Less is more when searching! If you search Joe “King” Oliver you will not see any results for King Oliver without the quotation marks. If you search Joe Oliver you will not see any results for King Oliver where the first name was never used. For best results search by last name alone.
Hal Smith: In 1965 I obtained the Good Time Jazz LP Kid Ory’s Creole Jazz Band—1954. Besides Ory’s righteous tailgate trombone and the fantastic rhythm
When one thinks of Hoagy Carmichael, it is often of the character that he portrayed in movies: a wisecracking pianist who offered homespun advice to
POLYMATH: a person of wide-ranging knowledge or learning. Jazz trumpeter and bandleader Humphrey Lyttelton was an author, broadcaster, illustrator, composer and journalist. A popular radio
Jeff Barnhart: Hal, after our brief, but wonderful, foray into the musical world of little-known trumpet man Benny Strickler, let’s talk about the Post-War version
Everyone cherished Eubie Blake, particularly in his later years. A lovable character who had survived a long lean period, in the 1970s he was the
Mosaic Records was founded, nearly forty years ago, with the mission of reissuing great jazz recordings in a way that best showcases a particular artist
JB: Hal, when someone studies the traditional jazz “revival” of the 1940s-1950s (if anyone actually does anymore!!!), two names emerge as towering figures. While there
The late English trombonist and bandleader Chris Barber was known but not a star performer in the US. On the other hand, he and his
Virginia Liston (c. 1890 – June 1932) would most likely be barely remembered today if she had not sung on a Clarence Williams Blue Five record
Very little is known about the life of Margaret Johnson. She was very active on the vaudeville circuit in the early 1920s and is known
Clarence Williams (October 6, 1898 or October 8, 1893 – November 6, 1965) was both an artist and an entrepreneur. Highly energetic and adept at
Clarence Williams’ Blue Five were a series of recording sessions that featured some of the best Jazz musicians and Blues singers of the early 1920s. Louis Armstrong, Sidney
Little is known about Clara Smith’s (March 13, 1894 – February 2, 1935) early life other that that she was from Spartanburg, South Carolina. She
In 1920, the success of Mamie Smith’s recording of “Crazy Blues,” the first blues recorded by an African-American singer, was a major surprise to the
Trixie Smith was born in Atlanta, Georgia and is reported to have studied at Selma University in Alabama. Sometime around 1915 she moved north to
Also see: Early History of the Galvanized Jazz Band & History of the Galvanized Jazz Band, Part 2: The Millpond Years After the Millpond Tavern closed in
Called “one of the most catastrophic hurricanes to ever make landfall in the United States,” Hurricane Ida did a number on three historic landmarks in
Fats Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was the son of a preacher and learned to play the organ in church with his
The first part of the Darnell Howard story, discussing his early years in Chicago and work with W.C. Handy, Charles Elgar, and King Oliver, appeared
JB: Hal, over the past several columns, we’ve explored obscure musical heroes, dissected seminal early jazz pieces, and celebrated iconic ensembles. Let’s take a break
The Millpond Tavern was the home of the Galvanized Jazz Band for 25 years, starting on the first Sunday of January in 1971 when we
Read: Benny Goodman’s Kingdom of Swing, Pt 1: The Early Years In the late 1930s the Swing combos of Benny Goodman (1906-1986) created a game-changing small-band
Balboa is my thing, right now. There’s been a real dearth of dancing in my life since 2019, other than one online camp and the
Hociel Thomas (July 10, 1904 – August 22, 1952) was the daughter of pioneering blues and boogie woogie pianist George W. Thomas Jr., and the
