March 17th marked the 100th birthday of the late Nathaniel Adams Coles, aka Nat “King” Cole, and guitarist-vocalist John Pizzarelli isn’t letting that important milestone
Trombonist Russ Phillips has yet to figure out what the word “retirement” means. Even before he retired from his day job as a production and
When I see the long lists of famous musicians from New Jersey, it makes me wonder whether it’s all coincidental or, maybe, there’s really something
“… One afternoon, back in Port of Spain, Trinidad, I met four scientists in a bar, they were on their way to West Africa to
Singer Catherine Russell is jazz royalty, a queen of jazz, soul, and blues. Her crown comes not only from her immense talent as a vocalist
You may have already stumbled upon Kristen Mosca on Youtube. Out of a handful of pianists drawing attention for their video posts, she seems to
After making a living as a musician for 48 of his 61 years and having performed in 101 countries around the world, you’d think Danny
Since high school, Canadian jazz singer Matt Dusk has dreamed of swaggering in the footsteps of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr. So
Viola Smith passed away on October 21st, 2020 at home in Costa Mesa, California at age 107. In the fall of 2018 trombone legend Dan
Bandleader Marla Dixon didn’t grow up playing traditional jazz, at one point she was putting her trumpet to use in a ska band. Then a
Ehud Asherie has definitely taken a circuitous route to becoming a professional musician. The 39-year-old pianist was born in Israel, lived in Italy for six
Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, “Little Eddie” Metz was given his first pair of drumsticks at the age of three
Movies can help us dream. They can show us a world of possibilities or places long gone or places that never were. For singer/songwriter Kat
One of the things that interests and intrigues me most as I have interviewed and written about more than 100 musicians in the past decade
When I contacted Seattle based guitarist Greg Ruby to let him know he’d be on our cover part of his reply was: “Earlier this summer,
I was introduced to Tuba Skinny in 2010 through videos uploaded by YouTube pioneers Al and Judy Alexander. The Alexanders, whose YouTube channel is digitalalexa,
At 21 Daisy Castro has already had an interesting and varied career in music. She began to learn classical violin at age six and was
The Harlem-based Bandleader Ruminates on Music, Performance, and Style William Shakespeare once famously asked “What’s in a name?” That line from Romeo and Juliet could
I first heard Turk Murphy’s band back in my sportswriting days when I was in Cleveland, Ohio, to cover a college football game in 1949.
With the cleverest band name I’ve ever heard, The Night Blooming Jazzmen have entertained and impressed traditional jazz fans since 1975. The band was originally
This column’s title includes the word “travels.” This installment is no different, but this time the travels weren’t mine. Neville Dickie, the renowned British stride
Australian-born Adrian Cunningham got hooked on jazz early in life listening to his father’s collection of 78 RPM records. As he began to achieve success
A Conversation with Michael Feinstein on the Enduring Appeal of Popular Music For aficionados of the Great American Songbook, Michael Feinstein needs no introduction. The
In my essay about the decline of jazz festivals (“What is to be Done?” March 2018) I wrote “None of the early legends of jazz
