The West Texas Jazz Party continues to hold the top spot when it comes to longevity for jazz parties, having celebrated its 60th anniversary in early June at the MCM Elegante Hotel in Odessa. Attendance was up from the previous year, with Dan Barrett, Allen Vache, Jon-Erik Kellso, Harry Allan,
One thing jazz lovers today can appreciate is that here are a good number of jazz bands featuring young musicians—in music schools, high schools, colleges, and elsewhere – keeping jazz alive in both spirit and practice. But one band in particular, the Sant Andreu Jazz Band in Barcelona, stands alone
This continues the saga of a Connecticut drummer, hailing from Maine, who lived a brief but exciting musical life during the 1920s. Harvey (Fr: Hervé) Belair, born in Maine, as we chronicled in the last issue, played in the Emil Heimberger Orchestra at the once prominent Hotel Bond in Hartford,
The year 2025 was rather special, as my family and I had the chance to attend both Mike Durham’s International Classic Jazz Party (better known as Whitley Bay) as well as the Davenport Bix festival—two top annual events, highlighting the best of today’s hot jazz. This gave me a chance
The West Texas Jazz Party continues to hold the top spot when it comes to longevity for jazz parties, having celebrated its 60th anniversary in early June at the MCM Elegante Hotel in Odessa. Attendance was up from the previous year, with Dan Barrett, Allen Vache, Jon-Erik Kellso, Harry Allan,
I do not consider baked goods to be oracular. Nonetheless, there was a time when I looked forward to the end of a meal of Chinese take-out when the message inside the attendant fortune cookie would provide a moment’s amusement. The messages were frequently funny, sometimes cryptic, often written in
RIVER RAISIN RAGTIME REVUE’S RAGTIME EXTRAVAGANZA (Adrian, MI) July 3 Join us for the 14th annual River Rasin Ragtime Revue’s Ragtime Extravaganza. This year, River Raisin Ragtime Revue (R4) will be partnering with the City of Adrian’s First Friday/America250 celebration! R4 will perform a free “America 250” concert at the
In this column I have written much about trombonist Arthur Pryor, and while he did lead his own band, his long time assistant was fellow low brass man Simone Mantia. Mantia was one of these figures who ended up being on a lot of records uncredited, much like Pryor’s brother
Jalacy J. “Screamin’ Jay” Hawkins was born July 18, 1929, Cleveland, Ohio. Hawkins studied classical piano as a child and learned guitar in his 20s. His initial goal was to become an opera singer (Hawkins idolized Paul Robeson), but when his operatic ambitions failed, he began his career as a
The 52nd Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival, held May 27-30, had not even begun before I met two of the musicians getting off the same train I was on coming to Sedalia—Steve Hicks and Tadao Tomokiyo. Tadao, in fact, was sitting a few rows ahead of me in the same car,
To the Editor: Many thanks for your well written “Static from my Attic” column offering your Juneteenth Reflections. It is imperative that those of us who support equal rights for all (which I used to naively think was common sense) make our voices heard loud, clear, and often. Bravo! Jeff
Early next year, make sure to check the Festival Roundup section for the Zehnder’s Ragtime Festival, occurring every April in Frankenmuth, Michigan. I attended one of this year’s lunch shows and enjoyed it very much. My favorite part of the experience was Anne Barnhart’s tranquil singing of the Billie Holiday
Marion Harris, Lee Morse, and Teddy Grace had several things in common. Each were talented jazz-oriented singers who are largely forgotten today. They each had potentially significant careers and a certain amount of prosperity for a time but had their careers (and in one occasion their life) cut short by
Have you noticed more people than ever before seem to comment that the world is “going to Hell in a hand basket?” I first heard this phrase from my grandfather over 50 years ago. People have been commenting on the incivility, intolerance, and enmity they sense around them since I
The few days between the weekends offer a quieter respite with afternoon jam sessions at Fritzel’s and casual evening performances while welcoming the various international musicians arriving for the weekends. Rob Pearce (tb) made it back from the UK and dozens of other talented musicians were getting ready to perform
Jeff Barnhart: Dear fans of hot jazz music! Hal and I are delighted to share our third and final delve into the sounds of Clancy Hayes, drummer, banjoist, guitarist, pianist and above all, vocalist! For those who read Part II, we apologize that the accompanying sound links were incorrect on
Warren “Baby” Dodds (1898-1959) can be considered the first influential jazz drummer. While he was preceded on records by Tony Sbarbaro with the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Dodds’ playing on a very limited drum set (due to the primitive recording techniques of the time) with King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band
It can’t have been easy for the kid who later became known as Little Jimmy Scott. Born in Cleveland in 1925, Scott’s mother died when he was 13 and his father deserted the 10 kids. He was born with Kallman Syndrome, which causes delayed or absent puberty. Four feet, 11
JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH Lester Young (1909-59) was one of the most important saxophonists in jazz history. His cool-toned sound and floating style were major factors in 1950s “cool jazz,” giving tenor-saxophonists an alternative to the harder tone and harmonically complex playing of Coleman Hawkins. Ironically, just when his
Archeophone’s extensive series of “phonographic yearbooks” has now reached 1924. When one thinks of the music of 1924, Bix Beiderbecke’s recordings with the Wolverines, Louis Armstrong’s with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, Bessie Smith, and perhaps the two King Oliver/Jelly Roll Morton duets come to mind. None of those readily available
Two previous Turtle Bay releases documented pianist Terry Waldo’s Gotham City Band from 2018 and 2022. Treasury Volume 3 has one selection (“Alice Blue Gown”) from Oct. 15, 2018 but is otherwise from May-June 2022. Waldo, who has been creating his brand of hot jazz since the 1970s is joined
Even the most committed “moldy figs” among us—devotees of traditional jazz, early swing, and ragtime—tend to gravitate toward the tried, true, and familiar. There’s comfort in a known melody, a lyric we can mouth along to, and everlasting awe in the iconic solos which have withstood the test of time
In 1934, trombonist Jack Teagarden joined the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, a few months after his younger brother, trumpeter Charlie Teagarden. It seemed like a good deal at the time, a way of having a secure income during the Depression which is why Jack signed a five-year contract. Unfortunately, that decision
When one thinks of Will Bradley, the first song that comes to mind is his big hit “Beat Me Daddy, Eight To The Bar.” Recorded when big-band boogie-woogie was starting to reach the height of its popularity, this two-sided romp from 1940 features pianist Freddie Slack, either Joe Wiedman or
Abdullah Ibrahim, known to an earlier generation as Dollar Brand, died on June 15, 2026, in Bavaria, Germany. He was 91. Born Adolph Johannes Brand in Cape Town’s District Six, he grew up steeped in the music of the AME Church, African traditional song, and American jazz drifting across the
David Poe, known to fellow Las Vegas musicians as “Show Dog” and sometimes billing himself as David “Mojo” Poe, died on June 3, 2026, in Las Vegas, the city he had called home for nearly half a century. He was 80. Born Miroslav Drahomir Pohorelec in Alabama, he went by
Henry Blackburn was one of the most consequential behind-the-scenes figures in the traditional jazz revival, a gifted clarinetist and soprano saxophonist who, as a young medical student in New Orleans, fell under the spell of the music and spent the next eight decades carrying that flame northward to Minnesota and
Joe Negri, a Pittsburgh jazz guitarist who spent a lifetime bringing the warmth of the swing tradition to concert stages, university classrooms, and children’s television, died on May 30, 2026, in Scott Township, Pennsylvania, just eleven days before what would have been his 100th birthday. Born in Pittsburgh to Italian
The jazz recording community lost one of its most trusted ears on June 19, with the sudden and unexpected death of Michael Perez-Cisneros, a Grammy-winning recording, mixing, and mastering engineer based in Brooklyn, New York, and sometimes recording in Nashville, TN. He was described by those who worked with him
Ronell Johnson, the trombonist, sousaphonist, and vocalist who was a fixture with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band for over two decades, died on June 14, 2026, of complications from a heart attack he had suffered in April. He was 49. Born in Marrero, Louisiana, on the West Bank of New
Scott Asen’s Turtle Bay: A “Youthquake” of Classic Jazz, by Bill Hoffman
Jazz in Barcelona: The Sant Andreu Jazz Band at 20, by Garry Berman
Harvey Belair: A Tale of a 1920s Jazz Drummer, Pt. 2, by Bob Lazar
A Contrast in Festivals: Davenport and Whitley Bay, by Clorinda Nickols
West Texas Jazz Party: 60 Years of Classic Jazz in Odessa, by Lew Shaw
Jazz Birthday of the Month: Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, art by Sara Lièvre
Static from my Attic, by Andy Senior; art by Gary Price
Final Chorus, compiled by Joe Bebco
My Inspirations: Just Listen, by Jeff Barnhart
Quarter Notes: Festin’ with no Restin’!, by Shelly Gallichio
Ragtime Vignettes: Ragtime in Little Bavaria, by Brandon Byrne
Simone Mantia: Master of the Euphonium, by R.S. Baker
Profiles in Jazz: M. Harris, Lee Morse, & Teddy Grace, by Scott Yanow
Jazz Travels: Scott Joplin Ragtime Fest 2026, by Bill Hoffman
Festival Roundup, compiled by Michael Buonaiuto; art by Joe Busam
Jazz Jottings: Six Hands, Two Pianos!, by Lew Shaw
Ain’t Cha Got Music: Clancy Hayes, Pt. 3, by Jeff Barnhart & Hal Smith
Nights at the Turntable, CD reviews by Scott Yanow
CD Review: Love Don’t Mean More by Jimmy Scott, by Steve Provizer
CD Review: Under the Midnight Moon by Miss Maybell, by Neal Siegal