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
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
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
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
Eddie Durham was born in 1906 in San Marcos, a small, rural horse and buggy town formed in 1808 and located in Hays County, Texas,
When I’m not writing about jazz, I’m a kids’ science educator. It’s true—since 2020 I’ve run a small business which delivers workshops and parties to
“If I had the wings of an angel,” goes the old song. I would have needed wings to enjoy all the music at the 2024
Jazz fans in the 21st century enjoy jazz primarily by listening to recordings on LPs, CDs, music streaming services, and by attending live performances in
I think it’s safe to say that most of us jazz enthusiasts are viewed by the youth of today as amusing yet hopelessly insulated from
The theme of this year’s 11th annual Jazzing Fest in Barcelona, hosted as always by the Sant Andreu Jazz Band, was dubbed “The New York-Berlin-Barcelona
The Big Spider Back—I mean Bix Beiderbecke—Jazz Festival took off on August 1st through 3rd, congregating enthusiastic folks back to Davenport, Iowa, including my mum
Last year, I happened across an old copy of Talking Jazz in a second-hand bookshop. The 1987 memoir is a compilation of essays and other
My professional baseball career happened entirely inside my head. What went on in there may or may not interest you, but for me it—both the
Like the aurora borealis, Swedish swinger Gunhild Carling lit up the night sky over Syracuse’s Clinton Square on June 28, 2024. She sang, she danced,
How does a tiny, unknown country town such as Three Rivers, California, end up sponsoring an annual world-class Jazz Festival that would last 50 years?
I’m a little too young to have experienced the philanthropic musical phenomenon that was Live Aid. Organized by Bob Geldof in 1985, the iconic charity
The Roswell (New Mexico) Jazz Festival takes place throughout the town mid-October. The beloved festival draws visitors from all over the U.S. and from overseas.
The Queen’s Cartoonists Caroga Lake Music Festival Caroga Lake, NY, July 24, 2024 It has become a tradition for symphony orchestras to devote an evening
When lawyer-turned-producer of jazz recordings and events Matthew Domber succumbed to cancer in 2012, his partner and wife Rachel needed to take pause and go
This is an article I never expected to write. My interest in Scott Joplin was originally centered on his music; examination of his life came
I was eleven years old when I hit one of Life’s lotteries, and began playing the trombone. I thought it might be fun. Because of
This Jazz Age tale takes you from the streets of South Philly and the Boardwalk of Atlantic City to the nightclubs, vaudeville palaces, pool halls,
I’ve been attending jazz parties and festivals for twenty years, and each one has its own character. So to call one “the best” would be
Over the five fascinating years I’ve been interviewing jazz musicians, a curious trend has emerged. It has interested, confounded and occasionally annoyed me—the last probably
