the Jazz Birthday of the Month today, I had vague feelings of déjà vu. This
We often hear stories of various wunderkinder who, as soon as their pudgy toddler hands become articulated enough to thump keys on a keyboard, play
On April 18, The Syncopated Times reported that its GoFundMe campaign had received donations over the amount of $15,000, surpassing one-quarter of the $60,000 it
I have always found it difficult to ask for assistance, even when I have clearly needed it. This reluctance to accept help may be an
Johnny Dodds was born April 12, 1892, in Waveland, Mississippi. Johnny spent his childhood steeped in music, with his father, uncle, and sister playing various
Miff Mole was born Irving Milfred Mole in what is now Roosevelt, Long Island, on March 11, 1898. Miff studied violin and piano before switching
Years ago I read a clever story And it inspired the song that I will sing: Time-travelers sought prehistoric glory, Went back, and changed a
If I’ve learned anything in the almost sixty-one years I’ve been on this planet—and it’s doubtful I have—it’s that I’m destined to be the guy
The Directors of AFCDJS in San Diego have decided to discontinue their annual Jazz Festival and to suspend monthly concerts. Since 1980, the San Diego
Wilbur Sweatman was born February 7, 1882 in Brunswick, Missouri. His older sister Eva sparked Wilbur’s interest in music, teaching him to play piano. Later,
Art Salzfass, a resident of the Rossmoor Retirement Community in Walnut Creek, California, has a unique mission. Art, along with other members of the Rossmoor
Artificial stupidity will never replace the real thing. This motto, of which I should commission an embroidered sampler, is brought home to me on a
Jazz guitar virtuoso, bandleader, composer, and teacher Carmen Caramanica died January 16, 2023; he was 77 years old. Carmen was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in
Al Bowlly was born January 7, 1898, in Lourenço Marques (today Maputo) in Mozambique. His father was Greek and his mother was Lebanese. They met
In the interval between publishing the previous issue and the current one, a little something called ChatGPT has come into being. It bids fair to
William Alexander “Sonny” Greer was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, on December 13, 1895 (according to most sources). Sonny Greer met and befriended Edward
There are months (and this is one of them) when I feel I am at best a poor servant of Jazz. I’m like one of
William Henry Joseph Bonaparte Bertholoff Smith was born on November 25, 1897, in Goshen, New York. Young Willie began playing piano when he was six
It may happen that there are musicians where you live who shine as brilliantly on their instruments as any who have achieved great fame in
In this dim and chilly season, as snowbirds migrate south and leaves fall from the trees, I turn from my preoccupation with my own foibles