The Syncopated Bookshelf

Which music qualifies as jazz has been a hot topic for over a hundred years. From the beginning there were attempts to both define and

Early Jazz, a paperback book by Fumi Tomita, has as its subtitle “A Concise Introduction, from Its Beginnings through 1929.” Tomita conceived of his book

The book In With the In Crowd, named after Ramsey Lewis’ big 1965 hit, has two major threads. One thread is factual, devoted to giving

The debate over what constitutes American music raged particularly fiercely in the early years of the 20th century as jazz invaded our ears. It took

It was one of the finest jazz television series ever. During 1956-58, Stars Of Jazz aired 130 episodes. Hosted by Bobby Troup, it was a

Big Joe Turner: Feel So Fine, Derek Coller’s exhaustive bio/discography of the legendary alumnus of Kansas City’s colorful past has been recently published to critical

Sometimes, those of us interested in music of the late 19th or early 20th century feel fortunate at the number of recordings available for us

The best-known examples of interracial jazz recordings are the 1935 and ’36 sides cut by the Benny Goodman Trio which included black pianist Teddy Wilson.

Dust Bowl To Disney is a fine book. It’s an autobiography by traditional jazz cornetist Danny Alguire. When my long-time friend and colleague Hal Smith

During 1941-46, viewers all over the United States had an opportunity to see musical numbers on a visual jukebox. Rather than put a nickel in

Like many people, I imagine, I first became aware of the term “Creole” in relation to some jazz musicians, such as Jelly Roll Morton, Sidney

Where jazz came from has been a compelling topic for over 100 years. It is hard to picture now, but in the 1920s there was

There was long an impression, fostered by such elegiac biopics as Rhapsody in Blue and Till the Clouds Roll By, that the creation of popular

One of the most popular pastimes in jazz is debating a musician’s status in the jazz pantheon. There are some about whom there is little

As the Town Rambler was wending his way up Main street the other day he encountered the gayest procession, seemingly, that ever trod the streets

Sam Irwin’s well-written and entertaining book would be a worthy part of any early jazz lover’s library. A native of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, he has

You may already know a lot about Eubie Blake, especially if you are an aficionado of ragtime music. Even you are not an aficionado you

We all know about Louis Armstrong’s mobster managers and the vicious knifing of vocalist Joe E. Lewis in 1927 in Chicago. We remember that Al

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

Leonard Garment was a fascinating person, son of Brooklyn Jewish immigrants who played jazz saxophone early in his career, went to law school and then

Scott Yanow is pleased that many people assume that he lives in New York despite being a lifelong resident of the West Coast. It means

The New Orleans Jazz Museum, from January 30, 2020, through September 1, 2021, hosted a joint exhibition featuring the paintings of Noel Rockmore and his