Features

Multi-keyboardist Dick Hyman, born March 8, 1927, will turn 97 years old this month. With a prolific career behind him he’s no longer performing publicly,

From the 1920s to the 1940s my great uncle Harry Berman had a multifaceted career as a performer on stage, screen, records, and radio. His

The “Roaring Twenties” were off to a rousing start by late 1920. Musically, if not in other ways as well, the contributions of African Americans

An Interview with, and pièce de théâtre about Matthew de Lacey Davidson by Jeff Barnhart (with assistance from the little garden gnome down the street

Who knew a World War could be so entertaining? As the 1940s got underway, the Swing Era in music was, shall we say, in full

Behind every great man is a great woman, they say. Often she’s sitting on a piano stool, if my “forgotten ladies” features are anything to

On July 28, 1954, The Reporter Dispatch ran a feature on Mr. Nelson Argueso of 38 Ridgeway Circle, White Plains, New York. “City Collector of

It’s tempting to think of LGBT acceptance and allyship as a very 21st-century phenomenon, distinct from the dark ages of yore when queer communities hid

So, there I was in the back seat of my friend John Smith’s 1969 Mercury Cougar. The car was nine years old by then; it

When the musician walks in carrying four instruments—two banjos, one guitar, and one fiddle– and takes a seat at the piano and then proceeds to

Even in 2023 buying albums is one of the most direct ways you can support jazz. It’s also one of the most rewarding. While many

Grace Johnston could sing and swing a tune with a drive and delivery that almost transcended description. And she really WAS from Dixie! She was

As the year speeds to an end and we focus on holiday gaiety, I am reminded of a Christmas day anniversary that deserves acknowledgment. The

The flugelhorn has become a staple in the jazz brass player’s arsenal. Its large bore and conical tubing make the tone mellower than the trumpet

Loose pages, handsomely hard-bound volumes with ornate covers, and every configuration in between of sheet music are stacked on floor-to-ceiling shelves, cascading out of boxes

As is sometimes the case when I’m researching a topic, I stumble upon another subject that grabs my attention. It recently happened while I was

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