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Jack Sheldon, a top West Coast Jazz trumpet player who went on to a television career died on December 27th, he was 88. Several generations
After Hurricane Katrina clarinetist Evan Christopher spent two years in Paris exploring the legacy of Django Reinhardt. The result was a band joining Christopher’s classic
The following remembrances ran in our pages this year.
Charlie Halloran is one of the most in demand and reliable trombone players in the tight knit network of young trad jazz players in New
At 41 reedman David Lukács has already been playing the classic jazz circuit internationally for over 20 years. In 1998 he won the Kobe Jazz
A new release from Frog and Henry feels as real and exciting to me as taking home a fresh pile of 78s. Started as a
Together since 1971, The Galvanized Jazz Band has had an amazingly stable line up but they’ve also enticed many friends to join them on stage.
David Horniblow, clarinet, Andrew Oliver, piano, Nicholas D. Ball, percussion. If you’ve been reading my reviews for the last few months you’ll know that this
“Wow, wow, wow! He knew everybody!” That was my impression through the first half of Clive Wilson’s new memoir about chasing his love of traditional
Allan Vaché is a veteran of the Jim Cullum Jazz Band and appeared for years on the Riverwalk Jazz radio show. He is known for
Thomas Lee Duncan, the eponymous Dr. Dubious, died on November 29th, he was 81. A clarinet player, he was born in Cleveland, OH but relocated
Eastern Europe, and Poland in particular are crazy about jazz. Joanna Morea, a Polish singer and instrumentalist, is publicly recognizable in a way that just
Dr. John V. Phelan, Jr. passed away on November 28th in Massachusetts, he was 95. He served in the Navy during WWII and reenlisted into
The Southside Aces have been serving up hot New Orleans jazz in Minneapolis since the early 2000’s. They were mentored by Charlie Devore and Bill
The Peanuts Gang Trio is perfectly situated to play comforting yet titillating festive music. They’ve been together in the Reno Nevada area since 2015, initially
There’s something about Christmas that brings out the best in people. That spirit permeates even when you recreate Christmas in August by shuffling most of
Inspired by a record store find many years ago Guillaume Nouaux has finally brought his most ambitious project to fruition. The inspirational records were two
Glenn Crytzer has done it again! In 2018 we were so impressed by his double album, Ain’t it Grand, that we reviewed it, twice, put
Michael McQuaid is an Australian multi instrumentalist now resident in London and a member of the Vitality Five. His hot jazz chops go back to
Trombonist Roy Martin Brewer, Jr. passed away on September 28, 2019, he was 89. His father was a major figure in the Hollywood union movement
With a contemporary New Orleans sound drawing on funk, brass, and even calypso you’d never suspect the Soggy Po’ Boys hailed from Dover, New Hampshire.
Cornetist Allan Kennedy Colter, of Guelph, Ontario passed away on July 20th, he was 91. He played with the Cameo Dixieland Jazz Band and other
Anne Phillips has had a life in music if not always on record. Her career as a jazz singer began as a high schooler in
If the name Olive Brown doesn’t ring any bells you can forgive yourself. She wasn’t a Golden Age blues singer or even a chanteuse of
There’s no shortage of new Christmas Jazz, Christmas Swing, or even Christmas Death Metal. But Halloween music has gotten the short end of the femur
Trombonist, vibraphonist, composer, and bandleader George Masso died Tuesday, October 22, 2019, he was 92. The son of a trumpet-playing bandleader, George Masso’s musical education
The story of the Riverboat Stompers begins in 1990 among an extended group of trad jazz players filling in a regular gig under the generic
This is Champian Fulton‘s 11th release, and the fourth we’ve covered since launching in 2016. What’s different about this one is the intimate setting for
Nick Tosches, a music journalist who wrote several important biographies as well seven novels died on Sunday, October 20th, he was 69. He began selling
The California Feetwarmers were recommended to me by no less than Vince Giordano of the Nighthawks and Robin Rapuzzi of Tuba Skinny. I’ve long enjoyed
When I heard the name Tenement Jazz Band my first thought was “I bet they’re from Scotland”. I was hoping Glasgow, where twenty years ago
“Listening jazz that just happens to be great for dancing” is the gist of one recommendation I read about Jack’s Cats, a surprising group of
Nathaniel Holmes Morison, III, of Welbourne, Middleburg, Virginia, died October 10th, he was 83. After completing his schooling he returned to Welbourne to run the
St. Louis has deep roots in American musical history. It was the cradle of classic ragtime and a destination city for jazz age riverboats. During
Veronica Swift and the Emmet Cohen Trio have been working together a lot recently. They specialize in Great American Songbook material, presenting an authentic mix
With reservations, I’ve chosen to weigh in on the debate started last month by the publisher’s monthly column asking: Is the term “Dixieland Jazz” racist?
Highly skilled trios are common enough playing advanced swing or thoughtful chamber jazz and the members of Three Blind Mice are certainly capable of both.
The Revisionists’ debut album captures a classic vocal swing sound you wouldn’t think possible. Like an early 50s Anita O’Day lp that becomes a house
I had the wrong idea about the Ulysses Jasz Band. When I popped in their album I was expecting a hot West Coast style band.
Syncopated Times readers will remember Svetlana from her hot band The Delancy Five, who are a staple of the New York traditional jazz scene and
We belatedly note the passing of the excellent trombonist Jimmy Haislip, of St. Louis, who died on December 31, 2017 at 81. He started his
Jimmy Mazzy has been well known in the traditional jazz world since the early 1970s. He’s played banjo for The Paramount Jazz Band of Boston,
For the third year, the Preservation Hall Foundation has held an award ceremony inducting important New Orleans musicians into their Legacy Program and announcing their
If you’ve heard even 30 seconds of this album you’ve probably already run off to buy it. Every moment of this record is chillingly good
Bill Evans, passed away on September 10th after a battle with cancer, he was 83. In the 1950s he was a founding member of the
A Summer Night’s Magic, on Rivermont Records, is a set of piano solos by blind virtuoso Ed Clute, performed at his home in Watkins Glen,
Did you watch the record party scene in Ghostworld with longing envy? Then a new trend in organized 78 RPM spinning sessions might be right
Tom Pletcher, the leading interpretter of Bix Beiderbecke of his generation died in August at 83. Tom Pletcher’s ties to jazz went back two generations.
I’m breaking some of my own rules in sharing this album with you. For one I’ve no certainty that this band will be around for
Larger groups of musicians appearing under a shared name in different places are nothing new to jazz. It goes back at least as far as
Tex Rubinowitz and Bob Newscaster’s Original Dixieland Rock ‘N’ Roll Band is the result of an idea nurtured over twenty years. Tex was a superstar
Patrick von Wiegandt is a whirlwind. You’ll spot him in Hollywood, then London, then Hawaii, then New York, and everywhere he lands he seems to
The Big Chris Barber Band will carry on but Chris Barber has decided that at 89 its time to retire from full time playing. Barber
There have been few more important, or more successful advocates of Dixieland jazz in the last half-century than cornetist Jim Cullum, Jr. who died on
In an era when many review copies come as downloads, or even streaming links, I was overjoyed to receive an exceptionally packaged LP with equally
Two complementary musicians with distinct approaches to career “rendezvous in a Manhattan apartment” and record spontaneous arrangements of American Songbook material. Grand piano and snare
Jazz revival clarinet and saxophonist Bob Wilber, who explored the sound of Sidney Bechet, and at times stood beside him died August 4th, he was
Last year we learned about an annual event in Sunnyside Queens too late to help spread the word. But this year we’re on it, and
The Mad Hat Hucksters are a cornerstone of the Swing Dance scene in San Diego and they’ve recently begun to appear at many of the
Art Neville, a star of New Orleans music through several dramatic evolutions died July 22, he was 81. Known as Poppa Funk he grew up
The Complete Morton Project refers not to the completeness of this particular album but to the lofty goal of its participants to learn and record
The Chicago Cellar Boys simmer in that same stew of early recordings, having listened beyond what makes it onto compilation discs, and it makes the jazz they play all the hotter.
Ricky Alexander is the quintessential New York jazzman of the twenty-teens. After being exposed to civic and legacy bands while growing up in the DC
Last August I highlighted albums from several hot young jazz groups in Europe. I took special notice of The Dizzy Birds, a group that I
The Wolverine Jazz band has been providing hot traditional jazz all over the North East and at festivals nationwide for almost 25 years. They’ve maintained
A veteran of the New York City Jazz scene known for taking deep dives into the American Songbook Daryl Sherman delivers on her latest album,
