Features

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

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

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.

Of all the Lindy Hop videos on all of YouTube, one stands out as my clear favourite. Shot at Lindy Focus XI in 2013—at the

“Immorality: the morality of those who are having a better time.” — H. L. Mencken In 1900, editorializing on jazz and “other black music,” Etude

Like many of his musical peers, Joseph “Wingy” Manone had an enthrallingly eventful rise to fame; a rollercoaster railroad ride, documented in his 1948 book

Discerning influences – why musicians sing or play or write the way they do – can be as straightforward as recognizing a stolen/borrowed lick or

This fall Syncopated Times reporter Steve Provizer met with Ted Gioia, author of many important jazz histories, to discuss his latest project Music: A Subversive

Nat Morison – patriarch, devotee of early New Orleans jazz, Mets fan, host of the annual Welbourne Cakewalk/Stoke Stomp, and treasured friend of many in

From The Ragtime Ephemeralist to Rusty Brown For some time now I have wanted to interview Chris Ware for The Syncopated Times. Over the years

I’ve played a b’zillion jazz piano and banjo gigs over the past 60 years. None can compare, however, with my long-time gig at Capone’s Chicago

With reservations, I’ve chosen to weigh in on the debate started by the publisher’s column asking: Is the term “Dixieland Jazz” racist? Almost everyone will

Ask a Lindy hopper to describe blues dancing and most will evoke spacious ballrooms, the lights turned low in the wee small hours after most

D.A. Pennebaker was a filmmaker, born in 1925, died on August 1, 2019. He was one of a small group of filmmakers who created a

In the language of jazz, “doubling” means playing more than one instrument (not at the same time, c.f. Wilbur Sweatman and Rahsaan Roland Kirk). Doubling

The ukulele Martin 1K, the “Dick Konter” of the early 1900s, is perhaps the most famous ukulele in the world. It traveled on the plane

While soldiers fought across Europe, one American jazzman wrote a song urging leaders to “Stop the War.” But was Wingy Manone sincere in his plea?

While listening to cornetist Nat Adderley light it up during a recent listening session, I thought “Why does he play this aggressive style on cornet

Good friend, wise mentor, engaged and storied musicianer, active community leader, strong role model, curator and caretaker of jazz, spirited character: Jim Cullum. This is

The music teaching career of Peter Davis began when he was hired as the warden at the Colored Waif’s Boys Home in New Orleans and

I’ve written a lot about how jazz is portrayed in film, but never paid specific attention to how we jazz trumpet players have been portrayed.

During the 20th Century music became big business, but the 21st Century may lead us back to an older mode of existence for artists. In

Times are tough for school music programs, and for print publications. Here’s an idea that can help with both. Now you can buy a half

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance offers us one of American film’s great moments. U.S. Senator Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) has gained his position of

Soon we’ll come to the end of life’s journey,And perhaps we’ll never meet anymore;Till we gather in Heaven’s bright city,Far away on that beautiful shore.

Pioneering Lindy Hopper and jazz dancer Norma Miller, known as “the Queen of Swing” to modern Lindy Hoppers, passed away May 5, 2019 from degenerative

Red Allen, Tommy Ladnier, Baby and Johnny Dodds, Pops Foster and many others giged with bandleader Fate Marable, who ran the bands for the Streckfus

One of the wonderful things about jazz music is the enormous back catalogue of B-sides and rarities waiting to be rediscovered, even by long-time fans

British politicians are the bad jazz musicians of Europe. Smugly self-absorbed, they honk tone-deaf, repetitive solos out all time and tune with their confused, Continental

Teddy Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was one of the most consequential figures in jazz right when jazz was making its greatest

One of New Orleans’ most unabashedly entertaining jazz combos—the Dukes of Dixieland—started out in the late 1940s strictly as a family affair featuring brothers Frank

On Saturday evening, April 6, 2019, an enthusiastic crowd of nearly 200 welcomed organist Tony Thomas to Pittsburgh for a highly anticipated screening of Buster

Realizing that they had amassed a huge collection of important artifacts of the jazz revival, and hoping to ensure their preservation, The San Francisco Traditional

I owe a debt I can never repay to the community of African-American musicians who had settled in the Los Angeles area years ago. They

On the afternoon of February 12th, 1924 at New York City’s Aeolian Hall Paul Whiteman and his Palais Royal Orchestra held a concert billed as

When I interviewed Gerry Mulligan in 1981, he told me that his dream was to have a television show patterned after Lawrence Welk’s. An odd

In December we announced that a high school trio out of Sacramento was sending two musicians on to The Berklee School of Music. We were

Over the past 70 or so years, traditional and swing jazz have been my primary jazz interests, beginning as a young listener in my early

‘Don’t You Feel My Leg!’ Maria Muldaur, the jug-band chanteuse who scored a surprise pop hit with 1973’s “Midnight at the Oasis,” released her 41st

When given the task of writing about a legend of ragtime, I was instantly struck by how inadequate a few words describing such a life

The Sultans of Swing It’s the Saturday before Halloween at the James Joyce Pub in Santa Barbara, and in the long narrow room with the

In our November 2018 issue, we published an essay, “Record Collecting: Where Do I Begin?” by Terri Bruce. The following is a reader’s response by

The Map In 1932, E. Simms Campbell, considered the first commercially-successful African-American illustrator, created a map of a two-block area of Harlem between Lenox Avenue