As regular readers will be well aware, I love swing dance. Whether Lindy hop, Balboa or St. Louis shag is my current thing, I just
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor 82 years ago, December 7, 1941 became “a date that will live in infamy,” as President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Probably most musicians, at one time or another, experience a “heart-stopping moment” or predicament. Here are some I have witnessed—or experienced myself. A tuba player
James Reese Europe was more than a bandleader. He was more than a soldier. He was more than an activist. Once labeled the “Martin Luther
The unique music project known as the Sant Andreu Jazz Band, with its worldwide reputation as a wellspring of astonishing talent among its pre-teen and
Scott Joplin and Opera Known for his piano rags, Scott Joplin’s ambition to become an opera composer surprised many of his contemporaries. It still surprises
One of the experiences in jazz that I wouldn’t trade for anything was the brief time I spent playing with Ev Farey’s Golden State Jazz
A beautiful portrait of Mamie Smith graced the entire cover of Leonard Kunstadt’s legendary publication Record Research in January 1964. The portrait by famed Harlem
While fishing for excuses for being beyond my deadline, I told the publisher this was the most important jazz release we have ever covered. For
Introduction Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow was a jazz musician/marijuana seller and author (with writer Bernard Wolfe) of a singular autobiography, Really The Blues. The book, set
Richard Berry is a fine musician and has performed at many ragtime events since the 1980s. In addition to his musical talent however, Rich has
The “ragtime revival” started with Wally Rose’s surprise hit recording, in December 1941, of George Botsford’s “Black And White Rag.” At that time, there was
Prologue I was in high school—still a freshman, I think—when I first heard the iconic recording of “Sing, Sing, Sing” by Benny Goodman’s band. Goodman
Noel Kaletsky, born in New Haven CT in 1937, passed away on May 30, 2023. Anyone who heard him will never forget the excitement that
While some of the more cynical observers of the music world may claim that traditional jazz is a dying art form, there’s plenty of evidence
In the Ragtime Years when a great personality celebrity died, word would quickly spread through the entertainment districts, Variety shows might be interrupted to report
Since looking back to when I taught jazz history courses at the Community College of Rhode Island, I have come to realize that my coverage
My mother wanted me to move back in with the family. It was 1974. I was eighteen and already had been living on my own
In 2007, I came across a batch of poor-quality transfers of African American films from the 1940s. One title, Boarding House Blues (1948), stood out
Interracial Jazz Recordings Before 1935: An Introduction Over the last 20 years, the trend has been to interpret jazz history through the lens of current
That James Reese Europe would lead his band in concert at Carnegie Hall was inevitable…but the event has been historically overlooked. The band leader had
While a really swinging beat or rhythm will make sophisticated dancers perform quite extraordinary terpsichorean feats, we also know that the vast amount of social
I was weaned on Benny Goodman by listening to my mother’s youngest brother as he tried to emulate BG. From those early days my love
As I have written more than once, my initial exposure to live jazz was hearing the Firehouse Five Plus Two at Disneyland in 1962. It
