The late music writer and producer, Stanley Dance, shared the opinion, common in the East, that “Los Angeles was a wasteland dominated by the bad
The wonderful vocalist Banu Gibson (“First Lady of the Bayou,” TST, September 2016) is a great friend and it is always a privilege to share
Larry Karp (1939–2016), whose last completed project was his biography of Brun Campbell, based it on a critical discussion of Brun’s autobiographical statements. (Numbers in parentheses
A banjo-centric conversation with Hal Smith and John Gill Multi-instrumentalist and bandleader John Gill (“Traditional Jazz’s Stomper-in-Chief,” TST, April 2020) has an encyclopedic knowledge of,
I took up the clarinet at the age of nineteen. I am totally self taught and do not read music. In fact, I play the
Let’s face it, the jazz scene, as most of us knew it, was never the same after the advent of television. In Boston where I
Cladys “Jabbo” Smith was born in 1908 and became a professional trumpet player at age 15. He showed up in New York City in 1925
Dave Kelbie is an in demand rhythm guitarist who has worked with a number of legends of gypsy jazz and more recently hot jazz. He
Pianist Kris Tokarski (“Lendítsd a zongorán!” TST, May 2020) hails from the home state of James P. Johnson and currently lives in Jelly Roll Morton’s
Riccardo Scivales was in his teens in Mestre, in the commune of Venice, when he discovered the English Progressive rock band Yes with Rick Wakeman
Exhausted by six months without swinging out, sociable swing dancers are finding other ways to scratch that interaction itch: outdoor tea dances, pub garden socials,
Back in 1988 while building the lineup for the Elkhart Jazz Festival, I took a look at Doc Cheatham as an all-star participant; however, when
It’s tricky to find much online about Olivia Cook—unless you’re seeking her almost-namesake Olivia Cooke, the English actress who starred in Psycho prequel Bates Motel.
This article became a two hour radio program which can be found following the text. A playlist providing discographical information for all of the sample
Norman Vickers is known as a harmonica-playing physician who was a pioneer in his field in his adopted city, and who for the past 40
Last fall I wrote an essay for The Syncopated Times titled, “Reconsidering “Dixieland Jazz”, How The Name Has Harmed The Music”. It encouraged the remaining
See, Part 1 A Real New York Story We had been recording double sessions, often earning overtime to complete more difficult or complicated arrangements. We
When Yvonne Marther Fasnacht died—on Sunday, 13 November 2011, aged 101—Variety.com carried her obituary. The top entertainment website remembered a pioneering nightclub owner who helped
Following the publication of “Nick Fatool – the Perfect Jazz Percussionist” (Syncopated Times, Nov. 2019), I have been carrying on a dialogue with Kevin Dorn—a
New Yorkers think of themselves as a pretty tough bunch. But even the coolest, most nonchalant among them has to admit: they’ve never seen a
There is this old joke about two musicians catching up on the latest news, and the conversation goes something like this: Musician One: Did you
I could not have been more pleased when Mike Zirpolo contacted me, and asked me to share my memories about having played for the soundtrack
With the exception of a few lady pianists, Swing Era women sang while the men played; that’s what some less academic, coffee table jazz histories
The role of each instrument in a jazz ensemble has changed as the music has changed, but the most dramatic transformation has been the role
