Boston Jazz Chronicles
Richard Vacca writes about the people, places, and events that shaped Boston's jazz scene in the 20th century.New on the Blog
Serge Chaloff: The Capitol Sessions
The twin peaks of baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff’s recorded output were the two albums he made for Capitol Records, Boston Blow-Up! in 1955, and Blue Serge in 1956. There would certainly have been more great records to come had not Chaloff died of cancer in 1957...
Serge Chaloff: The Capitol Sessions
The twin peaks of baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff’s recorded output were the two albums he made for Capitol Records, Boston Blow-Up! in 1955, and Blue Serge in 1956. There would certainly have been more great records to come had not Chaloff died of cancer in 1957...
Frankie Newton’s Boston Decade
The masterful trumpeter William Frank “Frankie” Newton (1906-1954) was well established in jazz circles long before he ever came to Boston. He’d worked with Cecil Scott, Charlie Johnson, and Teddy Hill. He was on Bessie Smith’s “Gimme a Pigfoot” session in 1933 (her...
Mae Arnette: Boston’s First Lady of Song
When Mae Arnette was growing up in New York City, she dreamed of being a dancer, or maybe an opera singer. She’d have scoffed if someone had told her that one day, instead of singing Rigoletto at the Met, she’d sing “The Star Spangled Banner” at Fenway Park in Boston....
Sandy’s Jazz Revival: Mainstream Mecca
April 14, 1975 marked the opening of Sandy’s Jazz Revival, a new name for an establishment already over forty years old. What’s in a name? In this case, it signaled owner Sandy Berman’s renewed commitment to the classic jazz he loved. Sandy’s Jazz Revival, in suburban...
Alan Dawson: Boston’s House Drummer
You can’t overstate drummer Alan Dawson’s importance in Boston. He was part of the bedrock on which the local jazz scene stands. Superb musician, influential teacher, exemplary mentor, master link in the Boston school of jazz drumming—Dawson was all these things. He...
Boston Jazz Venues, 1960-1990
Five years ago, I posted "Boston Jazz Venues Come and Gone," a look back at the dearly departed. Steve Provizer compiled the first version of that list, at the time when we learned Ryles Jazz Club was closing. Then I compiled a list, and we combined them, and ended up...
Webster Lewis: It’s All Part of the Concept
Webster Lewis was a whirlwind on the Boston music scene in the 1970s. Fueled by seemingly inexhaustible energy, Lewis was all things at once: musician and bandleader, composer and arranger, teacher and administrator. He was a jazz man at heart, but his wide-angle view...
Books by Richard Vacca
The Boston Jazz Chronicles
Available in all online stores!
First published in 2012, The Boston Jazz Chronicles recounts an exciting 25-year period in the city’s musical history. It stretches from 1937 and the swing years, to 1962, well into the modern jazz era. Famous clubs included the Tic Toc, the Hi-Hat, and Storyville. The cast of characters included Sabby Lewis, Jaki Byard, Nat Pierce, and Charlie Mariano. Larry Berk started the Berklee School, and George Wein founded the Newport Jazz Festival. From Toshiko Akiyoshi to Jimmy Zitano, the stories are all here. From Troy Street Publishing, and available online, or through a bookseller near you.
“The Boston Jazz Chronicles brought back memories of my years in Boston, at Storyville in Kenmore Square and Copley Square. Every Boston jazz fan must read this book. You won’t put it down until every page is read.”
— George Wein, legendary club owner and founder of the Newport Jazz Festival
What, and Give Up Showbiz?
Available in all online stores!
Fred Taylor—who through the years wore the hats of nightclub owner, jazz festival director, concert producer, artists’ manager, promoter and publicist, theater operator, recording engineer, would-be comedian and great friend of jazz—was a man of a thousand stories. In 2015, we joined forces to start putting those stories on paper. The result is What, and Give Up Showbiz?, published by Backbeat Books in late 2020, and available online or through a bookseller near you.
Books in Progress
The Boston Jazz Chronicles Volume 2
Coming 2023!
The second volume of this Boston jazz story takes readers from 1963 to 1988—from Connolly’s to the 1369 Jazz Club, from Mamie Lee & the Swingmen to James Williams, and from Summerthing to the Boston Globe Jazz Festival. It’s another 25 years of people, places and nightlife.
Other Dispatches and Conversations
Articles, Research, and Spoken Words
Further historical dispatches and conversations!
The blog is my usual vehicle for telling these Boston stories, but many stories don’t fit the blog mold. And not all stories are told in writing. Visit the Other Dispatches page to find a few previously published pieces, and a few unpublished ones, too. For example, there’s my research on songwriter Jimmy McHugh, long one of my favorites, whose tunes always constitute a lovely way to spend an evening. There’s writing on Teddi King, one of my favorite singers. Clarinetist and bandleader Dick Johnson was an enormous help to me when I was getting started on all of this, and I have a long piece on Dick and his career.
I’ve included links to video and audio where Boston history and The Boston Jazz Chronicles are the topics of conversation.