Stompin’ at the Virtual Savoy
Dave Doyle June 29, 2019
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
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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
“[Fud Livingston’s] final decade was a difficult one, and a pernicious addiction to alcohol ultimately took him out ahead of schedule. Until shortly before his
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
Musicians from overseas relocate to the United States to make it big and play jazz in the land of its birth. It’s a tradition as
The 13th Annual Charles H. Templeton Ragtime & Jazz Festival was an unqualified musical success. The event, held in the Mitchell Memorial Library and McComas
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
Earl A. McKee July 12, 1931-April 11, 2019 How sadly coincidental that charter High Sierra Jazz Band member Earl McKee passed away one day before
PENSACOLA JAZZ FESTIVAL (Pensacola, FL) – April 6-7 Now in its 36th year, this free festival is staged April 6 and 7, at the historic
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
While Corona, Queens, resident Louis Armstrong has had his home (rightly) made into a national shrine and public monies and private donors lavishly fund the
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
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
The result of most interest to traditional jazz fans from tonight’s Grammy Awards is that Cécile McLorin Salvant has won Best Jazz Vocal Album for The
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,
Around five o’clock on Sunday, April 14, 2019, in the Three Rivers Lions Arena in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, when Earl McKee
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 Letter One Rising Star Award seeks to identify a young jazz artist who would benefit from being introduced to the networks of promoters and
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
Irving Berlin may have done as much to murder Christmas music as he did to nurture it. Just as Brahms was afraid to follow in
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
Drummer and bandleader Sherrie Maricle, an Endicott NY native, heads three ensembles. She led her DIVA Jazz Orchestra at Jazz ‘N Caz Sept 15. [Photo
True to my slogan, “Support Live Jazz”, on November 18th I went to hear Eli and the Chocolate Factory in Tel-Aviv. I came early in
The “tRio”, from Rio Americano High School in Sacramento, consists of three talented musicians; Jake Nalangan (piano), Maddy Hill (bass) and Joseph Bly (drums). The
Campaign songs became increasingly important with the rise of sheet music from about 1840. The recording era made them even more accessible to the people.
I don’t know if there is a law, axiom, or principle to this effect someplace, but I begin to discover that the best way to
Veronica Swift, a star vocalist on the New York jazz scene and beyond, was attacked at a NYC subway station on the night of October
On October 17th Preservation Hall held its second annual Legacy Awards at the Three Keys and Ace Hotel. The Preservation Hall Legacy Program honors veteran
The Syncopated Times is now available online! Have you ever wished you could email a story from The Syncopated Times to a friend, or share
Where does your state rank? As of 9/9/2018, we’ve had 14,720 unique visitors to the site since launching in March, 10,600 from the United States.
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
The New York Times of July 17, 2018, carried a story about Les Lieber’s death at 106. He was a New York advertising executive and
Defunct The Capital City Jazz and Swing Association, successor to the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society, is officially defunct. In a statement posted on the club’s
Jeff Stockham’s Authentic Jazz Syracuse, New York trumpeter Jeff Stockham delivers bold tones, bright as a blaze, round as a bell, and as incisive as
– The Algorithm Is No Friend – To the Editor: July is a great issue. For starters, there was the always reliable and insightful Scott
Concert Review: The Night Blooming Jazzmen With the cleverest band name I’ve ever heard, The Night Blooming Jazzmen have entertained and impressed traditional jazz fans
For more than four decades former Stan Kenton lead-trumpeter Mike Vax has traveled the United States and overseas preaching and playing the Jazz Gospel. So
Will Benefit Music Education and Appreciation in Schools The Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival Foundation in Sedalia, Missouri, has established a Memorial Fund to honor author,
Festival previews Bix & Satch’s season in the sun By Russ Tarby Two of the hottest brassmen of the Jazz Age – Bix Beiderbecke and
After the opera, ballet, and classical music seasons ended at New York City’s Lincoln Center, a magical transformation took place around the bandshell in Damrosch
Since 2009 the Denver Jazz Club and a series of local businesses, currently Denver Percussion, have sponsored a group of young jazz musicians gathered from area
We will gladly share press releases from festivals and jazz organizations that we believe our readers will find helpful. Send us yours. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
Radios across Washington and computers around the world were tuned into WAMU yesterday to hear Hot Jazz Saturday Night hosted by Rob Bamberger. The show
David Thomas Roberts has composed over 150 new ragtime pieces in a professional career spanning 40 years. He has become one of the most eminent
In his Jazz Jottings column in March Lew Shaw reported the upcoming retirement of the executive director of The Louis Armstrong House Museum, Michael Cogswell, and
In their last press release before the festival they gave us a shout out, and we’d like to return the favor. There’s still time to
Our June issue will feature a profile of the Queen City Jazz Band written by our own Lew Shaw. He’ll cover the history of this
Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society Foundation Changes Name to Sacramento Jazz Education Foundation The Foundation continues its 22-year commitment to supporting youth jazz programs. Sacramento Jazz
How we initially announced the website in our print publication. My how things have grown. Our new full-service website, SyncopatedTimes.com, is now up and running. Rather than
2018 Jazz Hero Ellis Marsalis, Jr. (photo courtesy www.gpacweb.com) Ellis Marsalis, Jr., New Orleans, pianist, educator, NEA Jazz Master and the patriarch of a musical
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar giving the keynote address at the Jazz Congress in January 2018. (photo courtesy Jazz at Lincoln Center) Basketball legend and author Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Frank Vignola On March 30, 2017, musician Frank Vignola—one of the world’s best Django Reinhardt-style guitarists—broke multiple bones after an all-terrain vehicle accident threw his
April 30th is International Jazz Day. Events are being held in 200 countries this year and the host city is St. Petersburg, Russia. A concert
The Shake ‘Em Up Jazz Band is an all-female supergroup made up of some of the most sought-after young stars of the New Orleans Traditional
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
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
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
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
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
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.
An overdue update on my project to raise money for Puerto Rico hurricane relief. As you may recall, in addition to a GoFundMe page
(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
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 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
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: