Jazz Jottings April 2020
Lew Shaw March 26, 2020
At my advanced age, the thing I like about jazz parties is that they are held in a single venue (usually a hotel ballroom with
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Lew Shaw started writing about music as the publicist for the famous Berkshire Music Barn in the 1960s. He joined the West Coast Rag almost thirty years ago and has been a guiding light to this paper through the two name changes since then as we became The Syncopated Times. 47 of his profiles are collected in Jazz Beat: Notes on Classic Jazz. Volume two, containing profiles from 2013-2016 will be available on Amazon soon. He taps his extensive network of connections and friends throughout the traditional jazz world to bring us his Jazz Jottings column every month.
At my advanced age, the thing I like about jazz parties is that they are held in a single venue (usually a hotel ballroom with
From the dusty recesses of my jazz history archives, I recently came across a slim 32-page pamphlet published in 1942 entitled “America’s Band Leaders” by
One of my favorite songs is “Once in a While.” Or should I say that two of my favorite songs are “Once in a While”
It all began innocently enough in the late 1960s when Dave Oppermann, a business person by day and a sing-along piano player by night, and
The Barbary Coast Dixieland Jazz Band holds a special place in Minnesota music history—and not just because its members were inducted into the Minnesota Music
The Barbary Coast Dixieland Jazz Band holds a special place in Minnesota music history—and not just because its members were inducted into the Minnesota Music
Bucky Pizzarelli turned 94 on January 9th. Lew Shaw interviewed him for this profile when both men were a mere 88. Having a conversation with
As is its annual tradition since 2005, the San Diego Jazz Party conveys the title of “Jazz Legend” on one of its participating musicians. At
Longtime pianist-arranger John Sheridan has assumed leadership of the Jim Cullum Jazz Band, which will continue its bi-weekly gigs at San Antonio restaurants as well
The jazz community lost a true icon with the passing of Jim Cullum in August. In light of Jim’s lifetime commitment to the performance, promotion,
According to Nicki Parrott, the first time she played with pianist Rossano Sportiello and drummer Eddie Metz, Jr. as a trio was a club date
A Re-ordering of Priorities . . . I have been fortunate in chronicling jazz events and personalities for this paper and its predecessors over the
When asked what attracted them to jazz, the response you get from Pete and Will Anderson is “The jazz bug hit us very early on.
When Sam Pilafian was 11, he was told that if he switched from the accordion to the tuba, he would always have friends. When he
Earl A. McKee July 12, 1931-April 11, 2019 How sadly coincidental that charter High Sierra Jazz Band member Earl McKee passed away one day before
Trombonist Russ Phillips has yet to figure out what the word “retirement” means. Even before he retired from his day job as a production and
Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) is celebrated every April in recognition of the significant contribution that jazz music has made to society. First established in 2011
As the High Sierra Jazz Band closes out its 42-year run on the festival circuit this month at their home base in Three Rivers, California,
After making a living as a musician for 48 of his 61 years and having performed in 101 countries around the world, you’d think Danny
In a One Day University lecture, University of Maryland professor of music Anna Celenza identified three musical masterpieces that changed America. Stating that “music does
Connie Jones died in his sleep on February 13, 2019. The following profile ran in the April 2015 edition of our predecessor The American Rag, it
Considering his stature as one of the top swing-oriented drummers and one who uplifted the Count Basie Orchestra of the 1970s, it is surprising that
It has taken two years and $3 million, but the 61,000 items which comprise the Research Collections of the Louis Armstrong House Museum have been
Around five o’clock on Sunday, April 14, 2019, in the Three Rivers Lions Arena in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, when Earl McKee
It is apparent that the story about bandleader Glenn Miller’s disappearance over the English Channel during World War II has no end. The latest version
Paul Daspit has retired as director of the San Diego Thanksgiving Festival, a position he has held since 2011. Taking his place is Bill Adams,
As we go to press, The Syncopated Times has learned that Kenyon Adams, a multi-media performance artist and curator, will be named director of the
For the past 20 years, Dave Robinson has been the leading advocate in promoting the concept that traditional jazz should be a vital part of
Ehud Asherie has definitely taken a circuitous route to becoming a professional musician. The 39-year-old pianist was born in Israel, lived in Italy for six
Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, “Little Eddie” Metz was given his first pair of drumsticks at the age of three
The Map In 1932, E. Simms Campbell, considered the first commercially-successful African-American illustrator, created a map of a two-block area of Harlem between Lenox Avenue
One of the things that interests and intrigues me most as I have interviewed and written about more than 100 musicians in the past decade
It’s a special time for festival goers when they are introduced to a band they haven’t heard before that suddenly gets everyone excited, fills the
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural, social, and artistic explosion that took place in Harlem, New York, spanning the 1920s into the mid-1930s. It was
An Enlightened Jazz Era The Berkshires of Western Massachusetts with its historic landmarks, museums, and performing arts venues have long been a vacation mecca for
Vince Giordano has received the New York Hot Jazz Festival’s first Lifetime Achievement Award. September also marked the fifth anniversary of Vince and his Nighthawks’
If you believe in the tried-and-true, be aware that there are eight festivals and one jazz party coming up in the next two-and-a-half months that
I first heard Turk Murphy’s band back in my sportswriting days when I was in Cleveland, Ohio, to cover a college football game in 1949.
If you’ve ever attended a John Pizzarelli concert, you know you get a lot of conversation and banter along with some swinging tunes and vocals.
Australian-born Adrian Cunningham got hooked on jazz early in life listening to his father’s collection of 78 RPM records. As he began to achieve success
For more than four decades former Stan Kenton lead-trumpeter Mike Vax has traveled the United States and overseas preaching and playing the Jazz Gospel. So
Jim Martinez is a man of many talents who wears many hats. He is a versatile pianist and organist, a Steinway artist, recording artist, concert
After the opera, ballet, and classical music seasons ended at New York City’s Lincoln Center, a magical transformation took place around the bandshell in Damrosch
Clarinetist extraordinaire Ken Peplowski is back performing after six weeks on the DL due to a broken knuckle in his right hand suffered while on
This is a special year for Denver’s Queen City Jazz Band. It’s their diamond anniversary, which means they have been entertaining jazz fans for the
Tony Pringle was a founding member, cornetist, vocalist, and musical leader of the Boston-based New Black Eagle Jazz Band. Originally from Liverpool, England, he was
For the past four years, Pete and Will Anderson have devoted the month of April to a cross-country tour of concert and school performances. Their
Writing about the 60th anniversary of the Queen City Jazz Band got me to wondering where they ranked among the longest continuous-performing trad jazz bands
A study conducted in the U.K. contends that regularly attending live musical events can help extend one’s lifespan. The research determined that 20 minutes at
Ellis Marsalis, Jr., New Orleans, pianist, educator, NEA Jazz Master and the patriarch of a musical family, heads the list of 2018 Jazz Heroes who
Basketball legend and author Kareem Abdul-Jabbar spoke of his love of jazz in his keynote address at the first annual Jazz Congress, held in New
With the continual announcements regarding jazz societies and festivals shutting down, it would appear that the good ship TradJazz is sailing in turbulent waters. But
It was about 15 years ago that I first began to hear rave reports about a young Canadian trumpet player who was taking the Dixieland
Located just off of Interstate 5 in Carlsbad, California, 30 miles north of San Diego, the Museum of Making Music describes itself as the only
The Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band is one of only about a half-dozen bands that can say they have been playing traditional jazz festivals for more
Four generations of reedman Evan Arntzen’s family have been merry music makers. Covering more than 100 years. Evan’s great-grandfather came to North America from Norway
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has officially designated April 30 as International Jazz Day to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role
I was introduced to song stylist Wesla Whitfield at one of her numerous appearances at the Plush Room, a popular San Francisco cabaret, and immediately
The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told, a new documentary film produced by MCG Jazz in Pittsburgh, features the talents of international Jazz Masters George Benson,
KENNETH DIEHL, 96, on Jan. 18 in Scottsdale, AZ. A co-founder of the Arizona Classic Jazz Society, he served as the Society’s first President (and
After 32 years of service, John Edward Haase has stepped down as Curator of American Music at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and
The traditional jazz society in Sacramento lives to see another day! It’s just in a different format. The Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society officially went out
In 2012, Gary Church wrote a 135-page book which he titled The Autobiography of a Nobody: The Life and Times of a Sideman. Hardly an
Following the announcement of the cancellation of the 2018 Sacramento Music Festival, the decision by the Board of Directors of the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society
Marlene VerPlanck, one of the best-known interpreters of the American Popular Songbook died Sunday, January 14, 2018, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital after a brief illness.
Writing in his The Age of Roosevelt three-volume series, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. referred to the Depression days of the early 1930s as
Even from an early age, Nicole Pesce took to the piano like the proverbial duck takes to water: ♫ Beginning at the age of 7,
FRANK GRECO, 88, of congestive heart failure on Nov. 2 in Hemet, Calif. Originally from Warsaw, Indiana, he learned to play the piano and organ
The Cakewalkin’ Jass Band pack Tony Packo’s in Toledo, Ohio, for their 50th anniversary celebration. From left: Russ Damschroeder, trombone; Dave Kosmyna, cornet; Buddy Lopez,
Updates: Olympia’s American Classic Jazz Festival Announces 2019 Return, & Olympia Jazz Festival Names New Director, Will Host Bert Barr Tribute and Last Uptown Lowdown Concert
Dr. Bruce Boyd Raeburn in the record stacks at Tulane’s Hogan Jazz Archive (above) and in his office (top right). (submitted photos) After Bruce Boyd
The sounds of New Orleans were very much in evidence at the 28th annual Arizona Classic Jazz Festival held Nov. 2-5 at the Crowne Plaza
NICHOLAS DENUCCI, 94, on Sept. 9 in Keene, New Hampshire. In his 20s, Nick DeNucci was the pianist for Glen Gray and his Casa Loma
– Not Shellac? Alack! – To the Editor: You mentioned Diamond Discs recently (“A Diamond Disc as Big as the Ritz,” August 2017) and wrote
Chuck Redd has a growing reputation as one of the top performers on the jazz circuit today who is equally adept on the drums and
Earl McKee, beloved tubist and vocalist for the High Sierra Jazz Band, has published his second book. (photo by Amy Heintz) For the past 40