Wynton Marsalis Accompanies Silent Film Louis on Tour
Steve Provizer
My festival reports start with apologies for what I didn’t see. This time, I trust readers will let me to atone in private. The Jazz Bash by the Bay celebrated its 45th anniversary at the Portola Hotel and Conference Center in Monterey, California. The music began on Thursday night and
Hal Smith: Brother Kevin, in our last column we agreed to write something about the “Daddy Of ‘Em All”—Ben Pollack. Besides his wonderful talent as a drummer, he was a notable bandleader whose groups included such luminaries as Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Jack Teagarden, Matty Matlock, Fud Livingston, Jimmy McPartland,
Buck Clayton is most famous today for his association with Count Basie but that is only a small part of his musical legacy, a seven-year period in a career that lasted nearly six decades. A very good swing trumpeter and a skilled arranger-composer, Clayton was influenced (as were nearly all
I met a good friend for coffee the other day. I know she’s a good friend, because she turned up with a carrier bag full of old jazz vinyl. “My neighbor left these out on the curb and I thought you might like them,” she said. I pulled out my
Emmet Cohen is a multi-talented and innovative musician/pianist who captivates his audiences with style, panache and good humor. He began studying the piano at the age of three using the Suzuki Method. He also studied European art (classical) music early in his career. “Music is something that was built into
The first weekend in April found me at the Durango (CO) Ragtime and Early Jazz Festival. This festival is a re-incarnation of a previous one run for five years (2013-17) by the Strater Hotel (built in 1887 and a national historic landmark). This time it was under the supervision of
At 5:15 pm on April 5, my partner asked, “are you going to that ragtime band tonight?” The concert had slipped my mind; I had no intention of going anywhere. My head flooded with reasons to stay home, but my better angels won, and I found myself sitting with our
Stan Vincent created a playlist of all the tunes discussed in the below article. You may find it in full HERE. Jeff Barnhart: This month, dear readers, my faithful collaborator Hal Smith is up to his inkwell in other articles, so I’m taking this chance to invite Stan Vincent, the
When collecting records, we can only hope that each record we acquire plays well enough so we can enjoy its contents. Collecting acoustic era recordings does not always guarantee this, as they are the oldest commercial records. While it can be beyond disappointing to come across a record we have
If you’re anything like me, you had “that friend” as a child. Not really a friend, but someone you knew at school or from the neighborhood whose companionship you sought out of loneliness or boredom or because there was no one else around. If you grew up without brothers or
Maxine Sullivan was born as Marietta Lillian Williams in Homestead, Pennsylvania, on May 13, 1911. As a teenager she sang on the radio in Pittsburgh with her uncle’s band. With pianist-arranger Claude Thornhill as her musical director, she recorded “Stop! You’re Breaking My Heart” and “Gone with the Wind” on
AHOY VINTAGE CRUISES: Matt Tolentino and his Orchestra (Southampton, UK – New York, NY) May 16-23, 2025 / Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra (Southampton, UK – New York, NY) Sept. 26-Oct. 3, 2025 Ahoy Vintage Cruises is celebrating 100 years of Art Deco with two exclusive trans-Atlantic crossings. We
Spring begins early in Tucson and The Learning Curve (an adult education program) offered a four week class on The Magic & Music Quincy Jones, who passed away in November, 2024. The Learning Curve is an independent Arts and Humanities program exploring History, Music and Literature. Our instructor was Khris
In Jazz music of every era and style, there exists a tradition that delights some musicians and fans while vexing others. I’m referring to “the quote.” In a musical context, a quote is the insertion into one’s jazz solo of a snippet of an often (but not always) thematically unrelated
Awakening is the latest CD and sheet music folio from St. Louis composer Richard Egan. I very much enjoy this new collection of Egan’s original piano pieces. The cover art by Isabel Shirey is quite pleasing. The opening piece Into the Forest is a monoharmonic meditation on B-flat major that
Of all of the major jazz orchestra leaders of the 1930s and ’40s, Artie Shaw undoubtedly led the most big bands, six during 1936-49. His underrated 1936-37 unit was too
When Andy Senior, esteemed editor of The Syncopated Times, and Larry Melton, a frequent contributor to this periodical and a founder of the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival (celebrating its 51st
The standard biographical approach in which the subject is born, did remarkable things, then died gets upended by Jack Chambers’s new Duke Ellington book. Titled A Tone Parallel to Duke
The Boswell Sisters (Connie, Martha and Vet) were arguably the greatest jazz vocal group of all time, ranking at the top with the Mills Brothers of the 1930s, Lambert, Hendricks
It is certainly not an understatement to say that George Gershwin (1898-1937) accomplished a great deal during his 38 years. Ranging from popular songs to classical works, film scores, and music for theater productions, Gershwin composed dozens of pieces that are played on a daily basis nearly 90 years after
Ella Fitzgerald (1917-96) had a rough start to her life, living in poverty and actually being homeless for a period. However after winning the Apollo Theater’s amateur contest led to her being hired by Chick Webb in 1935 (Fletcher Henderson made the fatal error of taking a pass), she became
JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH While New Orleans traditional jazz has had several major revivals from the mid-1930s on, the opening of Preservation Hall in 1961 was particularly noteworthy. The Hall gave some long-neglected veteran African-American musicians opportunities to play on a regular basis and resulted in the formation of
Ever since he burst upon the major league jazz scene in the mid-1970s, tenor-saxophonist Scott Hamilton has been one of the most consistent of all jazz artists. During the past 50 years he has never veered away from playing straight ahead swing-oriented jazz. His large and distinctive tone (originally influenced
Lil Hardin Armstrong (1898-1971) deserves better from jazz history. While she remains famous for being Louis Armstrong’s second wife, and the pianist with King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band and Armstrong’s Hot Five and Seven in the 1920s, her life and career did not end in 1930. She was a skilled
Generally speaking, I’m not a big fan of “complete works” albums (of any composer). It is a huge amount to ask of both the player and the listener. Most of them, in my opinion, don’t show a great deal of variation between tracks, and one often is subjected to a
Halfway through CD 3, which is given over to the protean Mel Powell, comes his Sonatina for Piano, nestled between the likes of “You’re Lucky to Me” and “Makin’ Whoopee.” The piece was included on the original Vanguard ten-inch LP release, an album titled Mel Powell Septet, the septet in
After the minimalist musical joy that was reviewing a pared-down album, I was ready to hear something just a bit more symphonic. Enter stage left—and right on cue—Mutiny In The Parlor: the latest release by Janet Klein and Her Parlor Boys. Unveiled just a month ago, it’s the twelfth full-length
Most reviews look at one particular release. This one doesn’t. Instead, I will compare two releases by the same pianist, with similar repertoire, but separated by six years. Bryan Wright is well known in music circles primarily as owner and producer of Rivermont Records (which specializes in early dance band
For the first time in my life, I’m actually in a jazz band. I should caveat that claim by saying that my maybe-bandmates haven’t yet heard me play so, by the time you read this, it may no longer be true. Still, I’ve got myself a portable piano and I’m
Alvin Maurice Gotlieb passed away on April 6th; he was 84. He grew up in a musical family that had an informal family band. He was named top high school trumpet player in LA County, which led to his placement in music bands in the Air Force. He was honorably
Don Cantwell, beloved Central New York teacher and leader of the Clef Dwellers, passed away April 21, 2025, at the age of 100. Don was a notable musician, academic, mentor, and clinician; he taught for over thirty years, most notably in Whitesboro (NY) Central School District, and served as an
Edward Grogan passed away on April 5th; he was 98 years old. Born in Bolton, England, he was an officer of the Royal Navy during World War II and served as part of the world’s first Aerobatic Air Squadron before immigrating to America after the war. His passion for jazz
Jitka Vrbova passed away on March 3rd; she was 84. A notable Czech vocalist, guitarist and sometimes actress she sang for Pražský Dixieland, Hot Jazz Praha, Jazz Fiddlers, Steamboat Stompers, and the Washboard Banjo Band as well as with country bands. She released several albums on the Supraphon and Gallup
Vol.10, No.5, May 2025
Wynton Marsalis Accompanies Silent Film Louis on Tour, by Steve Provizer
Emmet Cohen Has a Lot to Say, by Lew Shaw
A Joyous, Magical Jazz Bash in Monterey, by Michael Steinman
Eighty Years of the Dutch College Swing Band, by Dave Doyle
Don Cantwell, Clarinetist, Bandleader, Passes at Age 100, by Andy Senior
Paragon Ragtime Orch, Organist “a Portal Back in Time”, by Joe Bebco
Jazz Birthday of the Month: Maxine Sullivan, illustration by Sara Lièvre
Static from my Attic, by Andy Senior
Final Chorus, compiled by Joe Bebco
Jazz Travels: Durango Ragtime Festival, by Bill Hoffman
My Inspirations: To Quote or Not to Quote?, by Jeff Barnhart
Quarter Notes: Live Jazz in Tucson AZ!, by Shelly Gallichio
Ragtime Vignettes: Awakening, by Brandon Byrne
Ben Pollack: This Great Drummer Really Sends Us!, by Hal Smith & Kevin Dorn
A Study in Condition, by R.S. Baker
Festival Roundup, compiled by Joe Bebco; illustration by Joe Busam
Profiles in Jazz: Buck Clayton, by Scott Yanow
Ain’t Cha Got Music: New Black Eagle J.B., Pt.1, by J. Barnhart & Stan Vincent
Nights at the Turntable, CD reviews by Scott Yanow
Doyle’s Discs, CD reviews by Dave Doyle
The Syncopated Bookshelf, reviews by B.A. Nilsson, J. Barnhart, & S. Yanow
Rivermont Revisited: Three Exceptional Releases, by Matthew de Lacey Davidson
Powell, Thompson, Larkins Dazzle on Vanguard Sessions, by B.A. Nilsson
