Since 1975 Scott Yanow has been a regular reviewer of albums in many jazz styles. He has written for many jazz and arts magazines, including JazzTimes, Jazziz, Down Beat, Cadence, CODA, and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, and was the jazz editor for Record Review. He has written an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He has authored 11 books on jazz, over 800 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings. Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He continues to write for Downbeat, Jazziz, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, the Jazz Rag and Jazz Inside.
It has often been said that Louis Armstrong introduced swinging to New York when he joined Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra in mid-1924. Until then, most of
Bassist Jen Hodge is a major part of the swing and trad jazz scene in Vancouver, British Columbia. All’s Fair In Love And Jazz features
Bix Beiderbecke’s death in 1931 at the age of 28 left a hole in jazz along with many “what if” questions. If the cornetist had
Two of the most beloved jazz artists of all time, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, will probably still be household names two centuries from now.
Muggsy Spanier (1901-67) was always predictably exciting in his playing. After he formed his style by the late-1920s, the cornetist never changed his approach and
Clarinetist George Lewis, who would become one of the most popular of New Orleans jazzmen in the 1950s when he toured the world, was a
During the 1921-25 period, it seemed as if every African-American female singer who could carry a tune was being rushed into a recording studio to
In 2018, the Galvanized Jazz Band was hired to fill in for a band for two days at the Trinity-Pawling School in upstate New York.
did some of his most innovative trumpet playing and singing during the 1925-32 period while continuing to grow in power and depth throughout the 1940s
The Galvanized Jazz Band is in their 48th year of existence, having been formed in 1971. A no-nonsense and hard-driving band that is driven by cornetist
Led by sousaphonist Roman Bartnicki, the R.B. Five is a quintet that also features trumpeter Dominik Mietla, trombonist Robert Szczerba, Janusz Witko on clarinet, tenor
During the dozen years that Jack Teagarden had left after leaving the Louis Armstrong All-Stars in 1952, the great trombonist and singer mostly played a
Eric Seddon is a New Orleans-styled clarinetist who plays in the Cleveland area. In 2017 he led a trad invasion of Cleveland’s Bop Stop, an
Evan Arntzen comes from a very musical family. His grandfather played soprano and clarinet, his father is a pianist, his mother is a singer, and
Cornetist Paul Strandberg from Sweden played in the late 1970s and 80s with Scanjazz, the Absalon Orchestra, and the Hot House Jazzmen. Strandberg led Paul
The French cornetist Jean-Pierre Morel has been playing classic jazz at least since 1966 when he made his recording debut with the Famous Melody Boys.
Nat King Cole’s centennial was March 17, resulting in many tribute albums being released this year. However, good as some of those homages are, none
Trombonist Chris Barber formed his first band in 1949 and retired in August 2019. The Big Chris Barber Band will carry on, and continue to
Banjoist Eric Silk may be somewhat forgotten today but during 1955-58 he and his Southern Jazz Band recorded 32 songs for the British Esquire label;
Clarinetist Acker Bilk (1929-2014) will always be best remembered by the general public for his 1962 hit “Stranger On The Shore” which featured his low-register
Trombonist Roger Marks has been a fixture in the British trad/swing scene since at least the late 1970s when he worked with cornetist Rod Mason’s
Back in the early 1970s, small-group swing appeared to be dying a slow death. The survivors of the swing era who had continued to make
The finest jazz guitarist of his short lifetime, Eddie Lang was masterful as both a melodic soloist and a sophisticated accompanist, whether playing bluesy single-note
Always very industrious, Irving Mills was not only Duke Ellington’s manager (also managing Cab Calloway, Fletcher Henderson and the Mills Blue Rhythm Band), a music
(Jazz Classic of the Month) Art Tatum was amazing. Arguably the greatest musician to ever perform jazz, Tatum could play piano with blinding speed and
Marty Elkins is a delightful swing singer who deserves to be better-known. She worked with pianist Dave McKenna when she was attending college in Boston
Carl Sonny Leyland is well known in the U.S. as a powerful blues, boogie-woogie, and stride pianist as well as being a fine blues singer.
While Queens is not thought of as one of the centers of jazz, quite a large number of jazz artists have lived in the New
Neville Dickie, one of the top stride and boogie-woogie pianists of the past 50 years, has led at least 28 albums since 1966, having a
The Bunk Johnson Story would make for a fascinating movie. Born around 1889 (he claimed it was 1879 so he could say that he had
British bandleader-trombonist Chris Barber was very fortunate to have two great clarinetists in his band for extended periods: Monty Sunshine (1953-60) and Ian Wheeler (1961-68).
Trumpeter Ken Colyer (1928-88) always fought for what he believed in. From the start, he loved ensemble-oriented New Orleans jazz, and he never really veered
It has always seemed a bit improbable that Catherine Russell, the vibrant and exciting swing singer, is the daughter of Luis Russell, the leader of
Imagine visiting a friend who owns a huge 78 collection, and enjoying an evening discussing music and life with him while your friend pulls out
Pete Allen, who plays most of the reeds but is best known as a clarinetist, first recorded with his brother banjoist Bernie Allen’s group in
Joe Licari has been a top clarinetist for over 60 years although widespread fame seems to have eluded him. How many musicians still on the
Since he burst upon the national jazz scene in the mid-1970s, tenor-saxophonist Scott Hamilton has been remarkably consistent. A world-class player from the start, he
With the popularity of Dixieland throughout the 1950s, there were occasional attempts to “update” the music and place the repertoire in a different setting. A
Vic Lewis (1919-2009) had his life changed when he first heard the music of Stan Kenton. From then on, he led modern jazz bands in
Johnny Guarnieri Plays Harry Warren is a single CD that has been reissued as a companion to the wonderful Guarnieri biography, Superstride by Derek Coller
Big Bill Bissonnette (1937-2018) made a major contribution to New Orleans revival jazz. In addition to being a fine trombonist most inspired by his idol
She had a small voice that could not compare to that of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. She never scatted and her improvising tended to
V-Discs (short for “Victory Discs”) hold a unique place in music history. During 1943-49, special recording sessions were held to produce 78s that were specifically
Trumpeter Frankie Newton (1906-54) receives career spanning treatment in his own three-CD set from the Acrobat label which has excellent liner notes by Paul Watts.
He was Great Britain’s first major jazz star. Trumpeter-singer Nat Gonella (1908-98) could be thought of as the British Louis Armstrong since Satch was his
Producer John Hammond was always a major proponent of integration and of recognizing the greatness of the top African-American jazz artists. While still in his
It is felt by many that when one plays a rag, the pianist should stick exactly to the written music, treating it as if it
Trumpeter Danny Tobias is perhaps best-known for his association with the Midiri Brothers Sextet, but he has also led his own groups and worked with
The British Lake label, which has done an admirable job of reissuing and repackaging British traditional jazz from 1950-65 along with putting out newly recorded
One of the best known of the early traditional New Orleans brass bands was the Eureka Brass Band. Founded around 1920 by trumpeter Willie Wilson,
Jazz history books often leave his name out, but Clarence Williams was a major force in the 1920s and ’30s and had quite a career;
These reviews ran together in the Nights at the Turntable column in our print edition.
Johnny Guarnieri (1917-85) was one of the great stride and swing pianists, a natural who when he was 15 had not only heard of James
The GHB/Jazzology collection of labels includes Paramount. While Paramount is primarily known for its large assortment of classic and country blues recordings, it also documented
Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy is arguably Satch’s finest recording of the 1950s. At the time, the Louis Armstrong All-Stars included trombonist Trummy Young, clarinetist
George Buck (1928-2013) had quite a career as the head of GHB and Jazzology Records (both of which he founded) and other labels such as
In 2014, during the festival season in New Orleans, cornetist Jamie Wight invited some of his favorite musicians who were in town to do some
For 42 years Rich Conaty, who passed away near the end of 2016, delighted in playing rare recordings from the 1920s and ‘30s on his
the following albums were reviewed in Scott Yanow’s Nights at the Turntable column. Click an image to read and share the individual review.
Jimmie Noone (1895-1944) was one of the great clarinetists to emerge from New Orleans. Compared to Sidney Bechet and Johnny Dodds, Noone had a softer
The British Lake label has reissued hundreds of valuable sessions by most of the best-known and most influential trad players of the 1950s and ’60s
Due to the popularity of Dixieland and New Orleans jazz in the United States during the 1950s, bands were often featured on the radio, including
Next to Louis Armstrong, Harry James was not only the most famous trumpeter of the 1940s but remains a household name decades after his death.
During October and November 1957, trombonist Jack Teagarden and pianist Earl Hines co-led an all-star group that toured England and France. In ways, the sextet
Ziggy Elman (1914-68) could have been a contender but he waited too long to start his own big band. Born Harry Finkleman, he learned to
The Fletcher Henderson Orchestra was the first jazz big band to really swing. Arranger Don Redman figured out how to get the large ensemble sounding
Lars Edegran’s Palm Court Jazz All Stars’ Hello Dolly gathers together some of the finest players on the New Orleans scene today. Edegran on piano
One of the most popular singers of the 1926-37 period, Ruth Etting (1897-1978) may not have technically been a jazz singer since she did not
Earl Hines (1903-83) was one of the top jazz pianists of all time. His ability to suspend time, taking potentially reckless out-of-time runs while never
Roger Wolfe Kahn was the son of millionaire banker Otto Kahn. He loved jazz from an early age (as did his father) and, while he
A brilliant pianist who first played at Carnegie Hall when he was nine, William McNally is not only an expert on ragtime but on its