Russ Tarby is based in Syracuse NY and writes about jazz for The Syncopated Times, The Syracuse New Times, The Jazz Appreciation Society of Syracuse (JASS) JazzFax Newsletter, and several other publications.
We’re all familiar with the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and the French Quarter Festival, two of the Crescent City’s most popular celebrations of
It all began late last spring after singer Ellynne Rey experienced a spate of unusual “life” bird sightings as well as striking rarities such as
The Dirty River Dixie Band is a traditional, New Orleans-style jazz band hailing from San Antonio, where the group was mentored by veteran cornetist Jim
One of New Orleans’ most unabashedly entertaining jazz combos—the Dukes of Dixieland—started out in the late 1940s strictly as a family affair featuring brothers Frank
Back in October 2016, I was lucky enough to catch a couple sets of Jeff Barnhart playing piano duets with British-born boogie woogie master Carl
Bolden—the movie about the ill-fated New Orleans cornetist Charles “Buddy” Bolden, who pioneered jazz circa 1900—was originally scheduled for release in 2008. Six years later,
An all-ages audience of more than 150 attended the world premiere reading of Bunk Johnson – Out of the Shadows on Saturday, November 10, 2018,
New One-Act Play by Ifa Bayeza Chronicles the Life of the Tale-telling Trumpeter The American playwright Ifa Bayeza—author of The Ballad of Emmett Till, which
‘Don’t You Feel My Leg!’ Maria Muldaur, the jug-band chanteuse who scored a surprise pop hit with 1973’s “Midnight at the Oasis,” released her 41st
Jacksonville’s First Couple of Jazz When a hot horn man who once led the Dukes of Dixieland married a velvety-voiced Southern belle with exceptional musical
Runnin’ Wild at Réveillon From Christmas to Twelfth Night, the final week of December and the first week of January are among the most festive
Collegetown Chronicles When your repertoire boasts more than 1,000 tunes, you never know what you’re going to play next. “That’s kind of true,” says Ithaca,
Don Hunt 1930-2018 The last surviving member of the original Syracuse Salt City Five – Don Hunt – died Aug. 5 in Lyons, N.Y. at
Jeru’s Journey is the first definitive biography of Gerry Mulligan. Most jazz fans likely know him as an outstanding baritone saxophone player but he was
Jeff Stockham’s Authentic Jazz Syracuse, New York trumpeter Jeff Stockham delivers bold tones, bright as a blaze, round as a bell, and as incisive as
Avant-garde trumpeter Ted Daniel had been blowing jazz licks for more than a half-century when he experienced an unexpected epiphany while touring Europe in 2009.
Two of the hottest brassmen of the Jazz Age – Bix Beiderbecke and Louis Armstrong – will be fondly remembered this month at two separate
Central New York’s longtime diva of Dixieland, Marilyn “Mimi” Drake Osmun, died May 17 at Loretto Geriatric Center, Syracuse. Mimi was born in Syracuse
Related Stories: Tony Pringle, Founding Member of the New Black Eagle Jazz Band, has Passed posted 5/4/18 Remembering Tony Pringle, 1936-2018 Printed 6/1/18 While mourning the
The Original Cornell Syncopators, from left: Sarah Cohn-Manik, Lior Kreindler, Hannah Krall, Colin Hancock, Niki Love, Robbert VanRenesse, Amit Mizrahi, Rishi Verma, Stephen Newcomb, Noah
Frank Vignola On March 30, 2017, musician Frank Vignola—one of the world’s best Django Reinhardt-style guitarists—broke multiple bones after an all-terrain vehicle accident threw his
Swinger! A Jazz Girl’s Adventures from Hollywood to Harlem By Judy Carmichael C&D Productions, Sag Harbor, N.Y. (www.judycarmichael.com) 262 pages; $18.95/softcover Stride pianist extraordinaire Judy
The syndicated weekly radio show Judy Carmichael’s Jazz Inspired is partnering with the Patchogue Theatre, 71 E. Main St., in Patchogue, N.Y., on the south
Anat Cohen (fourth from right) and her Tentet are set to play at Saratoga. (photo by Aline Muller; courtesy www.anatcohen.com) For more than three decades,
Dick Ames fell in love with jazz when it was America’s popular music in the 1930s, went on to play cornet with a college dance
Rising from the Rails: Pullman Porters and the Making of the Black Middle Class, by Larry Tye (2004, Henry Holt & Co., New York; 315
New Jersey Jazz Society starts 2018 in style with Big Apple all-stars They’ll be jumpin’ for joy in Jersey in January when a seven of
(Photo: commons.wikimedia.org) Wynton Marsalis thinks he’s on the right track at Lincoln Center. The talented New Orleans jazz trumpeter initiated a jazz program at Lincoln
There’s plenty of great music to help us celebrate Christmas, but my all-time favorite holiday album has to be Leon Redbone’s Christmas Island. Leon burst
“Sugar Willie” Erickson and Don Van Palt at Shakey’s Pizza. (photo courtesy Don Van Palt) Pizza Parlor Polyphony Italian-Americans were instrumental in the creation of
From Elvis to Ella, from Crosby to Sinatra, from Nat King Cole to Dean Martin, each of these American artists created Christmas albums worth spinning
Saxophonist Sarah Spencer (photo by John Herr) From New England to Old England Relocated to her native London, Sarah Spencer revisits the States with her
Tokyo native making her bones in old New Orleans Like a cyclone from across the Pacific, trombonist Haruka Kikuchi blew away audiences at last year’s
Good Music for Bad Guys Vince Giordano featured in Wizard of Lies, the new HBO film about Wall Street schemer Bernie Madoff New York City’s
It’s hard to believe this was David Fulmer’s debut novel because it’s so taut the tension itself turns the pages. For lovers of early jazz,
African American Song Writers In the 19th century, African-American tunesmiths struggled to have their compositions published. The institution of slavery had only ended during the
Second Line Syracuse Mardi Gras may be over, but we can still celebrate the good-time music of old New Orleans. Second Line Syracuse, an eight-piece
Former Frank Sinatra musical director Vincent Falcone, died March 24, in Torrance, California. He was 79. An extremely talented and versatile pianist, Falcone was diagnosed
How’d you like to watch an up-close-and-personal conversation with the late clarinetist Kenny Davern or the pianist Marian McPartland? How about listening to Bucky Pizzarelli
Lift Every Voice: The History of African American Music by Burton W. Peretti Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (rowman.com) Cloth $58; Paper or Digital $32 While
This is The Festival Roundup as printed in our April 2017 issue, the most recent Roundup can be found here, our Interactive Event Calendar is located at
Ragged but Right musicologists Lynn Abbott and Doug Seroff carry readers on a rousing roller-coaster ride from carnivals to tent shows to vaudeville as they
A Spectacular Centenary Concert April 1 will mark the 100th anniversary of the death of ragtime composer Scott Joplin, who died in a Manhattan sanitarium
Banjo Hall of Famer Cynthia Sayer and veteran vocalist René Marie will perform when Jack Kleinsinger’s Highlights In Jazz, continues its 45th season at 8
This is The Festival Roundup as printed in our March 2017 issue, the most recent Roundup can be found here, our Interactive Event Calendar is located at
Tenor titan is a team-player When he was a kid growing up in Rhode Island, Harry Allen played the hot corner. Now he plays a
Voters in the third annual JazzBuffalo Poll chose the Fredtown Stompers as the Queen City’s best traditional jazz group. More than 2,200 ballots were cast.
‘Oh! Didn’t He Ramble!’ Tom Jacobsen, the author of three important studies of contemporary New Orleans jazz, died Jan. 15, at his home in St.
Jazz ‘just happens’ When the JazzHappensBand returns “(Back Home Again) in Indiana,” the seven musicians turn a warm homecoming into a hot happening. First, trumpeter
Canadian guitarist and banjo player Warren Stirtzinger died Dec. 4, 2016, in St. Catharines, Ontario. He was 65 years old. Stirtzinger was a member of
Vince Giordano knows his way around a soundstage. The leader of New York City’s Grammy-winning band The Nighthawks lives in Brooklyn, but he’s also right
The New Orleans Jazz Scene, 1970–2000: A Personal Retrospective by Thomas W. Jacobsen LSU Press, $25.00 The New Orleans Jazz Scene Today by Thomas W.
With lyrics by Joan Javits, the niece of U.S. Sen. Jacob Javits, the 1953 song “Santa Baby” was a tongue-in-cheek Christmas-wish list sung by a
Raised in Melbourne, Australia, Simon Wettenhall rebelled against his family’s preference for classical music. “I was the renegade,” he says. Once he heard a Louis
DANNY BARKER BANJO & GUITAR FESTIVAL. (New Orleans, La.) – Jan. 12-15. The third annual Danny Barker Banjo and Guitar Festival will get under way
Peter Ford holds down the bottom for the Baby Soda Jazz Band playing a single-string box bass of his own creation. He started out on
ARIZONA CLASSIC JAZZ FESTIVAL. (Chandler, Ariz.) – Nov. 3-6. Staged at the classy Crowne Plaza San Marcos Golf Resort in Chandler, Ariz., the 27th annual
The idea was always to bring the music to the people. Over its nine years in existence, New York City’s Baby Soda Jazz Band has
The final party was staged April 22-24, at the Doubletree by Hilton Atlanta, in Roswell, Ga., and showcased talents such as clarinetist Evan Christopher, trumpeter
She may be just 22 years of age, but jazz singer Veronica Swift is no novice. The daughter of veteran jazz pianist Hod O’Brien and
When the Chicago Hot Six takes the stage, you never know what you’ll hear! Could be the spiritual “Lead Me Savior” or the multi-strain ragtime
Making movies with Woody Allen movies is getting to be old hat for bandleader Vince Giordano. The collaboration between the auteur and the musician goes
The Avalon Jazz Band featuring vocalist Tatiana Eva-Marie made its Jazz at Lincoln Center debut May 31, at the renowned Dizzy’s Club, in New York
Located in the heart of New York City, right off Times Square on Restaurant Row, SWING46 Jazz & Supper Club is preparing to celebrate nearly
‘Seismic’ blues singer raises the Yerba Buena Stompers to new heights Why does Ida sing the blues? It’s like asking why the moon glows, and
A jazz documentary film called They Died Before 40 has been produced and directed by Howard E. Fischer – the founder of the New York
When the 15th annual Rochester International Jazz Festival concludes on Saturday, July 2, that night’s headliner will be a solid-sending son of old New Orleans.
Former Salt City Six manager Arnie Koch has dubbed drummer and longtime mainstay Danny D’Imperio as “Treasure Hunter of the Year” for discovering the master
When Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle’s Shuffle Along made its Broadway debut in 1921, it ran for an amazing 504 performances and launched the careers
Syracuse, New York’s hottest trumpeter is taking a stroll down the sweet side of the street. Brass-instrument Brahmin Jeff Stockham—a member of the Salt City
For decades, they called it the Bix Bash. Since its inception in 1966, hundreds of Dixieland fans flocked to Central New York’s yearly multi-band celebrations
After marrying his fourth wife, Lucille Wilson, in 1942, trumpeter Louis Armstrong was ready to settle down. Now the modest house on 107th street in
As usual, they’ve had entirely too much fun down in the Big Easy last month. The 33rd annual French Quarter Festival drew more than 760,000
A galaxy of contemporary jazz stars—including saxman Harry Allen, vocalist Freddy Cole, guitarist Gene Bertoncini, pianist Ted Rosenthal, and singer Carol Sloane—will light up the
FRENCH QUARTER FESTIVAL. (New Orleans, La.) – April 7-10. The French Quarter Festival in New Orleans began as a neighborhood gathering more than 30 years
Vince Giordano, bandleader of New York City’s Grammy-winning hot jazz band The Nighthawks, is no stranger to the world of film-making. He has appeared in