Sydney Leff and the Art of Sheet Music Illustration
Hal Glatzer
October 31, 2022
The ghosts of George Lewis, Kid Thomas, Jim Robinson, Kid Ory, and the other wonderful New Orleans Jazz revivalists happily roam the fields and shires
Invoking Lady Day and Frank Sinatra has obvious benefits and risks. While it can attract an audience, it can also invite comparisons. When Catherine Russell
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It has been said that when Count Basie played full, two-handed stride with his later bands, some of his younger musicians would say “Yeah! I
Introduction Recently written ragtime compositions, as a rule, do not attract much attention from the majority of ragtime aficionados nor the general public. However, as
Duke Ellington’s accomplishments, innovations, and sheer productivity as a bandleader, pianist, arranger and composer were so vast that one or two articles cannot do justice
When one thinks of the great swing trumpeters of the 1930s and ’40s, the names of Louis Armstrong, Bunny Berigan, Henry “Red” Allen, Harry James,
Jeff Barnhart: Hal, this month we’re examining the output of the remarkably polished Halfway House Orchestra, a white dance band that had a residency at
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William Henry Joseph Bonaparte Bertholoff Smith was born on November 25, 1897, in Goshen, New York. Young Willie began playing piano when he was six
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The 13th Central Pennsylvania Ragtime and American Music Festival followed a slightly different format this year from past practice. It was extended by one day,
The Smoky Topaz, published in 1901 by Whitney Warner in Detroit. Her treatment of form in The Smoky Topaz shows her maturity as a teenage
In Chandler, Arizona, the Arizona Classic Jazz Society reconvened after their summer hiatus to enjoy the Wildcat Jazz Band at their monthly event in September.
On those rare occasions when I manage to accomplish something even marginally technological (or even technical), like finding the on/off button on a computer or
Back in the 1920s and ’30s, the place to go dancing in Western Massachusetts was Cook’s Butterfly Ballroom in my home town of Springfield, Massachusetts.
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It may happen that there are musicians where you live who shine as brilliantly on their instruments as any who have achieved great fame in
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Vol.7, No.11 October 2022
Sydney Leff and the Art of Sheet Music Illustration, by Hal Glatzer
The Earliest Recordings of “Modern Ragtime”, by M. de L. Davidson
Mamie Desdunes: The Woman Behind the Man Behind Jazz, by Dave Doyle
Reaching Way Back with “Fatha Hines”, by Hal Smith
The Story of Duke Ellington, Part 1: 1899-1929, by Scott Yanow
Legendary Record Collector Joe Bussard Dies at 86, by Joe Bebco
Scott Joplin House Severely Vandalized, by Larry Melton
Madison Jazz Society Announces Final Concerts, by Linda Marty Schmitz
Jazz Birthday of the Month: Willie “The Lion” Smith, illustration by Joe Busam
Static from my Attic, by Andy Senior
Final Chorus, by compiled by Joe Bebco
Jazz Jottings: Grand Dominion Calls it a Day, by Lew Shaw
My Inspirations: Confessions of a Reluctant Luddite, by Jeff Barnhart
Quarter Notes: Swing That Music!, by Shelly Gallichio
Ragtime Vignettes: The Smoky Topaz, by Brandon Byrne
Jazz Travels: Ragtime and Rails in Central PA, by Bill Hoffman
A Record Collector’s Explorations in NYC, by R.S. Baker
Festival Roundup, compiled by Joe Bebco
Profiles in Jazz: Charlie Shavers, by Scott Yanow
Blowing off the Dust: More Reflections on Treemonisha, by Larry Melton
Ain’t Cha Got Music: The Halfway House Orch, by Jeff Barnhart & Hal Smith
Celebrating Ian Whitcomb: “We’ll Meet Again”, by Randi Cee
Nights at the Turntable, CD reviews by Scott Yanow
Doyle’s Discs, CD reviews by Dave Doyle
Off the Beaten Tracks, CD reviews by Joe Bebco
Book Review: It Started With a Guitar by Carmen Caramanica, Andy Senior
CD Review: New Orleans Legends, by Bert Thompson
Russell and Pizzarelli: Billie and Blue Eyes, by Schaen Fox
Bude 2022: Great Jazz at the Tip of the United Kingdom, by Frank Farbenbloom
