Scott Yanow

Kid Ory was one of the most important early jazz trombonists, leading legendary early groups in New Orleans during the 1910-20 period that had such

A superb guitarist in the Django Reinhardt style, Angelo DeBarre (who was born in 1962), has been a major force in the European jazz scene

Sidney Bechet (1897-1959) was one of the true masters of not only New Orleans jazz but all of jazz history. While the soprano-saxophonist and clarinetist’s

Samoa Wilson is a singer with a real feel for vintage material. She has had a long association with guitarist-singer and jug band leader Jim

Gene Austin (1900-72) was arguably the first great crooner. During a period when many of the male pop singers used on pop and jazz recordings

While many of the studio recordings from the prime years of the British trad movement (1950-65) have been superbly compiled and reissued by the Lake

A casual listen to Paul Bocciolone Strandberg’s Narcisse Jazz Band’s Look At The World And Smile reveals an excellent eight piece group consisting of cornet,

During 1913-14 the African-American bandleader James Reese Europe recorded eight groundbreaking selections with his Society Band, some of which contained basic improvising and the strong

Of all of the swing era big bands, only two were together nonstop into the 1970s: Duke Ellington and Les Brown. Ellington kept his high-priced

The St. Louis Steady Grinders is a duo comprised of Ethan Leinwand’s piano and singer Valerie Kirchhoff. While Ms. Kirchhoff has been performing in the

Stu Pletcher (1907-78) was never a major name and he had a surprisingly brief career in the spotlight. His son, Tom Pletcher, had a more

When it comes to performing music from the 1920s and ’30s, there are several viable approaches. Some musicians closely copy the arrangements and sometimes the

During 1948-55, trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton led what was arguably the top British traditional jazz band. His group, which teamed him with clarinetist Wally Fawkes, performed

As an alto-saxophonist, arranger, composer and bandleader, not to mention trumpeter, Benny Carter (1907-2003) recorded many classics during his 70-year career (1927-97). Further Definitions is

While vocal groups are very common in pop music, jazz vocal groups have always been rarer. Duchess is a collaboration between singers Amy Cervini, Hilary

Kenny Ball (1930-2013) was one of the top stars of the British Trad Jazz movement. A colorful trumpeter, a personable singer, and a witty personality

Even experts on jazz history may not be that acquainted with Johnny Letman (1917-92). An excellent swing trumpeter who also had a bit of New

Of all of the New Orleans players associated with Wynton Marsalis, clarinetist Dr. Michael White has been the most consistently involved in playing traditional New

When Django Reinhardt passed away in 1953, almost no guitarists in the world sounded like him. His influence was far overshadowed by that of Charlie

Trad jazz was so popular in England by the early 1960s that it is not surprising that its top musicians and bands appeared in quite

British trombonist-bandleader Chris Barber, who recently turned 90, retired from playing last year after a 70-year career. But even though he has stopped performing, it

Clarinetists Acker Bilk and Wally Fawkes both carved out important niches in the traditional jazz world of Great Britain. After a period working with Ken

Throughout his life, Scott Joplin sought to have his ragtime music accepted as American art rather than have it considered mere entertainment. It was a

Jesper Thilo, who was a month shy of his 78th birthday when he recorded Swing Is The Thing in 2019, has been an important swing-based

One of the finest clarinetists of the past 30 years, Tim Laughlin long ago developed his own sound within the New Orleans jazz tradition, inspired

Cliff Jackson (1902-70) was one of the great stride pianists to emerge from the 1920s. Despite that, Jackson recorded exclusively during 1924-27 as an accompanist

Veteran clarinetist and saxophonist Bob Fanelli pays tribute to Louis Armstrong on a CD with the Dixie Boys. The performances are not strict re-creations and

Recently I picked up a used self-titled LP by a group called Wholly Cats since it had some potentially hot swing performances on it. Only

Rarely has one musician made such a difference. When Louis Armstrong moved from Chicago to New York in September 1924 to join Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra,

When it comes to reviewing recordings by tenor-saxophonist Scott Hamilton, all one really has to say is that a particular release is “what you expect,”

Here is a group and a leader who I know nothing about and are not listed in jazz discographies. In 2012, Ted Shafer, who ran

Fred Hunt was most notable for being the longtime pianist with trumpeter Alex Welsh’s Eddie Condon-influenced band in the 1950s and ’60s. An excellent stride

While trumpeter Sonny Morris gets the first billing on this collection from Upbeat (which is titled Sonny Morris & Friends In Germany with Lutz Eikelmann),

Among the Jazz Oracle CDs that are now being made available by the Upbeat Company is Jack Teagarden’s 1930 Studio Sessions. In a parallel universe

While Lu Watters was the leader of the pioneering and highly influential Yerba Buena Jazz Band starting in 1941, he retired prematurely in 1950 to

While Dick Hyman has often concentrated in recent decades on playing classic jazz, stride and swing, he is a very rare pianist in that he

Clancy Hayes was a unique figure in jazz history, one of its first singer/songwriters and an underrated and versatile musician. He was part of the

While the classic Red Nichols and his Five Pennies sessions are in the Brunswick series, Nichols was so prolific during the 1920s that there is

In Jan. 1934, trombonist Jack Teagarden, in what he thought was a very good move that would let him ride out the Depression, signed a

When one listens to the 27 selections on Grey Gull Rarities, it is easy to conclude that Grey Gull was one of the top jazz

The Jazz Oracle label, which was recently purchased by Upbeat, has a very valuable catalog of 1920s jazz that fortunately Upbeat is making widely available.

Normally in this column I limit the reviews to prebop music, but trumpeter Bruce Adams and altoist-clarinetist Alan Barnes are such versatile musicians that I

Three of the greatest and most popular British trad jazz bands were led by trombonist Chris Barber, trumpeter Kenny Ball, and clarinetist Acker Bilk. Each

The Swingsations, a quintet based in Southern California, was founded in 1995 by its leader trumpeter-singer Jim Ziegler. The group originally consisted of Ziegler, Phil

Don Vappie has had quite a career as a banjoist, guitarist, bassist, singer, arranger-composer, educator, lecturer, record and event producer, and expert about all aspects

Eubie Blake had such a unique career that he fits into his own musical category. A near-contemporary of Scott Joplin, Blake was a ragtime composer

Throughout his career, clarinetist George Lewis was a bit of a chameleon. His sound and New Orleans jazz style were virtually unchanged from the time

Phil Napoleon was one of the important jazz pioneers. The trumpeter was among the very first musicians based in New York who knew how to

From the 1920s into the 1950s it was not unusual for two skilled pianists to perform duets of arranged music that, while inspired by the

One of the hottest bands of the late 1920s was the Missourians. The nine-piece group, which had earlier been Andy Preer’s Cotton Club Orchestra and

One of the top ragtime orchestras of the past decade, the Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra is a 12-piece ensemble conducted and led by Andrew Greene

Bob Scobey (1916-63) was a solid trad jazz player who initially gained some recognition for his playing as second trumpeter with Lu Watters’ very influential

Since 2002, pianist Mike Jones, a virtuoso with a forward-looking swinging style that would easily appeal to fans of Oscar Peterson, has been the warm-up

It seems only natural that someone with the name of Eliot Reinhardt Kenin would someday grow up to be a swing guitarist. The leader of

Australian trombonist Chris Ludowyk has loved and played New Orleans style jazz since at least his debut recording (with Lachie Thompson’s New Whispering Gold Orchestra)

Luckey Roberts (1887-1968) was one of the greatest of all stride pianists but he barely made it onto records. Other than backing singer Eddie Hunter

Tongue In Cheek is a fine trad band that is based in Baltimore and Washington D.C. The core of the group is banjoist-leader Zach Serleth,