Jazz Jottings

Checking on the status of the few festivals scheduled to take place during the remaining months of 2020 is akin to reading the final chapters

As most of you know, I’ve been writing musician profiles for various publications for the past 35 years. The musicians who were interviewed candidly discussed

My “beat” for this newspaper over the past 35 years has been to travel about the country chronicling jazz events, attending festivals and jazz parties,

As panic over the coronavirus sweeps the globe, much of the focus is on the broader economic effects on businesses or venues that have had

At my advanced age, the thing I like about jazz parties is that they are held in a single venue (usually a hotel ballroom with

One of my favorite songs is “Once in a While.” Or should I say that two of my favorite songs are “Once in a While”

The Barbary Coast Dixieland Jazz Band holds a special place in Minnesota music history—and not just because its members were inducted into the Minnesota Music

Longtime pianist-arranger John Sheridan has assumed leadership of the Jim Cullum Jazz Band, which will continue its bi-weekly gigs at San Antonio restaurants as well

The jazz community lost a true icon with the passing of Jim Cullum in August. In light of Jim’s lifetime commitment to the performance, promotion,

A Re-ordering of Priorities . . . I have been fortunate in chronicling jazz events and personalities for this paper and its predecessors over the

When Sam Pilafian was 11, he was told that if he switched from the accordion to the tuba, he would always have friends. When he

In a One Day University lecture, University of Maryland professor of music Anna Celenza identified three musical masterpieces that changed America. Stating that “music does

It is apparent that the story about bandleader Glenn Miller’s disappearance over the English Channel during World War II has no end. The latest version

For the past 20 years, Dave Robinson has been the leading advocate in promoting the concept that traditional jazz should be a vital part of

It’s a special time for festival goers when they are introduced to a band they haven’t heard before that suddenly gets everyone excited, fills the

Vince Giordano has received the New York Hot Jazz Festival’s first Lifetime Achievement Award. September also marked the fifth anniversary of Vince and his Nighthawks’

If you believe in the tried-and-true, be aware that there are eight festivals and one jazz party coming up in the next two-and-a-half months that

Jim Martinez is a man of many talents who wears many hats. He is a versatile pianist and organist, a Steinway artist, recording artist, concert

Clarinetist extraordinaire Ken Peplowski is back performing after six weeks on the DL due to a broken knuckle in his right hand suffered while on

For the past four years, Pete and Will Anderson have devoted the month of April to a cross-country tour of concert and school performances. Their

Writing about the 60th anniversary of the Queen City Jazz Band got me to wondering where they ranked among the longest continuous-performing trad jazz bands

The Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band is one of only about a half-dozen bands that can say they have been playing traditional jazz festivals for more

After 32 years of service, John Edward Haase has stepped down as Curator of American Music at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and