Benny Goodman’s Carnegie Hall Concert 80th Anniversary
Bill Hoffman
April 1, 2018
January 16 marked the 80th anniversary of Benny Goodman’s historic Carnegie Hall concert. The event was commemorated at two New Jersey locations ten days and
January 16 marked the 80th anniversary of Benny Goodman’s historic Carnegie Hall concert. The event was commemorated at two New Jersey locations ten days and
The New York Hot Jazz Fest Stage is a small part of Winter JazzFest, an eight-day event of—as its organizers claim—“communal celebration, open discourse, and
Last March I reported on the Chicken Fat Ball, an annual early January event in Maplewood, NJ. This year’s installment was held on January 7,
Since this is a nationwide newspaper, I normally don’t report on local jazz events unless it’s to draw your attention to a noteworthy individual or
In late October I finished a bicycle trip in New Orleans, where I had allotted two days to indulge my other passion, traditional jazz. I
The New Venue The 46th annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival took place on Thursday, August 3, through Saturday, August 5, at its third change
Davenport The Bix Beiderbecke Museum and Archive opened officially on August 3, the first day of the 46th annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival. It
In June I attended two CD release parties in New York City: trumpeter and vocalist Bria Skonberg’s on the 2nd, and reedmen Will and Peter
I first encountered 15-year-old pianist Daniel Souvigny at last year’s Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, MO. I saw him again a few months later
The Centennial Concert I have attended three historically significant events at Carnegie Hall. The first two were in 1988: on January 16, the re-creation of
Since this is a newspaper of national, indeed worldwide, circulation, I normally do not report on single-day events that readers who live beyond a several-hour
February 26, 2017 is widely, though not universally, recognized as the 100th anniversary of the first recorded jazz. The day was commemorated with many concerts
The 54th Chicken Fat Ball took place on Sunday, January 8 at the former Women’s Club in Maplewood, NJ, a well-to-do suburb about 20 miles
At the Chicken Fat Ball in Maplewood, NJ—the subject of this month’s Jazz Travels column—I saw 12-year-old Henry Acker on guitar with Jason Anick’s band.
As a natural sequel to last month’s column, I traveled to Pittsburgh to interview ragtime pianist and Rivermont Records owner Bryan Wright at his home.
I didn’t have far to travel to write this installment—25 miles to my hometown of York, PA—to interview my friend Bob Erdos. Bob, as many
Like the Central Pennsylvania Ragtime and American Music Festival that I reported on last month, Jeff and Joel’s House Party is a small event in
I write this report with some trepidation, hoping that it will not spoil a good thing. The Central Pennsylvania Ragtime and American Music Festival has
I’m in the advantageous position of being retired and living not all that far from New York City, that hotbed of trad jazz (and, I
I’ve attended the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival in Davenport, Iowa five times, starting in 2001. This year’s installment was perhaps the best ever—top-notch bands
I had heard good things about America’s Classic Jazz Festival in Lacey, WA, but living on the other side of the country, I had never
Sometimes too much of a good thing is, well, too much. That was the case at this year’s Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri.
The first-ever New York Hot Jazz Camp is now in the books. It was conceived, organized, and overseen by my good friends Molly Ryan and
