Aaron Hawthorne Keeps Theater Organs Alive and Singing
Dave Doyle
October 31, 2023
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As is sometimes the case when I’m researching a topic, I stumble upon another subject that grabs my attention. It recently happened while I was rummaging for data regarding Charles Kaley, a Chicago bandleader who came to the attention of a wider public in 1927 after briefly marrying an underage
While the jazz piano originally developed independently of the earliest jazz groups (I have yet to see a piano utilized in a marching brass band), and it has a rich legacy in American music that predated jazz, it has of course been a major part of jazz since close to
As regular readers will be well aware, I love swing dance. Whether Lindy hop, Balboa or St. Louis shag is my current thing, I just can’t critique a track without considering how I would move to it. If my imaginary dance-along is satisfying, the write-up is likely to be favorable—if
Louis Jordan is today remembered for his many popular recordings with his Tympany Five. Considered a transitional figure between swing and rhythm & blues, during his prime years Jordan was a major musical force as a singer, alto-saxophonist, and an entertainer. He created rollicking music and developed the ability to
Jeff Barnhart: Faithful readers, due to a very busy travel and performance schedule, Hal Smith indicated he’d need to relinquish his usual seat at our jazz forensics lab and looks forward to returning next month. I’m using this opportunity to invite my old friend pianist Bill “Perfessor Bill” Edwards to
That this festival even happens could be the most striking fact about it. Located more than five hours’ drive from London, and an hour from the nearest railway station or airport. Bude is a small town in Cornwall with a population of less than ten thousand. Yet this was the
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor 82 years ago, December 7, 1941 became “a date that will live in infamy,” as President Franklin D. Roosevelt told the U.S. Congress and the country the following day. With so many tragic stories that stemmed from that horrendous attack, the saga of Navy
Probably most musicians, at one time or another, experience a “heart-stopping moment” or predicament. Here are some I have witnessed—or experienced myself. A tuba player waited in vain at the airport for his instrument to be brought to him after the plane landed. With a pounding heart, he inquired after
In the 1890s, many new technologies were being developed at the same time, and it’s no surprise that many of these fledgling fields would occasionally intersect. In the mid-late 1890s, several phonograph workers decided to experiment in the field of film, which had only just arrived to the United States
It has been great fun to recall old memories of the first 1974 Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia. This month I remember two gentlemen from the original ragtime era. Percy Franks 1893-1976 Billed as “The Last of the Ragtime Kids,” Percy Franks came to the festival from his home
In a past column (TST, September 2022) I mentioned a pub I played in with the Hot Cat Jazz Band called the Griswold Inn. It opened on July 4, 1776 in Essex, CT and has been open ever since—with only nine owners to date! I’ll keep coming back to this
The 17th Street Music Club in Tucson started with an idea that was developed 15 years ago, when the former 17th Street Market and World Music Store opened its doors to local musicians and songwriters by creating a performance space and hosting all types of music events. The World Music
Since its beginning in 2009, the Central Pennsylvania Ragtime and American Music Festival has grown in stature, if not in size. Originally held in early summer, the event has moved to September (mercifully!) in Orbisonia and Rockhill Furnace, two adjoining small towns in southern Huntingdon County. Rockhill is the home
As happens every year in this latitude, Autumn is a time of less sunlight and more shadow, and a chilliness that reminds us to bring the plants in from outdoors. We experimented this year with growing several varieties of hot peppers, some of which are very spicy indeed. I cannot
In print jazz jottings led with: The Saga of Navy Band 22 The Jazzinstitut Darmstadt is a cultural institution of the City of Sciences Darmstadt in Germany that houses Europe’s largest public jazz archive. The Institute’s collection includes books, periodicals, recordings, photos, and extensive information about the history and current developments
34th annual ARIZONA CLASSIC JAZZ FESTIVAL (Chandler, AZ) – Nov. 2-5 Scheduled Guests: Howard Alden, guitar, Banjo Pieter Meijers, reeds, Brass Nickels Jazz Band, Cheryl’s Vintage Jazz with special guests, Dan Levinson, Katie Cavera, Queen City Jazz Band, Tom Rigney & Flambeau, Holland-Coots Jazz Quintet, St. Louis Stompers Classic Jazz
David Thomas Roberts’ peripatetic nocturnal contemplation of the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the late 1970’s inspired some of his most touching works, including Poplarville (1979). The rising melodic phrase in measures 9-11 of the A section is one of the most poignant passages in Roberts’ entire oeuvre. Roberts has always
Hoagy Carmichael was born Howard Hoagland Carmichael on November 22, 1899, in Bloomington, Indiana. Carmichael had piano and singing lessons from his mother, but was mostly self-taught. His parents wanted him to have a more stable career than music, so he attended Indiana University, graduating in 1925 and earning a
Since early Classic ragtime seemed to evolve from the cakewalk, dance, and march music around 1900 it was natural for it to become an instrumental genre beyond basic piano scores. Small ensemble groups took up syncopation soon after the music became popular. John Stark moved to St. Louis in about
U.S.S.R – Memorable Events NGJB met the Leningrad Dixieland in 1987 at the Sacramento Jubilee and they helped immensely to arrange our tour of the USSR in 1989—a great band and wonderful bunch of guys. We were actually hired by the Soviet govt., had a written contact with them, and
A big change is in the works for the River Raisin Ragtime Revue (R4), as the popular ragtime orchestra joins a growing arts and science campus in Southeast Michigan and renovates a historic 1879 campus chapel into their new home for ragtime programming. For over twenty years, R4 has documented,
Our Basin Street Regulars organization has five mission statements. Two of those statements address the future of Traditional Jazz music: 1. To provide young musicians of high school and college age and other beginners with the opportunity to play along with older and more experienced musicians. 2. To provide musical
Two weeks ago in a conversation about the blues, I pulled up our profile of Norman Vickers to illustrate his story of watching a forgotten Blind Willie McTell playing 1950s drive-ins in Atlanta before the ’60s folk revival would give the blues legend’s career a second wind. I said it
Across the street from where Lucille Armstrong bought a home for her traveling husband Louis Daniel Armstrong is a 14,000 square-foot building, the “largest archive for an African-American musician.” The new center will present music, fun, and education to preserve Armstrong’s legacy curated by pianist Jason Moran as the “Here
Jim Syoen informs us that Jimmy LaRocca, New Orleans trumpeter and son of Original Dixieland Band cornetist Nick LaRocca, has died at the age of 83. LaRocca was born October 27, 1939, in New Orleans. He grew up in New Orleans and was taught trumpet by his father when he
After all this time, Syncopated Times readers ought to be familiar with Tuba Skinny; the band has been the subject of many articles and reviews in this publication. Founded as a street band in 2008 in New Orleans, Tuba Skinny has released thirteen albums under its name plus one accompanying
The Panoram was a sleek, Art Deco style wooden cabinet standing nearly seven-feet tall with a 27-inch ground-glass screen. The cabinets were three-feet wide and 32 inches deep, inside of which rolled a 16mm reel of film showing a wide variety of music makers. Eighty years ago, you would find
You can bet an album review is going to be positive when, by the time you read it, I’ve already learned to play parts of it on the piano. Such is the case with The New Wonders, the eponymous new record by Mike Davis’s NYC septet. “Reaching for Someone (And
Ithaca, N.Y. painter Brian Keeler is one of the most accomplished visual artists in Upstate New York. He’s also a gifted guitarist and an accomplished jitterbugger who has blended those two musical passions into a buoyant dance band. His swingin’ septet, Zingology, has issued its second compact disc, this one
Like many people, I imagine, I first became aware of the term “Creole” in relation to some jazz musicians, such
Founded in 2002, the River Rasin Ragtime Revue is one of the premier ragtime ensembles in the country. They have grown support in their local Michigan community with exciting stage productions featuring dancers and period costumes while honoring golden era figures like Bert Williams and contemporary ragtimers like Reginald Robinson.
The George Gee Swing Orchestra is the house band at Swing 46, a long-running nightclub in Times Square. Gee has been leading big bands since he was in college in 1979, making him older than I would have expected, and at Swing 46 since the early 2000s. The band specializes
How’s your French? Tea for 20’s is a traditional jazz band playing for swing dancers in Montreal. While their last full length album was a set of English language jazz standards their new Christmas record explores French Christmas songs that will be unfamiliar to most readers. It made for a
Dan Gabel, the remarkable young man on the cover of our March 2021 issue, started a band while still a Dorsey obsessed 13 year old and joined the Glenn Miller band on an international tour at 19. In 2010 he started the Abeltones, an 18-piece big band that is no
A chanteuse from LA who performs under a single name, Jeudi likes to dig deep for vocal gems of the ’30s to ’50s. Her album of Christmas and winter-themed material doesn’t disappoint. The only tracks you are likely to recognize are the final two of 14: “I’ve Got My Love
I reviewed a very special album from the UK-based Down for the Count a few months ago. They are a jazz collective, something like James Reese Europe’s Clef Club, with 20 musicians listed on the website. The group can fit any event from trio to BIG band and they have
Vol.8, No.11 November 2023
Aaron Hawthorne Keeps Theater Organs Alive and Singing, by Dave Doyle
Did Adelaide Hall Invent a Long-Forgotten Style of Singing?, by Iain C. Williams
Clàudia Fonte and Friends Are Reinventing the Wheel of Jazz Dance, by Dave Doyle
Jimmy LaRocca, NOLA Trumpeter and Son of ODJB Founder Has Died
Remembering F. Norman Vickers 1931-2023, by Joe Bebco
Young Musician Matt Barcus Returns to the Central Coast, by LaDean Talcott
Renovations Transform R4’s “Temple of Ragtime”, by William Pemberton
Ribbon Cutting Marks Opening for Louis Armstrong Center, by Daniel Kassell
Jazz Birthday of the Month: Hoagy Carmichael, illustration by Joe Busam
Static from my Attic, by Andy Senior
Jazz Jottings: The Saga of Navy Band 22, by Lew Shaw
My Inspirations: If at the Bar, Put a Tip in My Jar, by Jeff Barnhart
Ragtime Vignettes: Poplarville, by Brandon Byrne
Quarter Notes: Music Clubs & Positive Acts of Congress, by Shelly Gallichio
When the Phonograph Met Moving Pictures, by R.S. Baker
Jazz Travels: Central PA Ragtime Fest 2023, by Bill Hoffman
Rudiments of Ragtime: Installment 10: The Red Back Book, by Larry Melton
Festival Roundup, compiled by Joe Bebco
Profiles in Jazz: Louis Jordan, by Scott Yanow
Blowing off the Dust: Percy Franks and Jess Williams, by Larry Melton
It Wasn’t Just the Music, by Phil Crumley
Heart-Stopping Moments and Other Anguish for Musicians, by Bert Thompson
Ain’t Cha Got Music: Joe “Fingers” Carr, by Jeff Barnhart & Bill Edwards
Bude Jazz Festival 2023: Still Going Strong After 34 Years, by Frank Farbenbloom
Soundies Blu-ray Set a Window into American Life in the 1940s, by Russ Tarby
Doyle’s Discs, CD reviews by Dave Doyle
Nights at the Turntable, CD reviews by Scott Yanow
Acoustic Alchemy, CD reviews by Russ Tarby
Off the Beaten Tracks, CD reviews by Joe Bebco
Jazz à la Creole by Caroline Vézina, Book Review by Bert Thompson
Hot Town by Tuba Skinny, CD Review by Ted des Plantes
