January 2018

On the Cover

Features

Chicken Fat Ball

Chewin’ on the Chicken Fat

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 Mundell Lowe

Remembering Guitarist Mundell Lowe

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

Jazz_at_Lincoln_Center

Nurturing the Future of Jazz

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

Cakewalkin at Tony Packos Dec 10 Diane Teall Brackett

Cakewalkin’ Jass Band Celebrates 50 Years

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,

News

New Wonders Release Debut Album

The New Wonders, a septet led by cornetist Mike Davis (featured on the cover of our November 2017 issue), have unofficially released their first self-titled

Columns

Pit band
The Professor Is IN
Adrian Cunningham

Preparing for the Count Off

There’s a magic moment in jazz…a small window of time…between the musicians taking the stage and counting off the first tune. It may not seem

Gene Krupa
Profiles In Jazz
Scott Yanow

Gene Krupa: Profiles in Jazz

The First Star Drummer He was the first drummer to be considered a superstar and a matinee idol. Before Gene Krupa hit it big with

Wycliffe Gordon
Festival Roundup
Andy Senior

Festival Roundup January 2018

This is The Festival Roundup as printed in our January 2018 issue, the most recent roundup can be found by clicking Events on the menu. 

Holly and Tip
Randi Cee
Randi Cee

Bump in the Road

To say the Road of Life is bumpy might be the understatement of the year. For me personally, the last two years have been like

Jazz Birthday
Andy Senior

Bulee “Slim” Gaillard

Bulee “Slim” Gaillard was born on January 4, 1916 in Detroit, Michigan—according to some sources. Other sources (including Gaillard himself) indicate that he was born

Danny Matson
Blowing Off The Dust
Larry Melton

Angels and the Arts

I was visiting recently with a friend about angels. Not the Gabriel types, with trumpets blaring, or the ones like Clarence waiting to get their

W. C. Fields in his famous role as Mr. Micwaber. Public Domain
Christmas
Andy Senior

A Season of Superlatives

During the season in which I write this, it is almost impossible to avoid Charles Dickens’ inky thumbprint on our culture. There is a pervasive

Reviews

Nights at the Turntable

The Unheard Artie Shaw

No, the music on The Unheard Artie Shaw does not contain new recordings by the great clarinetist. Instead, the set released by the Hep label

Bud Freeman The Dolphin has a Message

Bud Freeman: The Dolphin Has A Message

Bud Freeman (1906-91) was one of the greatest tenor-saxophonists of all time. When he emerged in the late 1920s, his only competition on tenor was

Off The Beaten Tracks

Ed Clute A Summer Night's Magic

Ed Clute: A Summer Night’s Magic

A Summer Night’s Magic, on Rivermont Records, is a set of piano solos by blind virtuoso Ed Clute, performed at his home in Watkins Glen,

The Royal Klobasneks

The Royal Klobasneks: Here We Go

In anticipation of reviewing Here We Go! I found myself excitedly in line at the Pulaski Meat Market, a landmark institution anchoring a quiet corner

The Final Chorus

Guitarist Mundell Lowe

Guitarist Mundell Lowe has Died

MUNDELL LOWE, 95, Died on Dec. 2 in San Diego. Considered one of the most sophisticated guitarists in jazz, he was known for his impeccable

Della Reese

Gospel Singer Della Reese has Died

DELLA REESE died on Nov. 19 in Los Angeles, she was 86. Born Delloreese Patricia Early, she began singing in her hometown of Detroit when

Table of Contents

Columns

Static from my Attic, by Andy Senior

Jazz Birthday of the Month: Slim Gaillard, illustration by Gary Price

Jazz Jottings, by Lew Shaw

Blowing off the Dust, by Larry Melton

Jazz Travels with Bill Hoffman

Profiles in Jazz: Gene Krupa, by Scott Yanow

Festival Roundup, compiled by Andy Senior

Final Chorus, compiled by Lew Shaw

Humor

Bump in the Road, by Randi Cee

The Professor is IN- Preparing for the Count Off, by Adrian Cunningham

A Handy Man Around the House (1922), cartoon  by Clare Briggs

Cohen on the Telephone &  Yes, We Have No Bananas, cartoons by John Held, Jr.

“A Bird in a Cage Making Minimum Wage”, song by Andy Senior

Reviews

Albums:

Nights at the Turntable, by Scott Yanow

Off the Beaten Tracks, by Joe Bebco

Other News

New Wonders Release Debut Album, by Andy Senior

Nurturing the Future of Jazz, by Russ Tarby

2018 Olympia Jazz Festival Cancelled, by Lew Shaw

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