Features

I was introduced to song stylist Wesla Whitfield at one of her numerous appearances at the Plush Room, a popular San Francisco cabaret, and immediately

Olivier Lancelot, an exceptional French pianist and a master of the “stride” piano style, died unexpectedly in a motor scooter accident in Paris on January

As news of festival closings came in a steady drip through December and January I found myself repeatedly assuring people that the sky was not

Dick Ames fell in love with jazz when it was America’s popular music in the 1930s, went on to play cornet with a college dance

During the original heyday of ragtime music in the very late 1800s and the very early 1900s, banjos were in common use in minstrel shows

Marlene VerPlanck, one of the best-known interpreters of the American Popular Songbook died Sunday, January 14, 2018, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital after a brief illness.

Benny Goodman’s jazz concert at Carnegie Hall on January 16, 1938, was the first jazz concert to be held there. It was historic in a

Writing in his The Age of Roosevelt three-volume series, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. referred to the Depression days of the early 1930s as

New Jersey Jazz Society starts 2018 in style with Big Apple all-stars They’ll be jumpin’ for joy in Jersey in January when a seven of

Guitarist and fellow-Mississippian Mundell Lowe died on December 2nd, 2017 at age 95. My encounters with Mundell were brief but meaningful and I’d like to

Mere days after the announcement of the permanent cancellation of America’s Classic Jazz Festival in Lacey, Washington [Editors note: It made a comeback in 2019],

Wynton Marsalis thinks he’s on the right track at Lincoln Center. The talented New Orleans jazz trumpeter initiated a jazz program at Lincoln Center for

The Cakewalkin’ Jass Band pack Tony Packo’s in Toledo, Ohio, for their 50th anniversary celebration. From left: Russ Damschroeder, trombone; Dave Kosmyna, cornet; Buddy Lopez,

After Bruce Boyd Raeburn moved to New Orleans in 1971 to work on his doctoral dissertation in United States Cultural History at Tulane University, he

Italian-Americans were instrumental in the creation of jazz: Nick LaRocca. Leon Roppolo. Joe Venuti. Louis Prima. When he was born, Eddie Lang was named Salvatore

You may have met Dick Rippey selling CDs at numerous Midwest jazz festivals. Perhaps you own several favorite CDs on the Triangle Jazz label, such

In the St. Louis region, Dennis Owsley has been the source of jazz programming on the local NPR station KWMU since 1983. His Jazz Unlimited

What is it that T.S. Monk would like you to know about his famous father on the 100th anniversary of the elder Monk’s birth (October

No, the title “Jazz Bugs” doesn’t refer to a new jazz band but I wouldn’t be surprised. I use it in reference to being “bitten”

Jazz from before WW2 is experiencing a resurgence with a growing audience base. Because jazz education programs at the high school and collegiate level rarely

Early this year, veteran reedwoman Sarah Spencer relocated permanently to her native England after nearly two decades in the United States. Over the past several

In 2011, Attorney Herb Ely had the vision of opening an inclusive jazz venue in the heart of Phoenix, Arizona that would give budding jazz

I was languishing in my Tokyo hotel room with three days off, eight weeks into a thirteen week Far East tour, too lazy to practice,

The Scene of the crime? The new tenant had only recently taken up residence at 43-30 46th Street in the Borough of Queens, New York.

Evergreen, Colorado, is about 1400 miles from New Orleans. But from July 28th through the 30th, the scenic mountain community will again become “Bourbon Street

The Man from Circleville The man the public came to know as Ted Lewis was born Theodore Leopold Friedman on June 6, 1890 in Circleville,

Larry “Link” Linkin’s name may not be all that familiar to most jazz fans, but this master clarinetist and retired president of the trade organization

Introducing the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Co-directors Carol and Jeff Loehr have added a special, one-night-only performance of the famed Tommy Dorsey Orchestra led by Terry

When we all come to that moment of truth when we have to dispose of our cherished record collections, the question arises: What is the

Much has been written about Ralph Grugel and the Grugelfest event that honors his contribution to traditional jazz. One of Ralph’s greatest fans was John

In an era of ever-changing musical styles and tastes, it’s truly amazing that The Four Freshmen have been harmonizing, recording and touring for 69 years,

Full disclosure: For the past four years it has been my honor to coordinate inviting a jazz band to play at the Easter Parade and

A “soft opening” of the Bix Beiderbecke Museum and Archive Collection in Davenport, Iowa for patrons and donors is scheduled for July 21, to be

“Jazz is Dead!” That’s what we are told time and again by the media, music publications and the general public. To satisfy my own curiosity,

When he was a kid growing up in Rhode Island, Harry Allen played the hot corner. Now he plays a hot horn. The former Burrillville

In the history of jazz, people who do not play instruments do as much, in different ways, to sustain the art without getting equal credit.

‘Oh! Didn’t He Ramble!’ Tom Jacobsen, the author of three important studies of contemporary New Orleans jazz, died Jan. 15, at his home in St.

It is significant that T.S. Eliot and Scott Joplin lived in St. Louis at the same time. In fact knowing of Eliot’s fascination with English

Robert “Bob” Effros was born December 6, 1900 in London, England. His Russian Jewish parents emigrated shortly afterward from London to Memphis, Tennessee. Raised in

Elkhart, Indiana has long been the major center in the United States for the manufacture of band instruments. Over the past century, the city has

As a long-time jazz fan (over 70 years), I find that I’m no longer as distressed by the doomsayers who say “Jazz is dead!” or,

I confess it: I was not raised on jazz. My earliest memories have a soundtrack of fifties and sixties music, and my dance education began

Some of my earliest and most heart-warming musical memories revolve around waking up early on Saturday mornings so I could do two things: 1. watch

The swing and Lindy Hop community lost one of its great leaders when Dawn Hampton passed away September 25, 2016. Dawn, a musician, dancer, writer,

A literal King of Jazz has died. Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest reigning monarch and a great lover of jazz, passed away on

David Reffkin’s email on Tuesday, October 11th brought sad news: “Larry Karp died this morning at a hospital in Seattle…” Though I have read Larry’s

As the attendance of long withstanding patrons, musicians, volunteers, and trad jazz enthusiasts wanes, what does the future of the jazz festival community look like?

When I hear someone tell me, “I don’t care for jazz,” my first response is very direct: “Which kind do you dislike?” Many of my

Bringing Sophisticated, Cosmopolitan Swing to The Back Room Speakeasy in NYC For the past four years, Svetlana & The Delancey Five have been recreating a

Ragtime guitar, both classic and barrelhouse styles, has been around exactly as long as ragtime piano for exactly the same reasons. Entertainers in bars, sporting

“A horn is just like the voice. Person have no voice, they can’t sing.” – Edward “Kid” Ory. The question was: “How do you know

With many thousands of jazz concerts, festivals, and workshops worldwide, the passion for jazz has never been greater. That passion is shared by listeners and

Right around the mid 20th century mark, the Buffalo Public School System decided to include, as part of its comprehensive Physical Education Program, a course

The Riverside Jazz Party, hosted by Jeff and Carol Loehr, took place over the weekend of June 3-5, 2016 in Boise, Idaho. In the words

Once again, as has been tradition for the last 35 years, the melodious strains of Ragtime music reigned across the tiny town of Sedalia, Missouri

When Alida and Pieter Meijers first came to the United States from The Netherlands in 1968, they expected to stay only a year while Pieter