Current Issue
Drummers’ Summit: Let’s Talk About Morey Feld
Hal Smith: Well, Brother Kevin…It seems like forever since we “talked shop” for an article in The Syncopated Times. Before another year slips away, what
Whisper Darkly: Shining a Light on Secretive Jazz Age Theater Project
YouTube is just full of surprises, isn’t it? For instance, today I learned that there’s a channel called Electro Swing Thing, which recently uploaded a
The Spirit of Hot Jazz in St. Louis: T.J. Muller’s All-Star Jazz Band
Traditional jazz and ragtime are back in St. Louis these days and as vibrant and joyful as in the days when the Goldenrod Showboat graced
97 Years of Jazz: Happy Birthday, Dick Hyman!
Multi-keyboardist Dick Hyman, born March 8, 1927, will turn 97 years old this month. With a prolific career behind him he’s no longer performing publicly,
Bobby Burns Berman: ‘Hollywood’s Entertainer of the Stars’
From the 1920s to the 1940s my great uncle Harry Berman had a multifaceted career as a performer on stage, screen, records, and radio. His
‘The Harlem Strut’ by James P. Johnson: A ‘Groundbreaking’ Stride Solo
The “Roaring Twenties” were off to a rousing start by late 1920. Musically, if not in other ways as well, the contributions of African Americans
The Music Never Stops: A Report from Israel
Many TST readers, like me, are of an age that we can recall Pearl Harbor, the camps at Auschwitz, and the atrocities of the Japanese
Wham Re-Bop-Boom-Bam: The Swing Jazz of Eddie Durham
Wham Re-Bop-Boom-Bam: The Swing Jazz of Eddie Durham premiered February 1st on many public television stations nationwide. The 60-minute documentary has been receiving considerable praise
Thanks to Becky Imhauser, Sedalia’s Downtown History is Complete
Dr. Rebecca Imhauser has just published her third book on Downtown Sedalia, Missouri, titled All Around Downtown: Volume 2. This publication includes the West side
Duved Dunayevsky: There’s Rhythm in Paris
Chapter 1: In Which Paris Comes to New York In 2019, I was lucky enough to be invited to attend Tatiana Eva Marie’s birthday party,
Rossano Sportiello Makes the Ivories Swing
An article in the February 2021 issue of DOWNBEAT Magazine had this to say about the individual who will be the recipient of the 2024
Royce Martin Charts a New Path for Ragtime
Fifty years after The Sting, it takes a special kind of musician to breathe new life into “The Entertainer” or “Solace”—those Scott Joplin masterpieces that
Texas Shout #6 Hand-Held Live Tapes
A Note from the Editor: The past doesn’t repeat itself but it does rhyme and this column from 1990 is a stunning example of that.
Texas Shout #58 Learning To Play, Part 1
Set forth below is the fifty-eighth “Texas Shout” column. The initial installment of a three-part essay, it first appeared in the February 1995 issue of
Texas Shout #42 Reference Books
Set forth below is the forty-second “Texas Shout” column. It first appeared in the August 1993 issue of West Coast Rag now The Syncopated Times.
Louis and Bria in NYC
On a rainy Friday, December 1, I made my second trip to the Big Apple in just under two months. My main purpose was to
A night in NYC: David Ostwald and Terry Waldo
On October 4, I made one of my periodic jaunts to New York to indulge my passion for traditional jazz. Before Covid I used to
From the 2023 West Coast Ragtime Festival
For the third year in a row (not counting the Covid interruption), I attended the West Coast Ragtime Festival on the weekend before Thanksgiving. If
Dick Hyman’s Century of Jazz Piano (5 CD + 1 DVD Box Set)
Malo Mazurié • Taking The Plunge
Sunny Side • The Felicity Sessions
Juliet Varnedoe Jazz Band • Cajun Bleu
Legends & The Lost • Rare and Hot Jazz 1925-1930
Inspiring Elvis: The Music Behind the King of Rock and Roll
16 Jonah Jones LPs released as two album CDs
Doc Evans • Down In Jungle Town
Dust Bowl To Disney: The Lost Memoir of Danny Alguire
The Soundies by Mark Cantor
Jazz à la Creole: French Creole Music and the Birth of Jazz
Jazz à la Creole: Fench Creole Music and the Birth of Jazz
Benny Goodman’s Female Singers – 1939-49
During the Swing era, bandleaders had a variety of different opinions about the importance of employing a female singer. Some, such as Artie Shaw, considered
Benny Goodman’s Vocalists: From Helen Ward to Martha Tilton
During the big band era, nearly every orchestra (swing or sweet) was comprised of male instrumentalists, a male vocalist (who was sometimes one of the
Count Basie Part 2: The New Testament Years
In 1950, for the first time since 1935, there was no Count Basie Orchestra. By then, most of the swing era big bands were either
Cold Winds Outside, Hot Jazz Inside!
When we hit New Orleans this past January it was 32 degrees and very windy! The Mississippi encourages bitter winds through the Quarter and creates
Quarter Notes February 2024
And The Band Played On… The venerable 62-year old Preservation Hall has announced an expansion of its facilities to further support the 12-year old Preservation
Swingin’ Jazz in Chandler, AZ
The theme for this year’s Arizona Classic Jazz Society Festival was “Come, Swing with Me” and we certainly did! Held again at the San Marcos
Dick Hyman’s Century of Jazz Piano (5 CD + 1 DVD Box Set)
Within Dick Hyman’s Century of Jazz Piano (Arbors), a five-disc CD set totaling 121 selections, pianist Dick Hyman seeks to demonstrate the development of jazz
Heat from the Whitley Bay Classic Jazz Party is Felt Worldwide
There are two rules I tell everyone when they attend the Whitley Bay International Classic Jazz Party for the first time. One: it’s a marathon,
EUREKA! From The Redwood Coast Music Festival!
The Redwood Coast Music Festival was an ecstatic experience, an overwhelming banquet of music and friendship. (If that seems hyperbolic, I can adopt Eddie Condon’s
Helf and Hager Set up Shop on Tin Pan Alley
In the latter 19th century, a few daring publishers decided to try and combine their hustling status with the phonograph. In the 1890s it was
Coming Soon: A Biography of Justin Ring
Since I moved to the Bronx back in September, I have been more inspired than ever to write and to draw. Living in the very
The Many Talents of Frank C. Stanley
In the earliest days of the phonograph, many recording artists were forced to work extra jobs to make a living. None of the workers in
The Lost Hook Tapes
It really is a waiting game based on luck and endurance. I am banking on the idea that if you stick to your artistic career
Birthday Blues
“Everything happens for the best” Does it really? In a continuation of last month’s theme of reality being how we perceive it, perhaps the better
Reality is a Cruel Mistress
If I was a rich man, I would have a right proper mid life crisis. I suppose that is a very sexist idea that you
Jazz in San Francisco, Pt. 3: Bagdad-by-the-Bay, 1940s, ‘50s & ‘60s
West Coast Blues & Russell City; Fillmore venues; Sugar Pie DeSanto, Vince Guaraldi; Ralph J. Gleason & Jazz Casual TV San Francisco was a crossroads
The Elusive Legacy of Bill Erickson 1929-1967
“Erickson, usually erroneously labelled a Dixieland jazzman, was in every way a comprehensive modern musician, performer and composer whose interests ranged from the blues to
San Francisco Jazz, Phase Two, 1940-66
WWII Jazz boom, The Fillmore, Oakland Blues, North Beach & Forbidden City Nightclubs San Francisco was the location for dynamic developments in popular entertainment: Traditional,
Ain’t No Wrong Notes in Jazz
It is easy to be impressed by jazz musicians… if you are not one yourself. We are, after all, an impressive bunch. And I know
Bad Moon Rising
Jazz musicians are a mischievous bunch. I doubt that’s a surprise to any of you, as the history books are filled with stories of pranks
The New Syllabus
There’s been a lot made in the news in recent times about systemic issues in our education system. As I understand it, there seems to
David Reffkin and the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival
There was a knock at the door and when I answered the fellow introduced himself as David Reffkin (not to be confused with Joshua Rifkin
String Groups at the 1974 Scott Joplin Fest
News from Galen Wilkes that Dennis Pash was rushed to the hospital in December brought back a flash of memories and of course great concern
More Memories from the 1974 Joplin Fest
It never ceases to amaze me the details I can remember from the first Sedalia ragtime festival 50 years ago. Yet, I can’t for the
Rocky Giglio, “Band City’s Music Man”, has Died
Rocky Giglio, who died on February 8th at 86, began playing in his hometown, Utica, New York, in the Thomas Proctor High School band and
Bill Allred has died at 87
Trombonist Bill Allred died on February 1st at 87. He was one of the largest figures of his generation in classic jazz and leaves a
Forrest Helmick of the Blue Street Jazz Band has died.
Forrest Helmick, trumpet player and founder of the Blue Street Jazz Band, died at home on December 29th. He was 66 years old. He was