News

The River Raisin Ragtime Review Board of Directors announced on Thursday, Kelsee Vandervall will be the new Music Director following the retirement of founding director

There are many, including myself, who are mourning the loss of one the most colorful and exuberant characters of traditional jazz. Steve Yocum, quite effectively,

After 38 years on the air Rob Bamberger’s Hot Jazz Saturday Night aired its final show over Washington D.C.’s airwaves on June 23rd 2018. Possibly

Along with everything else this spring the 5th Annual NY Hot Jazz Camp (for adults) was cancelled. As time went by many live events went

For over fifty years now, the Pasadena Roof Orchestra has been entertaining generations with an authentic rendering of some of the finest music from the

With public gatherings (including concerts and festivals) banned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, live music has faded into a mere memory. Orlando, Florida, jazzman Charlie

The Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra is celebrating our tenth anniversary season this year. The twelve-piece ensemble, formed while I was a freshman at the University of

Update: Annie Ross Died on July 21st, 2020. As vocalese pioneer Annie Ross approaches her 90th birthday on July 25, she finds herself in need

With the avalanche of festival cancellations and postponements that have occurred due to the coronavirus crisis this year, festival organizers are looking for possible ways

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

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

At the end of March cdbaby.com took down all of the storefronts that at one point were a primary way for independent artists to sell

The Jazz Journalists Association has recognized 27 “activists, advocates, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz” from 23 cities as its 2020 Jazz Heroes. The list

  The Louis Armstrong Emergency Fund for Jazz Musicians offers one time grants of $1000 to jazz musicians who regularly work in New York City

Recognizing their “unique and enduring contributions to the living history of jazz,” the late Mat Domber and his wife Rachel are the recipients of the 2020 Satchmo Award

Leslie Carole Johnson was the founder and editor of The Mississippi Rag from 1973 until shortly before her death in 2009. In January 2007, she attended the IAJE

The Fillius Jazz Archive, a priceless oral-history collection at Hamilton College, is 25 years old this March. Under the guidance of saxophonist-educator Monk Rowe, the

On March 24th 2018 we announced the launch of Syncopatedtimes.com on our Facebook page. At the time we only had 300 followers. A total of

Jazz Oracle was always a classy label. Their reissues, which were produced by Colin J. Bray, John Wilby and the late John R.T. Davies, featured

Jazz musicians work hard and have to hustle. They seek out gigs and venues. They are more often than not their own managers, publicists, or

We collected these Irish highlights from the National Jukebox, a Library of Congress effort to digitize early 78 RPM records (pre-1925) and make them available

When I reached out about contributing stories to The Syncopated Times last fall I included a long list of topics for articles. I had carefully crafted

The Barbary Coast Dixieland Jazz Band holds a special place in Minnesota music history—and not just because its members were inducted into the Minnesota Music

Paris Washboard, the renowned French quartet, will be making its first US appearance in over two years, with four concerts in February in Pennsylvania and

Among certain nations, a baby’s birthday isn’t celebrated until its second anniversary; they don’t want to get too excited or jinx things in light of

The following remembrances ran in our pages this year. 

Recently, Canadian vocalist Alex Pangman received two precious gifts from Kyla Titus, a grandniece of Connee Boswell. One was a pair of red gloves that

Jim Syoen, of the Assunto Dukes, has a mission beyond merely playing jazz for seasoned fans. A few years ago he created Mister Tuba’s Funtime

Bob Wilber, one of the finest clarinet and soprano saxophone players, died on August 4th at age 91. Bob was a direct link to his

The sad word has come to us tonight, that Ian passed yesterday, Sunday Morning the 19th. We have posted an obituary: Pop Idol turned Ragtime

Pianist Ed Clute, who was featured in the February 2016 issue of The Syncopated Times, has achieved worldwide recognition for his incredible playing, thanks to

The Scott Joplin International Ragtime Foundation (SJIRF) has recently announced the Larry Karp Memorial Fund Award Program. The award will recognize and educate young ragtime

Jimmy Mazzy has been well known in the traditional jazz world since the early 1970s. He’s played banjo for The Paramount Jazz Band of Boston,

For the third year, the Preservation Hall Foundation has held an award ceremony inducting important New Orleans musicians into their Legacy Program and announcing their

Movement to save it wins temporary injunction. In June 1923, pioneer record producer Ralph Peer and New York-based Okeh Records took their newly-invented portable recording

The Big Chris Barber Band will carry on but Chris Barber has decided that at 89 its time to retire from full time playing. Barber

Jeff Barnhart and Joel Schiavone announced that their annual weekend House Party will not take place this year. Since 2012, Jeff and Joel’s gem-like event

Famed Harlem Ballroom to Throw Open its (Digital) Doors Once More In May of 1937, around 4,000 swing fans crowded a ballroom to see two

During an especially poignant moment at this year’s Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival, David Reffkin presented the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award to Swedish ragtime performer, composer,

Lew Shaw’s  Jazz Beat: Notes on Classic Jazz is now an e-book/print on demand paperback. First published in 2013 it includes forty-seven recent profiles of

April 5, 1917, Scott Joplin was buried at St. Michael’s Cemetery, East Elmhurst, NY. A 16-year-old girl already occupied the grave, and a 25-year-old man

 The Steele Family created a grant for the Sun Valley Jazz & Music Festival to promote a youth program. In honor of this bequest this

Back in October 2016, I was lucky enough to catch a couple sets of Jeff Barnhart playing piano duets with British-born boogie woogie master Carl

For years I have flown across the country in order to attend West Coast festivals because they are different from the events we have in

Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) is celebrated every April in recognition of the significant contribution that jazz music has made to society. First established in 2011

Dan Levinson recently posted a conversation on Facebook that he had with his young daughter Aven regarding her musical tastes. It bears sharing with our

Cynthia Sayer will be in New York City on Fri, March 8 (which also happens to be International Women’s Day), giving a show called “Hot

An all-ages audience of more than 150 attended the world premiere reading of Bunk Johnson – Out of the Shadows on Saturday, November 10, 2018,

Paul Daspit has retired as director of the San Diego Thanksgiving Festival, a position he has held since 2011. Taking his place is Bill Adams,

“Jazz seems to be cool again in Ventura County,” observed a recent article in the Ventura County Reporter. Local venues, including restaurants, service clubs, neighborhood

The National Jukebox We are working on a story for February about The National Jukebox, a collaboration between the Library of Congress, Sony Records, and several

This campaign was successful and Lew did receive his Jazz Hero recognition. Read about it here: Lew Shaw Named 2017 JJA Jazz Hero Every year the

Look here for the results: Tonight’s Grammy Winners of Interest to Syncopated Times Readers Maria Muldaur’s tribute to singer Blue Lu Barker was nominated for a

Three years ago, Todd Stoll, president of the Jazz Educators Network, wrote a piece on “Teaching Music in the 21st Century,” which was picked up

Every year the Basin Street Regulars raise money to send students to jazz camp, and this year we were able to sponsor twelve students at

In March of this year one of our readers in Europe happened upon a performance of The Bonnie Blues and, he says, “they gave me

His first album, Swing That Music, paid tribute to three Louis’; Prima, Armstrong, and Jordan, delivering an eclectic mix of American classics with personality and

Multi-reedist Dan Levinson led eight of the best trad/swing musicians on the metro NYC scene in a sold-out concert at the 300-seat Bickford Theater in

Updates: Olympia Jazz Festival Names New Director, Will Host Bert Barr Tribute and Last Uptown Lowdown Concert The Olympia Dixieland Jazz Festival, better known as America’s