Jazz Articles

Our daily articles are carefully curated by the All About Jazz staff. You can find more articles by searching our website, see what's trending on our popular articles page or read articles ahead of their published dates on our Coming Soon page. Read our daily album reviews.

Groove Orbit

A Time Capsule in Sound: Jim Pugh’s New American Symphonies

by Kyle Simpler
September 25, 2026

On the surface, Jim Pugh's New American Symphonies might seem like just another interesting new album release, but there is much more involved here. Behind the album cover lies a story of experimentation, loss, and rediscovery that adds a fascinating dimension to this well-crafted recording.To get the full picture, however, we have to go back several decades.By the late 1930s, swing bands dominated American popular music, and Tommy Dorsey had established himself as one of its ...

Album Review

Corto Alto: Some Small Fortune

Read "Some Small Fortune" reviewed by Mark McKergow

by Mark McKergow
September 25, 2026

Corto Alto is the creation of Glaswegian trombonist, bassist, multi-instrumentalist and producer Liam Shortall. The youngest graduate from the Royal Conservatoire Of Scotland's undergraduate jazz course (which he started aged just 16), Shortall combines jazz, electronica, hip-hop and broken beat, producing both detailed studio creations and roaring live sets. The band name translates from Italian as “short.tall"; Shortall has Italian roots and was keen to present an attention-grabbing name for his work (a touch of the Fatboy Slim, maybe)? His ...

Play This!

Espen Eriksen Trio: Winter Is Coming

by Carl Medsker
September 25, 2026

An homage to Game of Thrones? A wish for the end of another excessively hot summer? Or just impatient for better ski conditions? Whatever the intention, the Espen Eriksen trio is back for another set of melodic Nordic jazz. After a pulsing, ominous start, the performance flowers into a memorable theme. The bandmates (Espen Eriksen on piano, Lars Tormod Jenset on bass and Andreas Bye on drums) breathe as one, favoring economical, lyrical invention over hearty rhythmic or harmonic improv. ...

Album Review

Matt Wilson's Good Trouble: Love Is The Whole Thing, We Are Only Pieces

Read "Love Is The Whole Thing, We Are Only Pieces" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
September 25, 2026

Drummer Matt Wilson has never needed a soapbox to make a point. His drumming has always been open, as if the music has something to say. It makes sense, then, that Wilson has reconvened Good Trouble to continue making good music with good people, which he considers the most effective form of dissent. With Tia Fuller and Anisha Rush on alto saxophones, Jeff Lederer on tenor saxophone and clarinet, Dawn Clement on piano and vocals, and Ben Allison on acoustic ...

Radio & Podcasts

Espen Berg, Zoe Rahman, Joe Henderson, Erica von Kleist, Misha Mullov-Abbado, James Davison

by Ludovico Granvassu
September 25, 2026

Something traditional, something experimental, something live, something in the studio--and plenty of fun in between, for a selection designed to please many palates. Happy listening! Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Espen Berg Trio “Equilibrium suite, pt.2" Entropies (Svale) 0:16 Host talks 4:00 Zoe Rahman “Red Squirrel (Live)" Hull Suite (Live) (Manushi) 5:07 Host talks 14:18 Misha Mullov-Abbado, James Davison “That's a Plenty" Moon Beams (Boy Boy) 15:18 ...

Album Review

Amalie Dahl's Dafnie: Live at Kafé Hærverk

Read "Live at Kafé Hærverk" reviewed by Daniel Mège

by Daniel Mège
September 25, 2026

There is a strange relationship between alto saxophone and marine biology. Akira Sakata, the breathtaking yet unsung altoist of torrential intensity and a marine biology researcher, specialized in daphnia (dafnie in Scandinavian languages), those tiny, endearing-looking crustaceans, as early as 1969; Amalie Dahl made them her orchestra. She knew nothing of this weighty legacy. Dafnie is made up of Jørgen Bjelkerud (trombone), Oscar Andreas Haug (trumpet), Nicolas Leirtrø (bass) and Patrycja Wybrańczyk (drums), standing in here for Veslemøy Narvesen. Dahl plays alto ...

Radio & Podcasts

Enzo Favata, Felicia Carter, Josh Cohen, Al-Sultani-Thomas-Abas, thèriot

by Cheryl K.
September 25, 2026

During this week's two-hour program of jazz and improvised music--saxophonist/clarinetist Enzo Favata; vocalist Felicia Carter; saxophonist Alain Bradette; alto/sopranino saxophonist Carla Marciano; bassists Josh Cohen and thèriot; vocalist Alya Al-Sultani, pianist Pat Thomas, and cellist Khabat Abas; and trumpeter Rachel Spencer.Playlist Paul Desmond “Outubro" from From the Hot Afternoon (CTI) 2:55 Ben Kono Group “Belong" from Voyages (Ben Kono) 6:48 Enzo Favata “Sine Nomine" from Ritornare (ECM) 8:49 Norman Winstone-Kit Downes “Rowing Home" from Outpost of Dreams (ECM) ...

Interview

Rachel Spencer: Trumpeter Making Artistic Statements

by R.J. DeLuke
September 24, 2026

A person's journey in life that takes them into the world of music and, more specifically, down a path that leads to becoming a professional player and performer is an individual and personal thing. There are some similarities with fellow musicians, but each story unfolds amid circumstances and events that are unique to a given individual. For Rachel Spencer, a trumpeter, composer and educator living in Austin, Texas, it started with classical music. She grew up in a ...

Album Review

Jon Lloyd: Anima

by Neil Duggan
September 24, 2026

Jon Lloyd Quartet's 2024 album Earth Songs (Ubuntu) racked up millions of streams. Anima sees the group building on that success with their distinctive blend of European contemporary jazz. Reflective melodies, inventive textures and spontaneity combine into a sound world of shifting moods, beauty and emotional appeal. The quartet lineup is unchanged from the previous album: Lloyd on tenor and soprano saxophones, alongside long-time collaborator John Law, bassist Nick Pini and drummer Alex Goodyear. All 11 compositions are ...

Profile

Old School with Wendel Brunious

by Thomas Cole
September 24, 2026

Growing up in my family, there was quite a bit of music around the house, as my brother John Brunious would be practicing and my daddy would be doing the same. John had actually taught me to play the blues, beginning with Going to New Orleans, first learning it on the piano. Of course, there were records being played too, mostly Louis Armstrong, but my brother was listening to bebop too, including Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, among others. And ...