Ma Rainey: Profiles in Jazz
Scott Yanow
August 31, 2026
Of all of the classic blues singers of the 1920s who were able to record, Ma Rainey’s history went back the furthest. In an interview
Of all of the classic blues singers of the 1920s who were able to record, Ma Rainey’s history went back the furthest. In an interview
The Secret Six, named after abolitionist John Brown’s Secret Society of Six of the 1850s, has been playing hot jazz in New Orleans since 2020.
A very skilled British swing and trad trombonist, Roger Marks has, with the release of Bring Me Sunshine, now recorded exactly 100 albums since his
Ireland has never been considered a hotbed of jazz activity but a few impressive players came from that island. Guitarist Louis Stewart (1944-2016) is considered
While the piano-bass-drums trio has been a fixture in jazz since the 1950s, and the instrumentation was first heard on records in 1935 when pianist
JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH Joseph Lamb (1887-1960) is regularly considered one of the “big three” of classic ragtime composers along with Scott Joplin and
Hank O’Neal is most famous in the jazz world for founding and running the consistently superb swing-based Chiaroscuro label and for organizing the Floating Jazz
In the 1940s and especially the 1950s, Anita O’Day (1919-2006) was one of the great jazz singers. Her scatting, placement of notes, and ability to
Kansas City was one of the centers of jazz during the 1920s and ‘30s. One of the main benefits of having a corrupt political boss
JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH Pee Wee Erwin (1913-81) was a solid swing trumpeter who was a bit overshadowed during his long career. While he
Duke Ellington’s orchestra has always been a difficult ensemble for other musicians to emulate closely. Ellington’s band, whether in the 1920s or the ’60s, featured
The two-CD set Accentuate The Positive put out by Songbook Ink contains 21 classics from the Great American Songbook, all of which are familiar songs
Bing Crosby (1903-77) always enjoyed singing with his fellow vocalists. The most popular singer in the world during the 1930s and ’40s and a household
On her previous recording called Brass, Bria Skonberg put the focus on her trumpet playing with only one song including her singing. Her new CD,
Imagine if Jelly Roll and his Red Hot Peppers of 1926 had had the opportunity to record 13 additional selections. What if cornetist George Mitchell,
Marion Harris, Lee Morse, and Teddy Grace had several things in common. Each were talented jazz-oriented singers who are largely forgotten today. They each had
In 1934, trombonist Jack Teagarden joined the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, a few months after his younger brother, trumpeter Charlie Teagarden. It seemed like a good
Warren “Baby” Dodds (1898-1959) can be considered the first influential jazz drummer. While he was preceded on records by Tony Sbarbaro with the Original Dixieland
When one thinks of Will Bradley, the first song that comes to mind is his big hit “Beat Me Daddy, Eight To The Bar.” Recorded
Two previous Turtle Bay releases documented pianist Terry Waldo’s Gotham City Band from 2018 and 2022. Treasury Volume 3 has one selection (“Alice Blue Gown”)
Archeophone’s extensive series of “phonographic yearbooks” has now reached 1924. When one thinks of the music of 1924, Bix Beiderbecke’s recordings with the Wolverines, Louis
