The Syncopated Times
Exploring the World of Hot Jazz, Ragtime, and Swing
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Latest posts
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Danny Coots: The Craft of Drumming and the Art of Living
After making a living as a musician for 56 of his 69 years and having performed in 101 countries around the world, you’d think Danny Coots would know all there is to know about life and drumming. But he is quick to tell you that he continues to learn and mature as a person and…
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The Elite Syncopators
Jeff Barnhart: Dear listeners of Le Music Hot, I’ve got a surprise for you this month! My erstwhile collaborator Hal Smith is wending his way across the country to play at the Redwood Coast festival in Eureka CA (since he lives in Arkansas and drives to his gigs, I think he left…
- Nights at the Turntable November 2026
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We’re Sisters Under The Skin: Female Blues & Boogie Woogie
Since its formation in 1986 by the late Johnny Parth, the Document label has compiled a rather huge catalog with the goal of reissuing every vintage blues record from 1920-50 and beyond. Some of their releases overlap with early jazz and they also include many valuable ragtime,…
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John Petters • Swinging Down Memory Lane, Volume 2
Veteran British jazz drummer John Petters, who produces many of the Upbeat CDs, previously compiled Swinging Down Memory Lane. That CD included 16 previously released highlights from his career, dating from 1977-2009. Volume 2 has additional selections from a variety of all-star…
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Classics In Swingtime
Throughout its history, jazz musicians have often drawn its repertoire from other sources, transforming the music into jazz. In its earliest days, bands often included hymns, marches, blues, ragtime, pop songs of the period, tunes from the stage and screen, and classical…
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Albert Nicholas and Bill Coleman: Profiles in Jazz
Clarinetist Albert Nicholas and trumpeter Bill Coleman had compatible styles and were active during similar periods. But, other than a brief time when they were both members of the Luis Russell Orchestra, they seemed to have crossed paths only on surprisingly rare occasions.…
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‘Ellingtoniana’: The Sant Andreu Jazz Band at Dizzy’s Club in NYC
In May of 2025, Barcelona’s internationally praised Sant Andreu Jazz Band, consisting of young musicians ranging from pre-teen to roughly 21 years old, made quite the splash at the Essentially Ellington competition in New York, coming in 2nd Place among thirty American high…
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A Walk On The Wild Side
New York’s 52nd Street, nicknamed “Swing Street,” was renowned as a legendary center for jazz during 1935-46 with quite a few nightclubs housed within a small area. Los Angeles counterpart, Central Avenue, is less known but actually had a longer prime period as a major black…
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Hot British Dance Bands 1925-1937
JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH While dance music was always much more popular in Great Britain in the 1920s and ’30s than jazz, even the top society bands occasionally performed jazz since it was danceable. The orchestras could not devote themselves exclusively to the music because,…
- The Final Chorus November 2026
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Don Franz of the St. Louis Ragtimers has died
Don Franz, tuba player and a founding member of the St. Louis Ragtimers, died August 28 in St. Louis. He was 92. A musician, engineer, and former co-owner of the Goldenrod Showboat, Franz helped sustain both the sound and the setting of St. Louis’ ragtime revival. Donald Roy…
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Tony Fisher
Tony Fisher, a British trumpeter whose career joined big-band jazz to decades of London studio work, died September 27. He was 90. Born in Manchester, Fisher began on cornet in brass bands under the guidance of his father, a bass player. By his teens he was touring British…
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Gene Bertoncini
Gene Bertoncini, a jazz guitarist known for bringing the nylon-string acoustic guitar into swing, standards, and Brazilian music, died August 29 in Englewood, New Jersey. He was 89. A New York native who studied architecture before making music his full-time profession,…
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Nina Michelle
Nina Michelle, a Canadian-raised jazz singer who became a familiar presence on the Munich music scene, died unexpectedly October 7. She was 58. Michelle’s early jazz experience included performing in Vancouver with her father, trumpeter and pianist Ivan Nagy. A recording project…
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Vincent Matthew Johnson’s Elder Street Rag
In my opinion, Vincent Matthew Johnson is the foremost composer of Classic Ragtime not named Scott Joplin. Moreover, I also believe that the assortment of Johnson’s pieces contained within Invincible Syncopations (BSW-2241, available at rivermontrecords.com) is one of the most…
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Enjoying Cooler Weather with Hotter Jazz!
ThePop-Up Piano Bar at the downtown Coronet Restaurant gathers a fun group of amateur and professional singers for various solos, duets and general sing-a-longs. Hostess Briggs Clinco and master piano man Marco Rosano encourage the crowd to take to the mic and belt one out.…
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A Foxtrot Too Far: The Savoy Bands Story on BBC Radio 3
A century ago, they were undoubtedly one of the biggest names in broadcasting in the UK, Europe, and large parts of the world. The Savoy Orpheans and Savoy Havana Band, both resident at the Savoy Hotel, London, were on the air at least twice a week to audiences of millions. Now,…
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Mosaic Records • The Complete Louis Armstrong in New York 1924-1925
By the time the 23-year-old Louis Armstrong arrived in New York in 1924, that city had become a vital proving ground for jazz musicians—and a crucible for jazz innovation. It had recording studios and clubs galore; it had radio stations, although dance-band remotes were just…
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Spotlight on the Bix House Band
Supporting my intention to live up to this column’s title, I’d like to share some real uplifting news! I’m referring to the purchase of Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke’s home in Davenport, IA by a handful of talented musicians and associates dedicated not only to preserving Bix’s musical…