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
1973 found me in New Orleans exhibiting at an antiques fair. A somewhat pudgy short man wearing a dark suit over his white t-shirt stopped
There is a persistent myth, especially among younger swing dancers, that 1942 marked a watershed in Britain’s toe-tapping habits. That was the year the US
If you can imagine turning on the radio and hearing a song you wrote credited to someone else, you’re probably a believer in the concept
During the summer of 2018 Tuba Skinny had the unique opportunity to perform as part of the Ashton Brothers circus in the Netherlands. We performed
From the dusty recesses of my jazz history archives, I recently came across a slim 32-page pamphlet published in 1942 entitled “America’s Band Leaders” by
Swing dance instructors, like other kinds of teachers, should be a nurturing, accommodating influence. The needs of the student should come first and the expert
In the late 1970s, Bay Area banker Jim Goggin, a longtime friend and fan of Turk Murphy, envisioned a “Turk Murphy Jazz Foundation” – a
In a recent review of the Suncoast JazzFest I noted how much I enjoyed Jason Marsalis covering the Benny Goodman Quartet’s version of “Moonglow”. You
Mathematical sticklers may demur, but I take pleasure in declaring the twenties have finally arrived again. The ringing in of a new decade—a twenties that
Mardi Gras dates back thousands of years to pagan celebrations of spring and fertility, such as the raucous Roman festivals of Saturnalia and Lupercalia. When
When looking at music history, it is easy to focus on the canon—artists of undisputed importance who more often than not have achieved some kind
Sound recordings as documents of stylistic development are an integral part of jazz research. Being able to hear musical transformation and evolution over a period
It all began innocently enough in the late 1960s when Dave Oppermann, a business person by day and a sing-along piano player by night, and
Colin Yates’ musical resume straddles the Atlantic, encompassing two very different styles. He was born in South Yorkshire, a county famed for collieries and their
On November 11, 1918, a 17-year-old Louis “Dipper” Armstrong, driving a coal cart around his down-and-out New Orleans neighborhood, heard a commotion. World War I
I do most of my swing dancing in Sheffield, South Yorkshire—proud home of British steel, a hub of the Industrial Revolution and birthplace of Arctic
We knew Tuba Skinny had a following but we weren’t prepared for a standing room only crowd! I never saw so many joyous, boppin’ people
Over the years I have lost track of the “Complete” Joplin sets that have been produced. The first such effort I acquired was Richard Zimmerman’s
Jack Sheldon (November 30, 1931-December 27, 2019) and Chet Baker (December 23, 1929- May 13, 1988) are two trumpeter/vocalists with a great deal in common.
