(Pictured: The Fat Babies Jazz Band) This is The Festival Roundup as printed in our February 2018 issue, the Roundup for the current month can be found HERE, our Interactive Event Calendar is located at the bottom […]
Red Nichols was one of the finest cornet players to emerge during the 1920s—yet, for various reasons, he was underrated throughout much of his career and in the half-century since. Because his personality could be […]
Blowing Off The Dust with Larry Melton “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for fifteen minutes.” This line, credited to Andy Warhol from a Stockholm exhibit catalog in 1968, has gone through several attributions […]
The whole company of musicians at The 54th Chicken Fat Ball on stage near the end of the concert (from left): Rossano Sportiello (piano), Jason Anick (violin), Adrian Cunningham (clarinet), Nicki Parrott (bass), Olli Soikkeli […]
The Original Cornell Syncopators, photographed after a gig on November 17, 2016. Seated from left are Rishi Verma, trombone and Noah Li, traps. Standing, from left, Colin Hancock cornet, Hannah Krall, reeds, and Amit Mizrahi, […]
Randy Reinhart and John Allred challenge each other on trombone. (photo by Lynn Redmile Photography; www.lynnredmile.com) Related: The 54th Annual Chicken Fat Ball Jazz Travels with Bill Hoffman Last March I reported on the Chicken Fat […]
The Original Cornell Syncopators in Ithaca New York, recreating jazz played a century ago (from left): Rishi Verma, trombone; Amit Mizrahi, piano; Noah Li, drums; Hannah Krall, clarinet; and Colin Hancock, cornet and leader. (photo […]
Patrick Williams, 79, on July 25, of cancer in Santa Monica, California. He was a major composer for TV series in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. He created the music for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, […]
Tomasz Stańko, 76, July 26th of lung cancer in Warsaw. One of the biggest names in Polish jazz, he composed smooth lyrical works known for their emotional enchantment and was part of the free jazz […]
Serge Bichon, 83, on July 31st in France. BG Franck Bichon, the French manufacturer of Wind Instruments released the following statement regarding the passing of Serge Bichon, co-founder of BG Franck Bichon: “One of the most […]
Alan Joseph, 62, from a heart attack on Dec. 20 in Colorado Springs. Originally from Detroit, he moved to Colorado Springs in the late 1970’s and quickly carved a name for himself in the music […]
Sisyphys (1548–49) by Titian, Prado Museum, Madrid, From Wikipedia Each month when I begin work on the following month’s issue of The Syncopated Times I often think of Sisyphus, king of Ephyra, condemned for his self-aggrandizing craftiness to push […]
Jazz Birthday of the Month Illustration by Gary Price Mildred Eleanor Rinker was born February 16, 1900 (according to researcher Albert Haim), in Tekoa, Washington. Her mother, Josephine, was a member of the Coeur d’Alene […]
A scene from the 2018 Student Jazz Competition. Take heed and spread the word: Jazz Pensacola’s 2018 Student Jazz Competition is seeking entrants. The finals of this year’s competition will be 7 p.m. Thursday, March […]
The Dixie Diehards Jazz Band (Photo Marce, New England Traditional Jazz Plus) Related Post: What is to be Done? Writing in his The Age of Roosevelt three-volume series, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. referred […]
Colin Hancock (photo by 2E Photography, courtesy Colin Hancock) Related: “Ain’t That Hot!” The Original Cornell Syncopators Romp in Ithaca/ Introducing the Original Cornell Syncopators/ The Original Cornell Syncopators Mark 100 Years of Jazz At age 21, Colin […]
THE AMERICAN RAG/”TEXAS SHOUT” REPRINTS – By Tex Wyndham Set forth below is the ninth “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the August 1990 issue of The West Coast Rag, now known as The […]
PRE-BIG BAND BUNNY One of the greatest trumpeters in jazz history and an exciting musical force throughout the 1930s, Bunny Berigan led big bands during 1937-42 and starred on hit recordings by the orchestras of […]
I have the pleasure to review this month three albums from a remarkable talent known to many readers of The Syncopated Times; trumpeter and vocalist Bria Skonberg. Her 2012 album, So is the Day, I […]
Multi-instrumentalist Gary Church (photo courtesy facebook.com) Related Story: Report from Gary Church’s Celebration of Life. In 2012, Gary Church wrote a 135-page book which he titled The Autobiography of a Nobody: The Life and Times […]
Experiencing Big Band Jazz by Jeff Sultanof Rowman & Littlefield (rowman.com) Hardback $38.00; eBook $35.99 Richard M. Sudhalter told Jeff Sultanof that he should write books. Five pages into Sultanof’s multi-faceted examination of big band […]
– Cortland, not Corning – To the Editor: Thank you for the front-page article on Colin Hancock, an amazing young musician and more whom I’m privileged to know. But I did not recognize the author, […]
Fourteen-year-old piano phenom Joey Alexander brought a brand-new trio to the Corning Museum of Glass Auditorium February 17, drawing a large and enthusiastic crowd. Backed by bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Justin Faulkner, the ever-smiling […]
When it comes to creating famous quotes that are destined to be repeated generation after generation, Brian Holland says his father was no Mark Twain. However, he left Brian with two wise sayings that he’ll […]
(I was introduced to song stylist Wesla Whitfield at one of her numerous appearances at the Plush Room, a popular San Francisco cabaret, and immediately joined her legion of admirers who recognized her as one […]
The jazz enthusiasts on board rehearse for the benefit concert. (photo courtesy Joel Albert) An overdue update on my project to raise money for Puerto Rico hurricane relief. As you may recall, in addition to […]
(Pianist Mary Lou Williams) The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told, a new documentary film produced by MCG Jazz in Pittsburgh, features the talents of international Jazz Masters George Benson, Ahmad Jamal, Stanley Turrentine, Billy Eckstine, […]
Ralph Peer and the Making of Popular Roots Music by Barry Mazor (2015) 320 Pages, 6 x 9 inches Chicago Review Press (www.chicagoreviewpress.com) $17.99 Trade Paper; $34.99 Enhanced EPUB $34.99 The story of Ralph Peer […]
Jazz Transatlantic: The African Undercurrent in Twentieth-Century Jazz Culture, Volume I by Gerhard Kubik (2017) 464 pages (approx.), 6 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches, 112 b&w illustrations, bibliography, index University Press of Mississippi (www.upress.state.ms.us) $75.00 […]
Anat Cohen (fourth from right) and her Tentet are set to play at Saratoga. (photo by Aline Muller; courtesy www.anatcohen.com) For more than three decades, the Saratoga Jazz Festival has presented some of the best […]
(A strongwoman supports a pianist—with his piano—circa 1920. The case could be made that they’re both athletes.) Blowing off the Dust with Larry Melton Throughout mid-February, I was suitably entertained watching the Winter Olympics. I […]
Ken Peplowski, shown here playing at Fred McIntosh’s jazz party in August 2014, is the music director of the 38th Sarasota Jazz Festival this month. The theme of this year’s festival is “A World of […]
Show-toppers banjoist Eddy Davis and pianist Conal Fowkes performing at the 2015 edition of the New York Hot Jazz Festival. (photo by Jane Kratochvil; courtesy www.nyhotjazzfest.com) Jazz Travels with Bill Hoffman The New York Hot […]
Jazz is a mysterious art form, full of many eccentricities, not the least of which is that elusive style of singing known as scat singing. Scatting is a proud and dignified tradition of singing a bunch […]
Related Post: A Crisis of the Old Order -Changing Festival Landscape- As news of festival closings came in a steady drip through December and January, I found myself repeatedly assuring people that the sky was […]
Dedicated to the music of Edward “Kid” Ory, the On the Levee Jazz Band poses onstage at the Mint in New Orleans: from left, Kris Tokarski, piano; Clint Baker, trombone; Alex Belhaj, guitar; Hal Smith, […]
BILL MOODY, 76, on Jan. 12, at home in Vallejo California. The author of nonfiction books on jazz topics as well as a series of jazz pianist detective novels built around lead character Evan Horne. […]
Ed. Note: You’re reading this because since the publication of this column in March we have joined the ranks of true online publications (take that international shipping rates!) Every story published in the paper is […]
Bria Skonberg, center right, in 2007 Even 11 years ago can seem like history. In these four pages from our The American Rag archive, you can see an extensive profile of Dan Levinson, a first glimpse […]
Jazz Birthday of the Month Illustration by Gary Price Charles Ellsworth “Pee Wee” Russell was born March 27, 1906, in Maplewood, Missouri. He spent his childhood in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where he variously studied violin, piano, […]
The traditional jazz society in Sacramento lives to see another day! It’s just in a different format. The Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society officially went out of business on December 31, 2017, after promoting and presenting […]
Steve Ross with fellow cabaret stars Andrea Marcovicci, Maude Maggart, and Jeff Harnar (courtesy www.steveross.net) When New York City pianist-singer Bobby Short died in 2005, Steve Ross, the “crown prince of cabaret” as the New […]
The Dodds Brothers with King Oliver’s Jazz Band, from left: Warren “Baby” Dodds, Honoré Dutrey, Joe “King” Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Bill Johnson, Johnny Dodds, and Lil Hardin. The Dodds Brothers, clarinetist Johnny and drummer Baby, […]
Pianist Olivier Lancelot (photograph by Dan Levinson) A Personal Remembrance by Dan Levinson Olivier Lancelot, an exceptional French pianist and a master of the “stride” piano style, died unexpectedly in a motor scooter accident in […]
PAOLO ALDERIGHI AND STEPHANIE TRICK In recent years, the married couple Stephanie Trick and Paolo Alderighi has often performed as a duo on one piano. While that setting shows listeners what four hands can do […]
Drew Nugent and The Midnight Society: Alice Blue Gown (2013) Drew Nugent: I’ll Never Be The Same (2017) Double Ohs Music 1004 www.drewgent.com Drew Nugent is well established in the Philadelphia traditional jazz scene where […]
Adrian Cunningham muses on life in The Big Apple Are you a working musician, but are tired of waiting for the phone to ring for more gigs? Are you constantly looking at band line-ups and […]
Located just off of Interstate 5 in Carlsbad, California, 30 miles north of San Diego, the Museum of Making Music describes itself as the only museum worldwide that focuses on the ecosystem of music-making from […]
(with many thanks to Ron Evry! www.ronevry.com) This is what our print edition feels like. If you want good news to read with your morning coffee, order a print subscription. You’ll get full online access […]
There has been a wave of Tuba theft stories circling the internet. It all started when an a reporter at the Wall Street Journal, while covering the theft of a sousaphone from Ben Jaffe of […]
Reedman Ken Peplowski is a virtuosic clarinet and sax player who has notably enlivened his jazz gigs with his wry humor. But what Ken has endured of late has hardly been cause for mirth. He’s […]
Hilary Alexander, vocalist and co-leader of The Campus Five, brings a touch of the ’40s to the Valley Jazz Club in Canoga Park, CA, on January 7, 2018. (photo by Harvey Barkan) “Spreadin’ Rhythm Around” […]
Richard Dowling and Bryan Wright at the 60th Grammy Awards. (photo courtesy Bryan Wright) Back in November, those of us interested in all things ragtime were excited to learn of Brian Wright’s Grammy nomination in […]
Maverick Maestro by Maurice Peress Paradigm Publishers (2015) Dvořák to Duke Ellington: A Conductor Explores America’s Music and its African American Roots by Maurice Peress Oxford University Press (2004) In preparing a remembrance of Maurice […]
Swinger! A Jazz Girl’s Adventures from Hollywood to Harlem By Judy Carmichael C&D Productions, Sag Harbor, N.Y. (www.judycarmichael.com) 262 pages; $18.95/softcover Stride pianist extraordinaire Judy Carmichael candidly admits to being a Pollyanna, a characteristic which, […]
The syndicated weekly radio show Judy Carmichael’s Jazz Inspired is partnering with the Patchogue Theatre, 71 E. Main St., in Patchogue, N.Y., on the south shore of Long Island. “I’ll have my own annual series […]
Japanese heartthrob Papaya Suzuki. (photo courtesy asianwiki.com) Getting in the door is the hardest part. I have the kind of cold that has a rodent living in my lungs and he is threatening to scramble […]
Related Story: Happy International Jazz Day The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has officially designated April 30 as International Jazz Day to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in […]
Dan Levinson (clarinet) soloing with the New York All-Star Big Band led by James Langton (tenor sax), with Randy Reinhart (cornet), above. (photo by Bruce Gast; courtesy www.danlevinson.com) Jazz Travels with Bill Hoffman January 16 […]
(Count Basie’s Orchestra at The Famous Door, Photo Hess, Driggs Collection) Joe Bebco’s article (“What Is To Be Done?” March 2018) resonated strongly with me. As someone whose deepest sense of jazz’s immediacy and importance […]
Artist’s rendering of a restored Scott Joplin mural in Texarkana, the project is now complete. (Courtesy The Arts and Historic District Committee, of Texarkana) Blowing Off The Dust with Larry Melton A fond memory from the […]
These are the remembrances as they ran in the print publication of the paper, many other obituaries, and longer obituaries for those listed below, are posted HERE as soon as the news comes in. ALAN GERSHWIN, 91, […]
(Image from http://www.techtter.net/2016/11/how-to-watch-restricted-videos-in-your.html) There is a song, whose title I dare not quote lest I incur the wrath of the copyright holders, that states something to the effect that the greatest boons in life may be […]
Jazz Birthday of the Month Illustration by Gary Price Bessie Smith was born April 15, 1894, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her father died shortly after Bessie was born, and her mother, who worked as a laundress […]
The Royal Society Jazz Orchestra brings period-perfect arrangements of Jazz Age selections to the Cline Wine and Dixieland Jazz Festival in Sonoma, CA. (photo courtesy rsjo.com) THIS IS THE APRIL 2018 ROUNDUP. FIND THE CURRENT […]
Earl “Fatha” Hines was one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. Frequently he would play ringing octaves with his right hand (called “trumpet style piano”) that allowed him to be heard over the […]
The much-loved Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band, led by cornetist Bert Barr (second from right). (photo courtesy uptownlowdownjazz.com) – Farewell Uptown Lowdown – The Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band is one of only about a half-dozen bands […]
On March 1, Andrew Greene, director of the Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra, announced the acquisition of the Johnny Maddox Orchestra Collection. The orchestra, based in Annapolis, Maryland, has been hailed by the Washington Post as […]
Four generations of reedman Evan Arntzen’s family have been merry music makers. Covering more than 100 years. Evan’s great-grandfather came to North America from Norway in 1908 and played the banjo and sang. It was […]
Andy Schumm and his Sink-O-Pators Futuristic Rhythms: Imagining the Later Bix Beiderbecke Rivermont BSW-2244 (2018) www.RivermontRecords.com Andy Schumm has made a name for himself in the last decade as the leading cornet player in the […]
Jazz Greats Speak: Interviews with Master Musicians by Roland Baggenaes Scarecrow Press, Inc. (2008) rowman.com There was a sign in the medical library of the hospital in which I practiced; it stated: Any Book Is […]
MIKE DANIELS AND STEVE LANE The British trad movement of the 1950s and ’60s found dozens of jazz bands popping up throughout England. The music they focused on fell into three sometimes overlapping areas: “Pure” […]
19th Century International Mail (from the collectors site https://alphabetilately.org/) – International Mail Woes – To the Editor: Thanks very much for the January and February issues of the Times that you forwarded to me. I […]
Randi Cee sings with Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks at Iguana in New York City. (photo by Neal Siegal) Tragedy + time = comedy. I won’t live long enough. Money doesn’t buy happiness. Can I […]
The Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra, with director Andrew Greene, center. The Washington Post dubbed the PRSO “the premier American ragtime ensemble.” (submitted photo) Andrew Greene of the Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra talks about leading a […]