Jazz Articles
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Dan Levinson and his Canary Cottage Dance Orchestra: Steppin' Around
by Michael Steinman
In a jam session or reading an arrangement, the gifted reedman Dan Levinson summons up noble ghosts--Benny Goodman, Bud Freeman, Frank Trumbauer and Rosy McHargue. But he is his own man with his own ideas. In spirit, he resembles Dick Hyman, creating historically accurate but radically lively music. Although Levinson is called “traditional" by those who revel in labels, his approach to the past is energetic, with a mission to rescue otherwise obscure American music, pop and jazz. His second ...
Continue ReadingDan Levinson and His Canary Cottage Dance Orchestra: Crinoline Days
by Elliott Simon
In 1917, as Russians revolted against the Tsar and the US entered into World War I, the first jazz records, recorded right here in NYC, turned so-called legitimate music on its ear. People danced to the “new music and the national craze that would come to be known as the “Jazz Age was born. That same year, saxophonist Rudy Wiedoeft and his Frisco Jazz band wowed NYC society with their hot sophisticated sound at the Winter Garden Theatre's chic club, ...
Continue ReadingManhattan Ragtime Orchestra: Euphonic Sounds
by Mitchell Seidel
If you have a desire to really discover some of the main roots of jazz, the Manhattan Ragtime Orchestra is a good place to start. Clarinetist Orange Kellin's ensemble performs the music in authentic ragtime style, giving listeners an idea as to what it must have been like to hear it as it was originally intended. Few, if any, liberties are taken with the repertoire, and the members of this band are extremely familiar with the style. Pianist ...
Continue ReadingManhattan Ragtime Orchestra: Euphonic Sounds
by Jim Santella
Clear and crisp, the two-step of ragtime brings the eight-piece Manhattan Ragtime Orchestra into our homes for a session of good old-fashioned delights. Theirs is a happy music. Bouncing politely and strutting with a carefree air, the notes appear to jump up and down in lock step on the page. Society bands and formal gatherings from the turn of the last century would welcome this contemporary band's interpretation of their work.
Trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso, trombonist Brad Shigeta and ...
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