Arnold Koch, the former manager of the Salt City Five (later the Salt City Six) died Jan. 13 at his home in Melrose, Mass. He
Lew Shaw thanks his lucky stars that he was born in 1926. That meant he came of age—as a man and as a music fan—at
In the 1930s, Louis Armstrong was sittin’ on top of the world. Fronting big bands such as Carroll Dickerson’s Windy City outfit and Luis Russell’s
–The 1947 film New Orleans altered jazz history by inspiring Louis Armstrong to form his small-group All-Stars, a format he maintained for the rest of
With public gatherings (including concerts and festivals) banned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, live music has faded into a mere memory. Orlando, Florida, jazzman Charlie
Annabelle Allan Short, known professionally as Annie Ross, died on July 21 in New York City, four days ahead of her 90th Birthday. She was
Update: Annie Ross Died on July 21st, 2020. As vocalese pioneer Annie Ross approaches her 90th birthday on July 25, she finds herself in need
A Happy Accident that Lasted a Lifetime For most of his musical career, Upstate New York banjoman Dick Sheridan has made his bones with trad-jazz
The Fillius Jazz Archive, a priceless oral-history collection at Hamilton College, is 25 years old this March. Under the guidance of saxophonist-educator Monk Rowe, the
Mardi Gras dates back thousands of years to pagan celebrations of spring and fertility, such as the raucous Roman festivals of Saturnalia and Lupercalia. When
Lucien Barbarin, a hardworking trombonist and native son of New Orleans succumbed to prostate cancer on Thursday, he was 63. He was diagnosed last March
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
Blue Engine Records has digitally released Jazz for Kids, the latest album from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. Childhood classics such
Who woulda thunk it? When a 95-year old New York City jazz legend teamed up with a 28-year old punk rocker from New Hampshire to
In September 1956, Albany, NY-based clarinetist Skip Parsons played his first gig with his Riverboat Six at the Van Schoick Tavern in Cohoes, N.Y. He
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
