This is not an article I expected to write, but given that the events I’m relating occur on a regular or seasonal basis, I felt
The 50th anniversary Bix Beiderbecke jazz festival in Bix’s hometown of Davenport, Iowa, got underway in its usual fashion on Thursday afternoon, August 5, with
I spent most of this summer in western New York instead of at my usual place, Potsdam in the St. Lawrence River valley, since my
Four and a half years ago I first met Colin Hancock, whose recognition and reputation as an eminent authority on early jazz, especially that performed
Although pianist Domingo Mancuello (pronounced Man-KWAY-o) lives only three miles from me (but not for long—see below), I did not meet him here in Lancaster.
Like many of you since the onset of COVID, I’ve been itching to be able to attend live music events and festivals. There just haven’t
Charlotte Dickison retired as director of the Olympia Jazz Festival after the 2019 edition. She made many friends from all over the US and Canada
Suncoast Jazz Festival director Joan Dragon has had a long and varied worklife, in and outside the music world. Having never attended this festival, I
The renowned French quartet Paris Washboard made a brief trip across the pond in February to play four concerts in my neck of the woods.
At the West Coast Ragtime Festival in November I sat down for about half an hour for a wide-ranging conversation with multi-instrumentalist Matt Tolentino, who
Combined with my trip to the West Coast Ragtime Festival as reported last month, I attended for the second time the San Diego Jazz Fest
Sometimes too much of a good thing is, well, too much. Such is the case with the West Coast Ragtime Festival, which I attended for
The eleventh annual Central Pennsylvania Ragtime & American Music Festival took place on September 20-22 in Orbisonia and Mount Union. There was a slight change
What are you—yes YOU—doing to keep traditional jazz alive? That was the recurring theme of my recent conversation with Vince Giordano, leader of the Nighthawks,
The 48th annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival occurred from July 31 through August 3 at the perennially over-air conditioned Rhythm City Casino in Davenport,
The Thursday afternoon concert featured new pieces by contemporary composers such as Vincent Johnson, Marty Mincer, John Reed-Torres, and Martin Spitznagel, the latter two playing their own works. This added a welcome variety
This event with a hopelessly long but descriptive name occurs annually on Memorial Day weekend on the beautiful University of Mississippi campus in Oxford. This
In late April I spent a week in New York, volunteering at the NY Hot Jazz Camp as I have done every year since its
In my December 2017 column, I reported on my short visit to New Orleans, concluding that “I shouldn’t wait another 23 years to return.” I
Jazz Travels writer Bill Hoffman turns over his column to Katie Cavera this month: Spend two minutes (or less) with Katie Cavera and you’ll know
The word “unique” is often misused, perhaps most frequently when someone describes something as “rather unique.” It’s either unique—one of a kind—or it isn’t. But
Over Thanksgiving weekend I attended the San Diego Jazz Festival for the first, and hopefully not last, time. The 39th annual installment organized by America’s
Jeff (Barnhart) and Joel (Schiavone)’s House Party started small nine years ago, but has outgrown several venues as its reputation has spread. At first it
The sixth annual New York Hot Jazz Festival, held Sunday, September 30, at the McKittrick Hotel on West 27th Street in the Chelsea section of
