David Ostwald Bringing Trad Jazz to Birdland
Bill Hoffman
May 31, 2020
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
Clint Baker is one of the most important musicians in the contemporary Traditional Jazz and Swing world. Besides being a first-class musician (a multi-instrumentalist), he
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
Bob Mielke, a very great jazz artist, a hero on trombone and a dear friend, has just died at 93. For me, Bob defined a
A Happy Accident that Lasted a Lifetime For most of his musical career, Upstate New York banjoman Dick Sheridan has made his bones with trad-jazz
Doug Benson’s work on King Oliver and Wolverines material quickly became benchmarks for what proper audio restoration could reveal. Since those discs in 2007 and
Much has been written about Johnny Dodds. Unfortunately the biography by Lambert (1961) that inspires much of it is not well-researched and is mostly a
Ian Whitcomb was a fun person to be with. I believe it was in 1986 that we first met, at the Sedalia Scott Joplin festival.
Guitarist Jared Engel is one of the more than 175,000 residents of New York City, considered the epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic in the United
Dear Festival Organizer, Covid-19 has led many festivals to take this year off. Now is the chance to analyze how you’ve been doing things and
This event was Cancelled. Will be back in 2021 The 54th annual West Texas Jazz Party is rescheduled for August 6-8, 2020 in the beautiful
In the 1950s, trombonist Wilbur DeParis led his New New Orleans Jazz Band, one of the most exciting groups of the era. Accomplishing his stated
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival’s 50th anniversary celebration was cancelled for the weekends of April 23-26 and April 30-May 3. The local radio
Ernest “Punch” Miller was born in Raceland, Louisiana, on June 10, 1894. Since his twin sister was named Ernestine Judy, it was natural that he
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,
This month’s article in this column will step away from the usual type of research done here; this month we will explore a bit of
Here we are folks—for most of us, it’s just another day in self-quarantine. How long has it been already? A month, a week, two years?
Like many reading this, I suspect you are nearly overwhelmed by the negativism accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a pessimistic time and for many
This lively tribute to Mielke offers three dozen exclusive photos and music tracks from his personal collection. Included in this profile of an innovative bandleader
For the first 52 issues of this paper, page three has contained a column of my mental regurgitations which many readers, unaccountably, look forward to
This is an outdated Festival Roundup from back in those plague days of 2020. Man that was a bad year… Anyway, look for our most
Of all the things being cancelled by you-know-what, the saddest to see knocked on the head would undoubtedly be Shirt Tail Stompers’ tenth birthday bash
There’s something particularly appealing about live recordings right now, when we can’t go out and enjoy bands in person. A 1961 record of Chris Barber
I didn’t realize just how much I need dancing in my life, until I could no longer do it. I knew I loved it, but
Glenn Crytzer, facing all the musical hurdles that everyone is right now put on his bandleader hat and assembled an all-star team that could rise
The Syncopation Society of Berlin is a collaboration of jazz and swing artists who even in normal times work to promote and support each other’s
Robert Bell’s Hot Swing Combo has spent the last fifteen years as regional favorites at Midwestern swing events. They are based in Minneapolis and have
I downloaded this album the moment I saw it. At the time it was only five tracks with maybe six or seven musicians on board
Tuba Skinny has released about an album a year over their now eleven year history. They were scheduled to record number eleven this April until
British trombonist-bandleader Chris Barber, who recently turned 90, retired from playing last year after a 70-year career. But even though he has stopped performing, it
Clarinetists Acker Bilk and Wally Fawkes both carved out important niches in the traditional jazz world of Great Britain. After a period working with Ken
Throughout his life, Scott Joplin sought to have his ragtime music accepted as American art rather than have it considered mere entertainment. It was a
Jesper Thilo, who was a month shy of his 78th birthday when he recorded Swing Is The Thing in 2019, has been an important swing-based
One of the finest clarinetists of the past 30 years, Tim Laughlin long ago developed his own sound within the New Orleans jazz tradition, inspired
Cliff Jackson (1902-70) was one of the great stride pianists to emerge from the 1920s. Despite that, Jackson recorded exclusively during 1924-27 as an accompanist
Gene R. Maurice passed away on April 8, 2020 in Alameda California, he was 93. After service in the Pacific during World War II on
Bob Pilsbury passed away on May 12th in Bedford Massachusetts, he was 93. Bob was the pianist for the New Black Eagle Jazz Band from
Robert Tuttle Morris Frost died on March 25th of pneumonia complications in California, he was 89. Born in 1930 in Washington DC he was raised
Michael Cogswell, founding Executive Director of the Louis Armstrong House Museum died on April 20th at 66 years old. The cause was complications from bladder
Ian Whitcomb, a consummate entertainer and storyteller who shared his gift in song, on the screen, on the page, and on the radio died on
David Ostwald: Bringing Trad Jazz to Birdland, by Bill Hoffman
Ian Whitcomb: A Remembrance, by Ed Berlin
Recording the Cotton Club Soundtrack, Part One, by Dan Barrett
Bob Mielke: A Reminiscence, by Ray Skjelbred
Baby Briscoe: Crescent City Queen, Sweetheart of New Orleans, Dave Doyle
Doug Benson: Master of Audio Restoration, interview by Joe Bebco
Clint Baker: Preserving the Fire of Early Jazz, interview by Hal Smith
A Happy Accident that Lasted a Lifetime: Dick Sheridan, by Russ Tarby
Slam and Mule: Jazz Bass Masters of the Bow, by Stephen Provizer
New Black Eagles’ Bob Pilsbury Passes at 93, by Joe Bebco
Musicians Rise to the Occasion with Good Deeds, by Lew Shaw
Jazz Birthday of the Month: Punch Miller, illustration by Joe Busam
Static from my Attic, by Andy Senior
Final Chorus, by compiled by Joe Bebco
Jazz Jottings, by Lew Shaw
The Professor is IN: How to Survive Quarantine, by Adrian Cunningham
Quarter Notes: Jazz Festing in Place, by Shelly Gallichio
Fred Hager and “Handsome Harry”, by R.S. Baker
Farewell to Bob Mielke (1926-2020), by Dave Radlauer
Festival Roundup, compiled by Joe Bebco
Profiles in Jazz: Wilbur and Sidney DeParis, by Scott Yanow
Blowing off the Dust: Thinking Positive, by Larry Melton
Nights at the Turntable, CD reviews by Scott Yanow
Out of a Clear Blue Sky, Review by Andy Senior
Japan: New Orleans Collection Series, Review by Pops Coffee
Off the Beaten Tracks, CD reviews by Joe Bebco
Syncopation Society, Gordon Au, Candy Jackets, Cd Reviews by Dave Doyle