Drummers’ Summit: Let’s Talk About Morey Feld
Hal Smith: Well, Brother Kevin…It seems like forever since we “talked shop” for an article in The Syncopated Times. Before another year slips away, what
Whisper Darkly: Shining a Light on Secretive Jazz Age Theater Project
YouTube is just full of surprises, isn’t it? For instance, today I learned that there’s a channel called Electro Swing Thing, which recently uploaded a
Benny Goodman’s Female Singers – 1939-49
During the Swing era, bandleaders had a variety of different opinions about the importance of employing a female singer. Some, such as Artie Shaw, considered
Cold Winds Outside, Hot Jazz Inside!
When we hit New Orleans this past January it was 32 degrees and very windy! The Mississippi encourages bitter winds through the Quarter and creates
The Spirit of Hot Jazz in St. Louis: T.J. Muller’s All-Star Jazz Band
Traditional jazz and ragtime are back in St. Louis these days and as vibrant and joyful as in the days when the Goldenrod Showboat graced
The El Dorado Jazz Band, Part Two
Jeff Barnhart: Welcome back, dear readers. This month we’re continuing our discussion of a unique traditional jazz group that had its heyday in the 1960s
97 Years of Jazz: Happy Birthday, Dick Hyman!
Multi-keyboardist Dick Hyman, born March 8, 1927, will turn 97 years old this month. With a prolific career behind him he’s no longer performing publicly,
Bobby Burns Berman: ‘Hollywood’s Entertainer of the Stars’
From the 1920s to the 1940s my great uncle Harry Berman had a multifaceted career as a performer on stage, screen, records, and radio. His
Louis and Bria in NYC
On a rainy Friday, December 1, I made my second trip to the Big Apple in just under two months. My main purpose was to
Helf and Hager Set up Shop on Tin Pan Alley
In the latter 19th century, a few daring publishers decided to try and combine their hustling status with the phonograph. In the 1890s it was
‘The Harlem Strut’ by James P. Johnson: A ‘Groundbreaking’ Stride Solo
The “Roaring Twenties” were off to a rousing start by late 1920. Musically, if not in other ways as well, the contributions of African Americans
My ‘Dear John’ Letter
In previous columns I’ve shared stories regarding the people who paved the path I’ve traveled to become, musically—and sometimes so much more, who I am
David Reffkin and the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival
There was a knock at the door and when I answered the fellow introduced himself as David Reffkin (not to be confused with Joshua Rifkin
The Lost Hook Tapes
It really is a waiting game based on luck and endurance. I am banking on the idea that if you stick to your artistic career
Dick Hyman’s Century of Jazz Piano (5 CD + 1 DVD Box Set)
Within Dick Hyman’s Century of Jazz Piano (Arbors), a five-disc CD set totaling 121 selections, pianist Dick Hyman seeks to demonstrate the development of jazz
The Music Never Stops: A Report from Israel
Many TST readers, like me, are of an age that we can recall Pearl Harbor, the camps at Auschwitz, and the atrocities of the Japanese
All Your Eyeballs Belong to Me!
This week I felt it entirely necessary to buy myself a huge computer monitor—though not the largest one that was available. As my eyesight sinks
Soviet Son
Said What? It was at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival while we were preparing to start our first gig, when I was approached by the trumpet
Jimmy McPartland
Jimmy McPartland was born on March 15, 1907, in Chicago. Jimmy played violin as a child, and at 15 switched permanently to the cornet. In
Rudiments of Ragtime Installment 14: James P. Johnson
James P. Johnson is another gifted performer/composer whose music bridged the span between ragtime and jazz and he was an early innovator of Harlem stride.
Better than Louis?
In response to the list of Armstrong’s rivals in Lew Shaw’s column (“Jazz Jottings,” February 2024), I think Jabbo Smith could (and in fact, did)
Wham Re-Bop-Boom-Bam: The Swing Jazz of Eddie Durham
Wham Re-Bop-Boom-Bam: The Swing Jazz of Eddie Durham premiered February 1st on many public television stations nationwide. The 60-minute documentary has been receiving considerable praise
Brian Patrick Keenan • Heartland
The music of Brian Patrick Keenan—introspective, melodic, and texturally firmly-built—has always appealed to me. His 2003 piano piece Heartland is a tango in simple ternary
The Festival Roundup March 2024
42nd annual JAZZ BASH BY THE BAY (Monterey, CA) March 1-3, 2024 The 42nd annual Jazz Bash By the Bay Monterey takes place March 3-5,
Malo Mazurié • Taking The Plunge
I have read praise for cornetist and trumpet player Malo Mazurié for years and have enjoyed listening deeply for him in several groups where he
Sunny Side • The Felicity Sessions
This album got lost in the shuffle, many of my notes date back a full year and I needed to refamiliarize myself with many of
Juliet Varnedoe Jazz Band • Cajun Bleu
This album extends outside of our normal range at TST, but I see Tom Rigney’s zydeco band scheduled at nearly every festival and I think
Legends & The Lost • Rare and Hot Jazz 1925-1930
It has been a few years since I last reviewed an album of Golden Age jazz. The peak of which in my reckoning being that
Rocky Giglio, “Band City’s Music Man”, has Died
Rocky Giglio, who died on February 8th at 86, began playing in his hometown, Utica, New York, in the Thomas Proctor High School band and
Bill Allred has died at 87
Trombonist Bill Allred died on February 1st at 87. He was one of the largest figures of his generation in classic jazz and leaves a
Inspiring Elvis: The Music Behind the King of Rock and Roll
Although I never thought that I would have the name of Elvis Presley in any of my Syncopated Times reviews, the recent compilation Inspiring Elvis
16 Jonah Jones LPs released as two album CDs
Few swing era sidemen had as much commercial success in later years as Jonah Jones (1908-2000). A hot trumpeter with Stuff Smith’s combo on 52nd
Doc Evans • Down In Jungle Town
Jazz Classic of the Month Doc Evans (1907-77) was a reliably hot cornetist who spent much of his life living and playing in Minnesota. He
Pete Allen’s 45th Anniversary Album
Pete Allen has been leading bands for 45 years and, although the personnel of his sextet has changed many times, his brand of joyful and
Matthew de Lacey Davidson: ‘Success Is to Be Measured’
An Interview with, and pièce de théâtre about Matthew de Lacey Davidson by Jeff Barnhart (with assistance from the little garden gnome down the street
Duved Dunayevsky: There’s Rhythm in Paris
Chapter 1: In Which Paris Comes to New York In 2019, I was lucky enough to be invited to attend Tatiana Eva Marie’s birthday party,
Swingtime in the Movies: The Musicals of the War Years
Who knew a World War could be so entertaining? As the 1940s got underway, the Swing Era in music was, shall we say, in full
Ada ‘Bricktop’ Smith Lit the Fuse of Some Superstar Jazz Careers
Behind every great man is a great woman, they say. Often she’s sitting on a piano stool, if my “forgotten ladies” features are anything to
Nelson Argueso: The Virtuoso Who Walked Away
On July 28, 1954, The Reporter Dispatch ran a feature on Mr. Nelson Argueso of 38 Ridgeway Circle, White Plains, New York. “City Collector of
Benny Goodman’s Vocalists: From Helen Ward to Martha Tilton
During the big band era, nearly every orchestra (swing or sweet) was comprised of male instrumentalists, a male vocalist (who was sometimes one of the
The Golden Jazz Band from California
Jeff Barnhart: Welcome! This month we’re taking a break from poring over recordings created 95+ years ago and concentrating on a Californian group that had
Jazz in San Francisco, Pt. 3: Bagdad-by-the-Bay, 1940s, ‘50s & ‘60s
West Coast Blues & Russell City; Fillmore venues; Sugar Pie DeSanto, Vince Guaraldi; Ralph J. Gleason & Jazz Casual TV San Francisco was a crossroads
A night in NYC: David Ostwald and Terry Waldo
On October 4, I made one of my periodic jaunts to New York to indulge my passion for traditional jazz. Before Covid I used to
Royce Martin • Memories On Morgan Street: Scott Joplin Reimagined
When Royce Martin’s profile ran on our cover in December we received a thank you from an accomplished musician in her 40s, the unspoken implication
String Groups at the 1974 Scott Joplin Fest
News from Galen Wilkes that Dennis Pash was rushed to the hospital in December brought back a flash of memories and of course great concern
Max Keenlyside plays the New Ragtime Music of Vincent Mathew Johnson
I have been curious about this album for nearly as long as I have been with this paper. We launched in 2016 with me as
Coming Soon: A Biography of Justin Ring
Since I moved to the Bronx back in September, I have been more inspired than ever to write and to draw. Living in the very