News

Step into the buzz of the 1930s at the Windgap 14th Charity Ball!

To greet you in the foyer from 6:15-7pm, Greg Poppleton’s swing trio with Damon Poppleton alto sax and Bradley Newman at the grand.

Wally Portingale was an Australian swing jazz pianist, band leader, and composer – arranger. He is your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.

I’m thrilled to announce that my brand-new album, Tin Pan Alley Vol. 3, will be officially released on 1 May! 🎉 This latest volume is a heartfelt tribute to the golden age of songwriting — the timeless classics that filled the airwaves and dance halls of the 1920s and 1930s. Tin Pan Alley Vol. 3 […]

If you’re dreaming of champagne towers, jazz music, flapper dresses, and that unforgettable 1920s glamour, you’re in the right place.
Here’s how to plan the ultimate Gatsby-themed celebration — including the secret ingredient: authentic 1920s jazz performed live!

Clarence Francis Cherock aka Shorty Sherock was an American swing jazz trumpeter. He is your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.

Lionel Hampton was a US jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. His music spanned 1920s jazz to swing to bop and r’n’b over a seventy plus years career. He is your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.

Delores LaVern Baker was an American rhythm and blues singer. 20 of her songs made the R&B charts. Elvis Presley recorded eight Baker songs. She’s your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.

Bert Lown, was an American violinist, orchestra leader, and songwriter, including the jazz standard, Bye Bye Blues. He’s your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.

Jan Savitt, the Stokowski of Swing, he played violin in Leopold Stokowski’s Orchestra, was an American bandleader, musical arranger, and violinist. He’s your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week in a broadcast from the new KYW Philadelphia studios in 1938.

Ted Lewis, the high-hatted tragedian of song, was a US bandleader, singer, and musician, presented jazz, comedy, and nostalgia that was a hit with the American public before and after World War II. He’s your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.

Billy Bartolomew, was a British jazz alto saxophonist and dance band leader  in England and Germany in the 1920s -30s. He’s your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.

Thank you everyone at the 2025 Art Deco Ball, The Carrington Hotel, Katoomba! The energy in the room was fantastic. Full House and a full dance floor!

Greg Poppleton and his 1920s Band accompany the Murder Master for a 1920s Murder Mystery in a private function in country Victoria, 3 June.

Sorcery & Swing, Cardea Sydney, 300 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo. Sunday 23 March 5:30-8pm. Magic & 1920s Music. Dinner show tickets. General admission tickets. No booking fee

The Boswell Sisters, Martha, Connee, and Helvetia, were a US close harmony singing trio of the 1920s-30s. They blended intricate harmonies and song arrangements featuring scat singing, instrumental imitation, Boswellese, tempo and meter changes, major/minor juxtaposition, key changes, and incorporation of sections from other songs. They are your Phantom Dancer feature artists this wee

LARRY CLINTON was an American trumpet player, trombonist, clarinettist, bandleader, arranger and composer. He is your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.

INA RAY HUTTON was an American singer, bandleader, and led one of the first all-female big bands. She is your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.

Lots of news for you this month. Sorcery and Swing 23 March, new album, magazine article, and a request from London for your help. Read on…

Pianist composers George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Rube Bloom on live 1930-34 radio are your Phantom Dancer feature artists this week.

Jack Teagarden was a self-taught jazz trombone virtuoso, singer, and band leader. Mechanically minded, he also patented a trombone spit valve. He’s your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.

Leon Brown “Chu” Berry was a 1930s American jazz tenor saxophonist and composer of the swing standard, ‘Christopher Columbus’. His 1937 version of Body and Soul, which predates Coleman Hawkin’s famous recording, ‘set the saxophone free’. He’s your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.

Jack Teagarden was a self-taught jazz trombone virtuoso, singer, and band leader. Mechanically minded, he also patented a trombone spit valve. He’s your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.

Al Hibbler was a blind baritone who sang with Duke Ellington’s Orchestra and then was a solo artist. Hibbler is seen as a bridge between R&B and traditional pop. He is your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.

Charlie Christian is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist. He was an American swing and jazz guitarist and a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. Hear him live on 1940 radio…

New Years Eve from 1954 New Years Eve radio is featured on this week’s Phantom Dancer. You’ll hear George Shearing, Sauter-Finnegan, Ted Heath, and more.

New Years Eve and Christmas Music from 1930s Christmas radio and 1950s New Years Eve radio is featured on this week’s Phantom Dancer. You’ll hear Guy Lombardo, Tommy Dorsey and Duke Ellington. Because of a glitch last week, you’ll hear the second half of the Phantom Dancer scheduled that was scheduled for 17 December.

Christmas Music is featured on this week’s Phantom Dancer. Hear Kid Ory, Paul Whiteman, Patti Page and the hammond organ – piano duo of Caldwell and Pollard.

Sonny Dunham, US swing trumpet player, trombonist and band leader is your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.

We’re back at The Basement Builders’ Club Wollongong for an afternoon of swinging 1920s and 1930s jazz. Great club. Relaxed, easy atmosphere. The Basement is pokie free. And there’s no cover charge! Show: 2:30 – 5:30pm

Alexander Tsfasman, was a Soviet jazz pianist, composer, orchestrator, conductor, bandleader, publicist and public figure. His recorded output covered original compositions including Gershwinesque and Whitemanesque suites, Russian, German, and American jazz tunes. Tsfasman was the first to record jazz in the Soviet Union. He was was the only Russian member of the International Jazz Federation.

This is Cardea Sydney where you can enjoy Sorcery & Swing with your friends, Thurs 5 Dec 7:30 – 9:30pm. Looking around this 300 Barangaroo  Ave, Barangaroo institution (near Wynyard Station & King St Wharf), you see a decadent red lounge room. These people are good looking roosters. A mere few hours ago a woman […]

Roy Haynes, one of the greatest and most influential drummers in the history of jazz died 12 November, aged 99. He performed into his 80s. He’s your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.

Swing in 1930s – 40s Europe, is the Sonic Journey I’ll be taking with ABC Weekends Breakfast host, Simon Marnie, on ABC Radio Sydney, after the 11am news till noon on 702 ABC Radio Sydney (2BL).

Simon Marnie and I will be sonically journeying to 1930s-40s Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, the Soviet Union, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy and France, and there’ll be a Spanish language rhumba in there too.

Joanie O’Brien was a singer, movie, TV actor in the 1950s-60s who sang with Harry James and Bob Crosby and co-starred with Elvis Presley and Cary Grant. She’s your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.

Fred Astaire – singer – on a 1936 US Presidential election radio show is your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.You’ll hear Fred Astaire (actor, dancer, singer, choreographer, television presenter and considered the most influential dancer in the history of film) singing and tap dancing on a special election night edition of The Packard Hour radio show