The young man in the blue shirt on our left is Nathan Tokunaga, formerly of Belmont, California; now happily ensconced in Greenwich Village, New York, studying at the New School and practicing vigorously. Nathan brought his lyrical self to the September 16, 2025 revival meeting at Winnie's Jazz Bar (66 west 38th Street, in the…

Jazz Lives

15.10.2025

“HONEY BABE”: HAL SMITH’S MORTONIA SEVEN (HAL SMITH, STEVE PIKAL, T.J. MULLER, KRIS TOKARSKI, DAVE BENNETT, COLIN HANCOCK, DAVE KOSMYNA) at the Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival, August 2, 2025. | JAZZ LIVES

Although Jelly Roll Morton is usually characterized as arrogant, some of his music reveals a sweet soul, a man able to offer endearing words and the melodies to support them. There is no issued recording of HONEY BABE: alas, Victor recorded the performance, with his vocal, but rejected it. The song was published by the…

Jazz Lives

16.10.2025

“SWEET, SOFT, PLENTY RHYTHM”: DAWN LAMBETH’S DAYBREAKERS: MARC CAPARONE, JACOB ZIMMERMAN, DAN BARRETT, CHRIS DAWSON, SAM ROCHA, BENNY AMÓN (Redwood Coast Music Festival, October 4, 2025) | JAZZ LIVES

"Sweet, soft, plenty rhythm" is Jelly Roll Morton's condensed description of jazz at its best. But it applies to so much more of the music. I think with great reverence of the Thirties records of Connee Boswell, Mildred Bailey, Maxine Sullivan, Billie Holiday, Nan Wynn, and more. That lineage -- sweet swing singing with equally…

Jazz Lives

17.10.2025

FRANK NEWTON’S LANDSCAPES OF SOUND | JAZZ LIVES

Before the music sweeps over you, as I predict it will, if Newton is not well-known to you, I suggest you read Matthew Rivera's extraordinary piece on him here. I present a rare private location recording from the autumn of 1944, possibly October 23*, presumably recorded by a Harvard student (hence "The Crimson Network") from…

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NATHAN TOKUNAGA, NEW YORKER (with DANNY TOBIAS’ LUCKY 7 at WINNIE’S JAZZ BAR: DANNY TOBIAS, SCOTT ROBINSON, JAY RATTMAN, STEVE ASH, ETIENNE WITTICH, PAT O’LEARY, KEVIN DORN, September 26, 2025) | JAZZ LIVES

“HONEY BABE”: HAL SMITH’S MORTONIA SEVEN (HAL SMITH, STEVE PIKAL, T.J. MULLER, KRIS TOKARSKI, DAVE BENNETT, COLIN HANCOCK, DAVE KOSMYNA) at the Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival, August 2, 2025. | JAZZ LIVES

“SWEET, SOFT, PLENTY RHYTHM”: DAWN LAMBETH’S DAYBREAKERS: MARC CAPARONE, JACOB ZIMMERMAN, DAN BARRETT, CHRIS DAWSON, SAM ROCHA, BENNY AMÓN (Redwood Coast Music Festival, October 4, 2025) | JAZZ LIVES

FRANK NEWTON’S LANDSCAPES OF SOUND | JAZZ LIVES

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