Classic Vanguard Small Group Swing Sessions
Scott Yanow
March 1, 2025
With the rapid evolution of jazz and the emphasis on coming up with new ways to play the music, there have been periods when certain
With the rapid evolution of jazz and the emphasis on coming up with new ways to play the music, there have been periods when certain
Duke Ellington’s compositions have been sung so often, particularly those that he wrote prior to the early 1950s, that it is surprising that it was
Ricky Riccardi, who has his dream job as the Director of Research Collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum, began his trilogy of definitive Louis
Albany Leon “Barney” Bigard was born in New Orleans on March 3, 1906. Bigard began on the E-flat clarinet when he was seven. He took
Throughout his career and during the nearly 60 years since his death, Paul Whiteman (1890-1967) and his music have been both overrated and underrated. The
By the time that the concert on Live In Paris (from Apr. 24, 1962) was performed, Louis Armstrong had been a world traveler for quite
JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH The music at the Super Bowl halftime shows are famous for being pretty forgettable (some would say horrendous) except for
It may seem surprising that Duke Ellington, who took over Elmer Snowden’s Washingtonians in 1924, did not have a regular vocalist until late in 1931.
Harry “The Hipster” Gibson (1915-91) was a unique character in jazz history. In some ways he was the jazz equivalent to rock and roll’s Jerry
Jazz Classic of the Month The Jubilee radio shows, which were aired during 1942-53 and were at their prime during 1943-46, were geared towards African-American
[The EP referenced in the below review is now sold as a full 11 track album called Winter’s Day.] Gunhild Carling is a bit of
In recent columns for The Syncopated Times, I have reviewed reissues compiled by Alan Eichler for the Jasmine label of Nat and Freddie Cole’s lesser-known
A consistently stirring trumpeter who caught the tail-end of the trad jazz boom in England and has since worked as a writer, broadcaster, and the
Terry Waldo, who is now 80, has been a very busy and major classic jazz pianist and bandleader since the mid-1960s, several years before he
A slight stretch for this column, the Blue Moon Marquee is a spirited New Orleans blues band. On New Orleans Sessions which has the music
There is no point in mincing words. The Joymakers’ Down Where The Bluebonnets Grow is one of the hottest jazz records of the year. The
Teddy Wilson always stood apart from the stereotypes attached to jazz musicians of the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s. He was soft-spoken, distinguished, reliable, and very
To say that Artie Shaw (1910-2004) was a unique individual would be an understatement. A perfectionist who mastered the clarinet, Shaw treated his musicians well
Johnny Guarnieri and Harry Warren had one main thing in common. When one thinks of the great jazz pianists, Guarnieri is often overlooked while lists
In the current jazz scene, there are a countless number of talented female jazz-oriented singers, as opposed to just a handful of male jazz singers.
JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH In Duke Ellington’s remarkably productive career, 1953-55 is considered by some to be his “off period” despite musical evidence to
