Eddy Arnold, the first country star who aspired to succeed in both the country and the pop music markets, didn’t make it with the first wave of Nashville Sound stars in the 1950s. Despite a hit streak that began in 1945, his success flattened in the late ’50s. It wasn’t until 1965 when orchestrated hits [...]

In 2007, Dierks Bentley told journalist-critic Nick Cristiano, “I feel like I’m trying to be a bridge between what’s left of country music and the future of it.” That’s a pragmatic from a performer with obvious traditional roots trying to survive in a mainstream where last year, even the decidedly non-traditional Taylor Swift’s success couldn’t [...]

Louisiana bands tend to be long-lived. The Hackberry Ramblers have existed nearly 76 years; the Preservation Hall Jazz Band is closing on half a century. Of course, leading any traditionalist band, regardless of genre, is risky. Some falter, bogged down by mannered delivery and/or obsessive purism that maintains integrity while rendering the music as lifeless [...]

Benny Goodman’s breakthrough to mainstream America, with his 1935-38 recordings for Victor and live performances of his relentless clarinet virtuosity leading the way, broadened the audiences for swing’s true pioneers: African-American bands led by Fletcher Henderson, Jimmie Lunceford and Duke Ellington. In 1939, for various reasons, he moved over to Columbia Records. While reissues of [...]

Singer-guitarist John Pizzarelli’s emphasis on jazz and pop standards echoes the style that Harry Connick Jr. pursued before re-embracing his New Orleans funk roots. John is the son of venerable jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, and his appealing vocals and seven-string guitar virtuosity emphasize the timeless. Yet he’s sufficiently flexible to embrace fare from his (boomer) [...]

Trace Adkins’ recent publicity moves – a contrarian (if predictable) book, appearances on Celebrity Apprentice, and a cameo bit on The Young And The Restless – are par for the course for today’s mainstream acts. It’s not that Adkins requires the hype. His modern traditionalism, (mostly) free of warmed-over rock cliches, offers established ideas, moods [...]

Given Hank Williams III’s raw, irreverent traditionalism and maverick reputation (doing hard-country and heavy metal sets back-to-back onstage), it’s no surprise that this album, like 2006′s Straight To Hell, is out in both uncut and PG versions, with a Parental Advisory imprint. That’s largely due to the opener, “The Grand Ole Opry (Ain’t So Grand)”, [...]

Before his death in 2007 at age 90, Johnny Frigo was among the last of the great American jazz violinists, though he was best-known as a bassist, having played with the Soft Winds, whose ballad “Detour Ahead” became a jazz standard. Except for one jazz fiddle LP long ago and fourteen years fiddling on Chicago’s [...]

The subgroup of country and rock guitarists who have conquered the Fender Telecaster is a long and honored one. Whether it’s James Burton, Albert Lee, the late Danny Gatton or Brad Paisley, mastering the Tele’s unique high-pitched tonality requires special talents. Canadian-born Redd Volkaert earned his place in that pantheon after paying dues in California [...]