March 12, 2026, marks the centenary of opening night at the palatial, opulent Savoy Ballroom, which occupied an entire block of Lenox Avenue between 140th
On February 3rd, I went out to shovel snow and buy some groceries. When I got back home, I checked messages. The first, just two
Teddy Wilson looms over early jazz piano, just as Bill Charlap does today. It is unsurprising that Mr. Charlap, who in addition to his performing
Wednesday Night, July 2nd, 1947 I returned to the Chicago loop via fast electric coach from the University of Chicago on the South Side and
Vocalist Rebecca Kilgore (1949-2026) was interviewed by Monk Rowe on September 3, 1997, at the Allegheny Jazz Party, Chautauqua, NY, (Interview courtesy Fillius Jazz Archive,
In my musings of New England’s often untapped early jazz history over the past couple of years, I made the pleasant discovery of a percussionist
Clarinetist Joe Muranyi was born in Martin’s Ferry, Ohio on January 14, 1928. He worked as a record producer for major labels and played alongside
Eventually, the National Endowment for the Arts entitled Joe Wilder as their Jazz Master, but first he was called “’Little Louis” because he was playing
In his “Jazz In Unusual Places” presentation at the IAJRC-UK get-together weekend at the Holiday Inn, Reading South, on September 20/21, Max Easterman played “Swingy
While jazz continues to thrive, it doesn’t get much mainstream media attention. However, there was a time when the clarinet, sax, and the trumpet were
Pianist Marty Napoleon had a long life, ample musical talent, a successful career, a strong memory, and a gregarious personality, so he was a joy
In 2023, I published my findings on the actual birth and death dates of pioneer blueswoman Mamie Robinson Smith (“Mamie Smith: Always ‘The First Lady
Born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1921, Tommy Gwaltney was, by his teens, a competent reed player, working in dance bands while he was at college.
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
It all began last December. Down and beyond the bustling streets of South Korea I roamed. In all aspects of auditory senses, the atmosphere was
There are songs that have entered the jazz vocabulary and never left: “Body and Soul,” “Stardust,” “Autumn Leaves,” and many others. We call these tunes
What are the most exciting and essential classic jazz recordings that have taken place since the end of World War II? An impossible question to
Will H. Dixon was born August 29, 1879, in Wheeling, West Virginia, into a musically inclined African American family. His father, John H. Dixon, was
If, like me, you love many styles of jazz, you probably look at ads for various jazz cruises and start planning or wishing. I’ve experienced
An article in the July ’24 issue of The Syncopated Times about a French jazz festival caught my eye. “We really try to put the
LOUIS ARMSTRONG’S 70 GREATEST RECORDINGS Although I have long wanted to write about Louis Armstrong for The Syncopated Times, since Ricky Riccardi’s trio of books
Multi-instrumentalist Andy Schumm made some interesting comments regarding his career on the occasion of his 40th birthday in a Facebook posting. He wrote “I’m not
What are the most exciting and essential classic jazz recordings that have taken place since the end of World War II? An impossible question to
What are the most exciting and essential classic jazz recordings that have taken place since the end of World War II? I accepted the challenge
