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There are so many reasons to visit New York City. Musically, you can find almost anything you want there. For example, if you are looking for a cosmopolitan retro jazz band that often performs World War II era selections like “Shoo-Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy,” Fleur Seule is just
Odell Rand was born in 1905 in New Orleans; he died on 22 June 1960 in Chicago, Ill. Robert Stendhal recalls: “I saw Odell Rand in a band with Jasper Taylor and Natty Dominique. I doubt he was 5 feet tall, more like 4 feet 8 inches (1.42 m).” Quoted
This profile of the late Dr. Eli Newberger was published in the September 2015 issue (and again in the October 2015 issue) of The American Rag. It was my first feature story for the publication, which I bought and relaunched as The Syncopated Times in February 2016. Eli was a
I’ve attended the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival many times both in the audience and from backstage, and always enjoyed the experiences. When I first learned of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington, I was pleased but uninterested in attending. My love of jazz began with
James Monroe Iglehart’s career has been varied and high profile. On Broadway, he’s known for starring in Aladdin (Genie), Spamalot (King Arthur), Hamilton (Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson) and Chicago (Billy Flynn). On television, he’s had recurring roles on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Maniac, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. His voice has
I lived in Honolulu in the early 1970s. So did the great trombonist Trummy Young, a name I knew well from his work with many legendary jazz giants. He proved to be friendly and willing to be repeatedly interviewed by an enthused fan. He even told one Maître d at
Jeff Barnhart: Hal, one of the highlights for me while exploring the music of cornetist Johnny Wiggs and banjo/guitar/vocalist Edmond “Doc” Souchon was the tasty and often surprising piano tickling of one Armand Hug. It seems I sometimes use this column as a confessional. Back in my high school days,
Now that The Syncopated Times has achieved nonprofit status and stands on the verge of its tenth year of publication, the excitement in this office is palpable. In fact, the nervous energy has taken on the appearance of a small woodland creature. I’m not sure what it is, actually. It
They were both masterful clarinetists from the South who had notable associations with rather major players. In addition to having the same B.B. initials, their careers overlapped for four decades and they had some other similarities in their careers. But despite that, Buster Bailey and Barney Bigard never recorded together.
Historically, many of us have been told that recording the piano in the acoustic era (before 1925) was extremely difficult, and that because of this solos weren’t often made or sold. While some of this was true, it can easily be proven as a much more complicated issue. The piano
Spike Jones was born Lindley Armstrong Jones on December 14, 1911, in Long Beach, California. At the age of 11 he got his first set of drums, and he formed his own band as a teenager. A railroad restaurant chef taught him how to use pots and pans, forks, knives
While readers know I never shy away from controversial topics (banjos? Sports at Universities receiving enough funding to run a small country while Music classes/lessons are held in portable classrooms?), I may be stepping over the boundary this time. I’ve decided to devote this entry to Christmas Music. Now, BEFORE
In late October I attended for the first time the Roswell Jazz Festival in Roswell, NM. I tied it in with my plans to attend the Arizona Classic Jazz Festival a week later. I added visits to four national parks in Texas and New Mexico around the two festivals, in
The Eagles and Ivories Ragtime Festival occurs every January in Muscatine, IA, so-named because bald eagle watching is an activity unique to the festival and it’s locale. Commissioned by the Muscatine Arts Council, the festival’s titular piano rag was written by Jeff Barnhart in 2008. An atmospheric introduction begins the
Dr. Eli Newberger, a traditional jazz tubist and notable medical professional, passed away on October 24th, he was 83 years old. Pressed into playing tuba in sixth grade, by grade eight he was in a Dixieland band. After completing a degree at Julliard he entered Yale for music theory and
I love you and the horse you rode in on; I see you there Mounted on your mare— You make quite a striking pair As the wind blows through your golden hair. I love you and the horse you rode in on; It’s madness, true, Feeling like I do— Yet
It has been a long time coming! The Syncopated Times is now a production of Syncopated Media, Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit. This means we can accept tax-deductible donations, as well as seek grants, bequests, and partnerships with other nonprofits, businesses, and other organizations in pursuit of our mission. The
I watched Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom the other night. I thought it was going to be a movie about music—it was not. Rather, it’s a largely fictionalized but powerful allegory exploring the lived experiences of African Americans in the early twentieth century (much of which remains relevant in the twenty-first).
This compilation of early female jazz singers and musicians contains those who will be familiar and those, perhaps, who will be less so. The recordings have been previously issued, mainly on 78 rpm records since the performances span 1924-1948, but some may have been issued or reissued on LP and
The French Preservation New Orleans Jazz Band* was founded some twenty-five years ago by reed man J[ean]P[ierre] Alessi. During that time the group has issued over twenty CDs, some of which I have been privileged to review, and as an examination of the personnel of the CDs shows, only a
It’s only been a few months since I reviewed The Hot Toddies’ self-titled debut album, which was released last year. I’d like to think that my enthusiastic review sent the band flying back into the studio to concoct a follow-up, but that almost certainly—no, absolutely positively—isn’t the case. In fact,
Don’t buy these albums. I’ve never said that in a review before, I have far more albums I like in my queue to bother reviewing any that I don’t. But this album represents an existential threat to working musicians, especially in genre fields like traditional jazz. A full album of
Colin Perry was raised in Kentucky with music on both sides of his family. His father’s side of the family exposed him to Appalachian fiddlers and banjo players, and both are now among his instruments. He began learning guitar at age 10, with an early focus on ’20s and ’30s
Dan Gabel is well suited for Christmas music. Many of our ideas about what Christmas should sound like originate in the big band period of the ’40s and the music of the ’50s and later that continued to lean on that sound to create timelessness and wholesomeness. He seems to
Jane Monheit, who was profiled in our May 2021 issue, has 24 years making a career in jazz. She is the kind of skillful and nuanced vocalist that musicians love to work with. The kind that can make an album of Christmas classics that is as rewarding and moving as
The Hot Club Of Tenerife (named after an island in Spain) is led by Italian guitarist Filippo Dall’Asta. He began playing guitar when he was five, fell in love with the music and style of Django Reinhardt, and in his career has worked all over Europe in a variety of
The Hot Club Of San Francisco has been active since the early 1990s. There have been many personnel changes along the way other than its leader guitarist Paul Mehling. The current version includes violinist Evan Price, rhythm guitarists Jordan Samuels, and Nelson Hutchison, and bassist Dexter Williams. Most unusual about
Because a full drum set could overwhelm the other instruments in the early days of jazz recording, drummers of the time were restricted to utilizing only parts of their set, usually cowbells, a cymbal, woodblocks, and sometimes a washboard. One can only speculate how drummers really sounded when playing live
JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH It was one of the great swing bands but it made no recordings that were available to the American public. Glenn Miller broke up his hugely successful orchestra in 1942 to join the Army Air Force. By 1943 he had assembled a huge orchestra that
Champian Fulton’s series of rewarding recordings are known to many of the readers of The Syncopated Times. She is equally skilled as a 1940s-type singer and a swinging pianist who loves to occasionally sound a bit like Erroll Garner. Her two talents always result in appealing music that straddles the
Lucien Barbarin (1956-2020), the grandnephew of Paul Barbarin, was a very expressive New Orleans trombonist. In his career he mostly played locally (including with Dr. Michael White) but also toured with Harry Connick Jr. and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. On Talkative Horns, which was recorded a few months after
Vol.9, No.12 December 2024
Tenor Man Harry Allen Brings Jazz into the Digital Age, by Lew Shaw
James Monroe Englehart Brings Satchmo to Broadway, by Steve Provizer
The Secret is Out: The International Classic Jazz Party, by Jonathan Holmes
Inside Essentially Ellington: A New Generation Masters Jazz, by Schaen Fox
Allyson Briggs and Fleur Seule Emphasize the Songbook, by Schaen Fox
Talking with Trummy Young: A Fan’s Memories, by Schaen Fox
An “Unloved” Clarinetist: Reconsidering Odell Rand, by Christopher Cook
Jazz Birthday of the Month: Spike Jones, illustration by Sara Lièvre
Static from my Attic, by Andy Senior
Final Chorus, compiled by Joe Bebco
Jazz Travels: The 2024 Roswell Jazz Fest, by Bill Hoffman
My Inspirations: Jazzin’ the Holidays!, by Jeff Barnhart
Ragtime Vignettes: The Eagles and Ivories Rag, by Brandon Byrne
Quarter Notes: California, Here I Come!, by Shelly Gallichio
The Piano Solo and the Recording Horn, by R.S. Baker
Festival Roundup, compiled by Joe Bebco; illustration by Joe Busam
Oh, to Be in N’awlins Now that Autumn’s There!, by Shelly Gallichio
Profiles in Jazz: Buster Bailey and Barney Bigard, by Scott Yanow
Ain’t Cha Got Music: Armand Hug, by Jeff Barnhart & Hal Smith
Syncopated Media, Inc. Achieves 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Status, by Joe Bebco
I Love You and the Horse You Rode in On (song lyric), by Andy Senior
Dr. Eli Newberger: Physician, Humanitarian, Tuba Virtuoso, by Andy Senior
Doyle’s Discs, CD reviews by Dave Doyle
Nights at the Turntable, CD reviews by Scott Yanow
Bert’s Bits and Beats, CD reviews by Bert Thompson
Off the Beaten Tracks, reviews by Joe Bebco
