Following are excerpts from the Fillius Jazz Archive interview with Doc (Adolphus Anthony) Cheatham (1905-1997) New York City, July 28,1995: First recordings Monk Rowe: Can you tell us about your first recording date? Doc Cheatham: I was with Albert Wynn’s Creole Jazz Band when we made that recording. I knew
It has been our pleasure over the years to combine sight-seeing trips abroad with visits to diverse jazz clubs, festivals, and concerts in Ascona, Edinburgh, Oslo, Visby, Copenhagen, Cardiff, Kingsbridge, and Colchester. But it was pure serendipity that brought us to FestJazz 2025 in Brittany, France. While planning a meandering
People interested in popular music always welcome films that dig into the history of the music they love. A recent documentary about King Records, King of Them All, misses a couple of opportunities, but overall makes a good contribution to the genre. Cincinnati native Syd Nathan was the founder of
My title comes from a Thirties phrase for “I really like that,” found in a wonderful Frank Loesser left-handed love song (“Your fuzzy hair, your vacant stare / I go for that”) deftly sung by Dawn Lambeth at the Redwood Coast Music Festival, Eureka, California. The RCMF is a deluge:
As this year winds down, I’m taking stock on where I’ve come, where I hope to be going, and with whom I’ve so far shared my journey. This was an unusual year, in that Anne and I moved from our home in Mystic (which, parenthetically, is one of two towns
When one thinks of the classic Count Basie Orchestra of 1936-40, the tenor-saxophonists (Lester Young and either Herschel Evans or Buddy Tate), the trumpeters (most notably Buck Clayton, Harry “Sweets” Edison and Shad Collins) and the famous rhythm section (pianist Basie, rhythm guitarist Freddie Green, bassist Walter Page, and drummer
Jeff Barnhart: Folks, you’ve been with Hal and me for years now as we forensically dissect various bands’ and musicians’ outputs as well as offer exhaustive analyses of specific tunes in the repertoire. We thought we’d give both of us and you a break this month and wax nostalgic about
Although the government shutdown was in effect, our flights to New Orleans were very much on time. We unpacked and immediately walked the two blocks over to Fritzel’s European Jazz Pub to see Colin Myers (tb), Ellis Dyson (bj), Tyler Thomson (bs) and Cody Coulon (dr). What a great way
The last ever US penny was minted on November 12, 2025, and my last ever expressible thought occurred at approximately the same time. I can’t remember what it was. It must not have been unimportant. It was certainly unfit for polite company. Decrees led to both cessations; the former was
Willie Gary “Bunk” Johnson was born December 27, 1889. Johnson was the youngest of 14 children. He had been schooled in sight reading and improvisation by the time he began playing professionally with the Superior Orchestra and the Eagle Band in 1910. Johnson received lessons from Adam Olivier and began
In the summer of 2024 Jacob Adams wrote Three Piano Rags Op. 47 and dedicated them to me (thank you, Jacob!). No. 2 in D minor (pictured), marked adagio, is autumnally bittersweet. As with Adams’ other work, this piece is harmonically advanced; an E-flat seventh chord extended by a ninth
The 16th Central Pennsylvania Ragtime and American Music Festival took place, as usual, at several venues in Huntingdon County on September 18-21. While most events occur in the adjoining small towns of Orbisonia and Rockhill Furnace, the kickoff concert is held in Huntingdon, the county seat, on Thursday evening at
Common Chord and the Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Society are excited to announce a merger of the two organizations. After years of close partnership, Bix Society programs will officially join Common Chord’s suite of programs. The historic Bix Jazz Festival will benefit from Common Chord’s capacity and staff, as well as
Blue Steele and His Orchestra recorded for the Victor Talking Machine Company between August 26, 1927, and May 16, 1930, resulting in 16 discs. His recordings, which sold fairly well, ranged from hot jazz to waltzes. Steele’s band played some of the best hotel venues, such as the Peabody in
32th Annual EAGLES AND IVORIES RAGTIME FEST (Muscatine, IA) – Jan. 15-18 The 32nd Annual Eagles & Ivories Music Fest is staged in Muscatine, Iowa, at five different locations. A free eagle watch takes place Saturday morning at Pearl City Station in Riverfront Park. The 2026 lineup includesl Jeff Barnhart,
Art Van Damme (1920-2010) may not have been the first jazz accordionist (Buster Moten took short solos with his brother Bennie’s band in the 1920s), but he was one of the most influential. The accordion, due to its connection with polka music and many cornball performers through the years, was
CLASSIC JAZZ ALBUM OF THE MONTH No swing band during the big band era had more hits than Glenn Miller’s, not Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Harry James, Duke Ellington or Count Basie. In fact, the Miller Orchestra during 1939-42 had more top sellers than those five ensembles combined including no
Eddie Sauter (1914-81) was one of the most innovative arrangers to come up during the Swing era. In addition to his work for Artie Shaw and Tommy Dorsey, in the early 1940s he wrote some of the most radical arrangements that Benny Goodman ever recorded. His work for the Ray
Trumpeter Don Goldie (1930-95) is probably best remembered for his association with Jack Teagarden for he was a member of the trombonist’s last working group during 1959-63. However there was more to Goldie than being a technically skilled Dixieland player. The son of trumpeter Harry “Goldie” Goldfield who played with
Tatum Langley is a Chicago-based singer who has performed both in jazz and in musical theater settings including in London and Australia with Postmodern Jukebox. On Tatum’s Swingin’ Session!!! she interprets a pretty wide repertoire while joined by the Shout Section Big Band. Conducted by trumpeter Brett T. Dean and
Having nine players instead of her usual smaller lineup gives Chelsea Reed’s The Christmas EP a warmth and fullness that feels exactly right for the season. A total of ten people in the studio isn’t a crowd, it conjures that timeless “floor show” feeling of classic holiday television or radio
A big clue to understanding this band lies in the fact that Bob Crosby isn’t on the box set’s cover. It’s the first artist-centered Mosaic set I’ve seen where the named talent isn’t pictured, and there’s an excellent reason. Bob Crosby was taken on only as the nominal leader of
I’ve noticed several of our favorites, notably Cynthia Sayer and Dan Levinson, take the time to put significant portions of their back catalogs up on Bandcamp for perusing and possible download by fans new and old. It isn’t like you are going to do another run of that CD from
Alexander Peskanov is a Ukrainian composer, pedagogue, and powerhouse pianist. His 2004 recording of Scott Joplin for Naxos (Naxos 8.559114) is highly virtuosic, sometimes to excess, but is great fun to listen to. Some of Peskanov’s generous embellishments are reminiscent of John Arpin’s (e.g. in The Strenuous Life and Pine
The Mad Hat Hucksters have always been a band that treats swing as a living vernacular rather than a museum dialect, which is why holiday releases fit them so well. Anyone who has followed their evolution through 2017’s Swing and Jazz Music for Dancing, the sturdy live set Live at
Vol.10, No.12, December 2025
John Pizzarelli: Rhythm is his (Family) Business, by Schaen Fox
Doc Cheatham on Armstrong and Goodman, by Monk Rowe
King Records: Niche Music and Indy Labels, by Steve Provizer
Ain’t Cha Got Music: Bands that Inspired Us, by J. Barnhart & H. Smith
Jazz Birthday of the Month: Bunk Johnson, illustration by Sara Lièvre
Static from my Attic, by Andy Senior
Jazz Jottings: New Leadership for Sun Valley Fest, by Lew Shaw
My Inspirations: Drawing a Cautionary Tale, by Jeff Barnhart
Ragtime Vignettes: Piano Rag in D minor, by Brandon Byrne
Quarter Notes: Autumn in New York? No, NOLA!, by Shelly Gallichio
Profiles in Jazz: Basie Trombonists, 1936-1940, by Scott Yanow
Festival Roundup, compiled by Michael Buonaiuto
Jazz Travels: Central PA Ragtime Festival, by Bill Hoffman
Bix Society Joins Forces with Common Chord for 55th Bix Fest
The 2025 Redwood Coast Music Fest, by Michael Steinman
Fest Jazz 2025 in Brittany, by Denise Conner & Mark Walecka
Peskanov’s Joplin Evaluated, CD review by Brandon Byrne
Nights at the Turntable, CD reviews by Scott Yanow
Off the Beaten Tracks, Xmas CD reviews by Joe Bebco
Classic Decca Recordings of Bob Crosby, CD review by B.A. Nilsson
Book Review: I Touched Every Base, by Richard Raichelson