
Roger Marks’ Brass Farthings with Pete Allen • Just Genuine Jazz
The personnel of the CD under review here, Just Genuine Jazz, is almost identical to that of a previous Upbeat Records issue by this same
The personnel of the CD under review here, Just Genuine Jazz, is almost identical to that of a previous Upbeat Records issue by this same
This superb two-disc set honors drummer Arthur J. Singleton, known throughout the jazz world by the nickname “Zutty.” (Trevor Richards says in his liner notes,
As the world emerged from the Great Depression in the 1930s and the outbreak of WWII was looming, in jazz music swing was the thing,
POLYMATH: a person of wide-ranging knowledge or learning. Jazz trumpeter and bandleader Humphrey Lyttelton was an author, broadcaster, illustrator, composer and journalist. A popular radio
With this double CD, Kit Johnson and the Black Swan Classic Jazz Band are on solid ground by aiming the contents at dancers, as is
Standing at some six feet five inches and weighing around 250 lbs, Frank “Big Boy” Goudie (pronounced “Goody”) was an imposing figure on the bandstand,
“This session is not simply a historical record. It’s the culmination of 14 years of gigs, tours, festivals, recording sessions and lots of rehearsal: spontaneous,
After being in failing health for the last couple of years, Phil Kirk died on Oct. 1, 2021. Phil was the leader and trumpet player
In the early days (and perhaps even today for some folks), jazz, particularly the blues, was denigrated as “the devil’s music.” Somewhat ironically this charge
This superb two-disc set honoring bassist Ron Russell consists of material recorded during the 1970s. This is also the first time it has been issued,
When “ragtime” is mentioned, many people—perhaps most—think immediately of piano players. In the early 1900s, ragtime was the domain of piano players. Ragtime was “revived,”
A couple of years ago when reviewing the Missing Pieces CD, I wrote this: Two years from now the New Black Eagle Jazz Band will
The West Coast of the U.S. has long been blessed with a large complement of traditional jazz bands—professional and semi-professional—societies, and festivals, it seems. Before
A number of jazz concerts aired in the U.K. on BBC Radio in the early 1960s while the “trad boom” was underway and rock and
Back in my salad days when I first was becoming interested in jazz, I ran across the wonderful name “Muggsy Spanier.” For some reason, that
For a good many years, now, I have been a fan of Kid Thomas and his various bands; so when I first heard about this
In 2012, Paul Adams of Lake Records issued a three-CD set titled British Traditional Jazz – A Potted History, which consists of 73 tracks in
Since this album is a “retrospective,” drawing from previously recorded and issued material in the thirty year period 1923-1953, Sidney Bechet devotees will undoubtedly already
One of the best known of the British traditional jazz musicians is the late Ken Colyer (1928-1988), and interest in his recorded output has not
Since Chris Barber has retired from playing, one might expect that there would be no more “new” Barber CDs forthcoming, but that would be a
On this recording we hear Humphrey Lyttelton (1921-2008) being just a little retrospective in that he returns to the style of jazz of his early
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen And waste its sweetness on the desert air. ― Thomas Gray, An Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard
It’s not often a traditional jazz band of conventional size—six or seven pieces, usually—lacks a horn in its front line, but such is the case
This CD picks up where the same group’s previous one, Jazz Crusade JCCD3079, left off, the first six tracks here being from that same recording
When “Louisiana” and “music” are mentioned in the same breath, for many people the conjunction suggests “jazz.” But Louisiana is also known for bluegrass, blues,
Following the release about a year ago of the CD New Orleans Jazz: Remembering Doug Kennedy, a tribute to their late banjo/guitarist, the West London
The names of Peter Bocage and Emilé Barnes are not as well known as those of others who figured more prominently in the New Orleans
Aged 90 and now retired from playing, Chris Barber is an institution in the annals of British traditional jazz, having been on the scene since
The French Preservation New Orleans Jazz Band, while not well known in the U.S.A. other than, perhaps, in New Orleans itself, enjoys wide recognition in
Bill Brunskill got involved in the jazz scene about the same time as Chris Barber and members of the Barber band along with others of
This concert for the BBC Jazz Club program opens with what to Chris Barber fans will be the familiar signature tune of the band, “I
Formed on May 5, 1945, just a few days before the official end of WWII, the Dutch Swing College Band is still playing all these
When Lil Hardin Armstrong’s name is mentioned, many, if not most, people probably think immediately of Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five’s piano player or Armstrong’s second
This album is vol. 1, “Then,” of a two-volume set of the Easy Riders Jazz Band on the Jazz Crusade label, titled “Then” and “Now.”
This album is vol. 2, “Now,” of a two-volume set of the Easy Riders Jazz Band, “Then” and “Now,” on the Jazz Crusade label. (“Then”
Despite writing over 600 songs, many of them “hits,” as the booklet notes inform us, Walter Donaldson never seemed to become a household name. This
Seeing that this group is led by trombonist Geoff Cole and also has Tony Pyke on clarinet might prompt one to think of the early
This double-disc set is a reissue of what were originally issued as two separate CDs, titled Jumpin’ in Irigny—JCCD 3110 vol. 1 and JCCD 3111
The recordings on this CD date from the last days of Louis Armstrong’s membership in the King Oliver Creole Jazz Band until the time when
Turk Murphy (1915-1987) was one of the giants of jazz in the San Francisco area, beginning with his tenure in the Lu Watters Yerba Buena
The U.K. has always been fortunate, it seems, in the number of traditional jazz bands that have emerged over the years. One of them is
The story of the beginnings of Preservation Hall in New Orleans is one with a few twists and turns. While many people ascribed the founding
Ever since the advent of George Webb’s Dixielanders in the forties, the UK has been fortunate in its abundance of traditional jazz groups. Dozens have
Francis Joseph Spanier was better known as “Muggsy,’ a nickname he took for himself from John “Muggsy” McGraw, manager of the New York Giants baseball
On this, their fourth, CD, the Golden Eagle Jazz Band demonstrate that they have not strayed from their founding tenet as stated on their on-line
On my infrequent visits to the U.K., I have always tried to take in a jazz festival or two, and each time tried to hear
As the traditional jazz revival got under way in the 1950s and beyond, the impetus to record the various groups, especially those in New Orleans,
When a performance is recorded on location rather than in a studio, certain hazards with the sound quality loom, and they are not completely mitigated
Having recorded with various jazz bands and orchestras over the years, Sister Rosetta Tharpe was well-known to jazz fans. In addition to her appearances with
The usual complement of the Pete Allen band is six or seven pieces, but on this disc we have subsets of the usual number, some
The performances on this CD were taken from recordings made at several concerts during the band’s tours of Germany in the early seventies and from
All of the New Orleans jazz pioneers stressed that the music they played was for dancing, not just for listening. The group on this CD
Tom Stagg informs us in the CD booklet, “This session was recorded during the annual Ken Colyer Trust visit to New Orleans and was listed
Formed in 2003 in Grenada, Spain, the Potato Head Jazz Band has stayed somewhat under the radar—my radar, at least—until now, and that is unfortunate
For several decades, now, Ted Shafer has been something of an institution in traditional jazz in the San Francisco Bay Area. The message on his