May 2020

On the Cover

Features

Kris Tokarski in front of Jelly Roll Morton's House in New Orleans (photo: Don Keller)

Kris Tokarski: Lendítsd a zongorán!*

Pianist Kris Tokarski honors the traditions of keyboard masters from New Orleans to Bop. Though he is only 31, Kris has already performed extensively in

De De and Billie Pierce

The Legendary Goodson Sisters of Pensacola

As a Brit, when I think of US national parks I think Yosemite—thousands of miles of lakes, trees, bears, and continent-threatening supervolcanoes. (Keep an eye

News

Peter Ecklund, Carolyn Newberger, Jim Bentley 1965

Meeting Peter Ecklund

Peter Ecklund was a freshman at Yale when I first met him in 1964. At the time, I was a medical student, playing a weekly

Columns

Blowing Off The Dust
Larry Melton

Peter Lundberg’s Ragtime Odyssey

One of the great ragtime adventure stories I ever heard was of Peter Lundberg’s tour of America in 1963, vising and interviewing ragtime greats across

Paris Washboard
Jazz Travels
Bill Hoffman

A Visit with Paris Washboard

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.

evan-and-scout-by-voon-chew
Jazz Jottings
Lew Shaw

Jazz Jottings May 2020

As panic over the coronavirus sweeps the globe, much of the focus is on the broader economic effects on businesses or venues that have had

Johnny Hodges Rabbit Rabbit
The Professor Is IN
Adrian Cunningham

Preparing for a Performance

When you see a jazz musician up on stage, baring their heart and soul to their audience, you’re witnessing something bordering the miraculous. The true

Sidney Bechet
Jazz Birthday
Andy Senior

Sidney Bechet

Sidney Joseph Bechet was born in New Orleans on May 14, 1897. Sidney grew up in a middle-class Creole household, and learned several musical instruments

Wynton at Lionel Hampton Funeral
Static From My Attic
Andy Senior

In Memoriam

In the second month of our siege against an implacable and impersonal enemy, I am a bundle of conflicting and untidy emotions. It really is

Ben Pollack
Profiles In Jazz
Scott Yanow

Ben Pollack: Profiles in Jazz

Decades ago, a classic Fletcher Henderson four-LP set was titled A Study In Frustration. I always thought that that title was inaccurate as far as

Hylands and Held’s troupe enroute to England in 1913
Recording Pioneers
R.S. Baker

Fred Hylands in Vaudeville

For researchers, scouring newspaper archives is an essential, yet at times tedious, process. Hours spent reading through century-old papers may yield only a small nugget

1850 Museum House Store
Quarter Notes
Shelly Gallichio

Quarantine Reads: Books about New Orleans

Since all of the April festivals have been cancelled, it is a good time to delve into the many available books about New Orleans. The

Tatiana Eva Marie of the Avalon Jazz Band
Letters to the Editor
Syncopated Times

Letters to the Editor May 2020

Glenn Miller: a Personal Note One’s sense of personal history sort of begins with one’s birth. It was only seventy-one years after I came into this world,

sutter-creek-ragtime-festival
Festival Roundup
Joe Bebco

The Festival Roundup May 2020

This is an outdated roundup from way back in May of 2020, for the latest festival info find Events on the menu. ZEHNDER’S RAGTIME FESTIVAL

Reviews

Nights at the Turntable

The Syncopated Bookshelf

The Final Chorus

Table of Contents

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