Features

Cladys “Jabbo” Smith was born in 1908 and became a professional trumpet player at age 15. He showed up in New York City in 1925

Dave Kelbie is an in demand rhythm guitarist who has worked with a number of legends of gypsy jazz and more recently hot jazz. He

Pianist Kris Tokarski (“Lendítsd a zongorán!” TST, May 2020) hails from the home state of James P. Johnson and currently lives in Jelly Roll Morton’s

Riccardo Scivales was in his teens in Mestre, in the commune of Venice, when he discovered the English Progressive rock band Yes with Rick Wakeman

Exhausted by six months without swinging out, sociable swing dancers are finding other ways to scratch that interaction itch: outdoor tea dances, pub garden socials,

Back in 1988 while building the lineup for the Elkhart Jazz Festival, I took a look at Doc Cheatham as an all-star participant; however, when

It’s tricky to find much online about Olivia Cook—unless you’re seeking her almost-namesake Olivia Cooke, the English actress who starred in Psycho prequel Bates Motel.

This article became a two hour radio program which can be found following the text. A playlist providing discographical information for all of the sample

Norman Vickers is known as a harmonica-playing physician who was a pioneer in his field in his adopted city, and who for the past 40

Last fall I wrote an essay for The Syncopated Times titled, “Reconsidering “Dixieland Jazz”, How The Name Has Harmed The Music”. It encouraged the remaining

See, Part 1 A Real New York Story We had been recording double sessions, often earning overtime to complete more difficult or complicated arrangements. We

When Yvonne Marther Fasnacht died—on Sunday, 13 November 2011, aged 101—Variety.com carried her obituary. The top entertainment website remembered a pioneering nightclub owner who helped

Following the publication of “Nick Fatool – the Perfect Jazz Percussionist” (Syncopated Times, Nov. 2019), I have been carrying on a dialogue with Kevin Dorn—a

New Yorkers think of themselves as a pretty tough bunch. But even the coolest, most nonchalant among them has to admit: they’ve never seen a

There is this old joke about two musicians catching up on the latest news, and the conversation goes something like this: Musician One: Did you

I could not have been more pleased when Mike Zirpolo contacted me, and asked me to share my memories about having played for the soundtrack

With the exception of a few lady pianists, Swing Era women sang while the men played; that’s what some less academic, coffee table jazz histories

The role of each instrument in a jazz ensemble has changed as the music has changed, but the most dramatic transformation has been the role

Bob Mielke, a very great jazz artist, a hero on trombone and a dear friend, has just died at 93. For me, Bob defined a

A Happy Accident that Lasted a Lifetime For most of his musical career, Upstate New York banjoman Dick Sheridan has made his bones with trad-jazz

Doug Benson’s work on King Oliver and Wolverines material quickly became benchmarks for what proper audio restoration could reveal. Since those discs in 2007 and

Much has been written about Johnny Dodds. Unfortunately the biography by Lambert (1961) that inspires much of it is not well-researched and is mostly a

The title for this talk is both intimidating and academically demanding. We recognize Lucille Salerno’s hand here. The paper was originally presented June 10, 2010,

As a Brit, when I think of US national parks I think Yosemite—thousands of miles of lakes, trees, bears, and continent-threatening supervolcanoes. (Keep an eye