All About Jazz: What's New for October 29, 2026

This Week on All About Jazz

There's never a dull moment at All About Jazz, and this week brought an unexpected challenge. As always, we're on it and doing what's necessary to protect the security and stability of AAJ and Jazz Near You. We also have plenty of new stories to share, along with two outstanding (and free) tunes.

Protecting All About Jazz: The Work Behind the Scenes

Over the past week, we've been dealing with a serious security issue involving PHP, the programming language that powers much of All About Jazz and Jazz Near You. The vulnerability had the potential to compromise our websites and data, so we moved quickly to address it.

Working closely with our server and security specialist, we've implemented critical security patches and additional protective measures that have significantly reduced our immediate exposure. We're continuing to monitor the situation closely, and I'm pleased with the progress we've made.

But there's a much larger project ahead.

All About Jazz isn't an off-the-shelf website. It's a completely customized platform developed over three decades specifically to serve the jazz community. From our publishing system and musician database to member accounts, concert listings, and countless other features, nearly everything has been built to meet our particular needs. That level of customization gives us tremendous flexibility, but it also introduces considerable complexity when making major changes to the underlying technology.

We now face the unexpected task of upgrading from PHP 7.4 to PHP 8.5, a substantial undertaking that will require careful planning, extensive testing, significant development work, and financial resources. It's not simply a matter of installing a newer version. We need to ensure that the many interconnected components of All About Jazz and Jazz Near You continue to function properly throughout the transition.

This work will take time, and we're approaching it carefully rather than rushing changes that could disrupt either platform. Much of it will be invisible to readers, but it's essential to the long-term security, stability, and future development of both platforms.

After 31 years of building All About Jazz, I take the responsibility of protecting what we've created very seriously. We have a capable technical team, a clear plan, and the determination to see this project through while continuing to deliver the jazz coverage, resources, and services you've come to expect.

I'll keep you informed as we make progress.

Write for All About Jazz

We're looking for curious, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic writers who love jazz and want to share that passion with a worldwide audience.

Whether you're reviewing an album, interviewing a musician, covering a festival, exploring jazz history, developing a column, or offering a thought-provoking opinion, we value original perspectives, informed observations, engaging storytelling, and writing that gives readers something worthwhile to discover, consider, or discuss.

We welcome strong opinions, individual voices, and fresh perspectives. Above all, we're looking for contributors who respect the music, appreciate the editorial process, enjoy working with others, and share our commitment to serving the jazz community.

If that sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you. Click here to learn more.

Album Reviews

The album reviews below represent our most popular from the past week. View more recent reviews.

Theory of Nothing: Record Live in 1977 Brand X	Minwi Nite Bjuti	Freedom Call Dave Holland	Keeping It In Context Daniel Carter / Sabir Mateen / William Parker / Lou Grassi
Let the Music Happen Danny Green	IDENTITY Confusion Project	Trio Nuevo, Vol 3 Dave Bass	Points of Light Christian McBride and Ursa Major

Looking for an album review?

If you're a musician, publicist, or record label seeking album review coverage on All About Jazz, please read our review submission guide, then complete the coverage request form here. When submitting your request, include up to five AAJ album reviewers who best align with your music.

Scott Kinsey: Thought Distortions and the Art of the Left Turn

Keyboardist Scott Kinsey's multi-decade musical odyssey reads a bit like a novella in spots: The Berklee student who landed the keyboard chair in fusion stalwarts Tribal Tech before graduating, cementing the band's definitive lineup while exerting a major influence on its musical direction. The ardent admirer of Weather Report founder Joe Zawinul who went from fan to friend and mentee, and eventually became one of the most dedicated interpreters of Zawinul's musical legacy. The solo artist and collaborator whose projects attract some of the world's most formidable instrumentalists, creating music that might best be described as pan-stylistic, forward-thinking electro-jazz. Along the way, Kinsey has left his mark on scores of recordings—not only as an innovative keyboardist, but also as a producer, sound designer, mixing engineer and mastering engineer. Continue reading...

David Six: Making Music Out Of This World

In 2026, Austrian pianist and composer David Six released the last volume of his trilogy Dance With The Ghosts III (Sessionwork Records, 2026), a good opportunity to discover this musician who defies classification. From jazz to classical, contemporary, Indian and Middle Eastern music; from improvisation to composition and from music to dance and light; from the geometry of Platonic solids to the lives of soils, trees and volcanoes, from his family to refugee camps, from human rights to the duties of politicians; the impact of artificial intelligence, with hope in humanity as a common thread, everything interests David Six, and everything constrains and nourishes his music. Continue reading...

Flamenco And Jazz Continue Along Different Paths Toward Institutional Recognition

Nine decades have passed since the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca (Granada, 1898—Granada, August 18, 1936) was silenced. Yet his vision of duende—an expression of deep, dark emotion—and the blues, shaped both by Granada and Harlem, remains alive and in need of institutional protection. This exploration compares the explicit and robust cultural support given by Spain to flamenco with the more limited and fragmented institutional support afforded to jazz in the United States, particularly in New York City. It also proposes several steps that the "Big Apple" and other cities with a significant jazz heritage could take to make the recognition and preservation of jazz history more meaningful and impactful. Without a doubt, Lorca's stay in New York between 1929 and 1930 offers one of the clearest illustrations of the connection between jazz and flamenco. Continue reading...

Fred Lipsius: The Blood, Sweat & Tears Sax Voice Still Resounds

There's an alto saxophone sound that a huge percentage of the Baby Boom generation heard and enjoyed in the 1960s and into the 1970s, even though many may not have been jazz fans. And younger folks who appreciate great music and understand the value of sounds generated in that era have also heard the clean, quicksilver saxophone approach on hit records that emanated from one man. The resounding horn is that of Fred Lipsius and the band was Blood, Sweat & Tears, of which he was a founding member. Now age 82, Lipsius is still blowing. Much of his post-BS&T career was taken up by teaching—35 years at the famed Berklee College of Music—but he never stopped playing. While his public performances are sporadic, he's still available. His gigging days are not done. Continue reading...

Songs of the Week

Two beautifully arranged, expansive compositions that blur the boundaries between jazz and classical music, pairing expressive improvisation with rich ensemble textures. At over 20 minutes combined, there's plenty to savor. Enjoy both.

Top Songs

The songs below represent the most heard in the past four weeks. View the Song of the Day archive.

Maree Latenti From the album Equilibri Precari By Diego Allieri	Elysian Shore From the album Farther (still) By Mike Dana	Here's to Life From the album You Are There By Sarah D'Angelo	Si Par Hasard From the album Clouds (Special Edition) By Marie-Paule Franke
Rain is Over From the album Rain is Over By Tommaso Monopoli	Zamba del Chaguanco (feat. Klaus Gesing) From the album People. Places. Music For Large Ensemble By Martin Iaies	Mazurek 2 From the album IDENTITY By Confusion Project	Kuanza Sul From the album Kuanza Sul By Manoel Cruz

Choice Content

Nubya Garcia Red Hot At Blue Note London (read); Take Five with Pianist Lenore Raphael (read); Ron Carter and Bill Frisell at Birdland (read); The Bad Plus Farewell Tour at the Cleveland Museum of Art (read); A Minor Bait with a Major Switch—Disembodied Chords and the "Social Construction" of Major and Minor (read); Future Perfect—3. Miles from the Center (read); Future Perfect—2. Dust My Broom (read); The Acoustic Trio At Suoni Della Piazza Festival (view photos); Ruthie Foster at The Tin Pan (read); James Brandon Lewis & Chad Taylor at Pardon, To Tu (view photos); Francesca Tandoi Trio at OCK (view photos); The Midnight Special: The Secret Prison History of American Music (read); Lila Downs At Miner Auditorium (read); Kevin Hays Awakening Quartet at The Pocket Jazz Club (view photos).

We wrapped up Billie Eidson's Miles Ahead: A Jazz Road Trip with Part 16: The Fall Line (read) Part 17: Homecoming (read); Part 18: Already Moving (read).

News Announcements

Timely announcements covering new album releases, tours, special events and more. View all recent announcements.

All About Jazz Connects Local Musicians and Teachers Through Searchable Directories (read); Now Available: Ryan Keberle's Collectiv Do Brasil's Fourth Album 'Here Is Donato!' Celebrating The Music Of Brazilian Master Joao Donato (read); Bassist And Composer Adam Chilenski Returns To His Roots With Long-awaited Debut Release (read); John Korbel Releases 'Johnny Still Got Game,' A Testament To A Life In Music (read); JazzWeek Radio Chart: October 26, 2026 (read); Producer And Singer-Songwriter Mia Mcintosh Continues Jazz Exploration With New Single "Triste" (read); From Lincoln Center To Cannes: From Pope John Paul II To New York Fashion Week—The Borderless Alternative Jazz Of Yola Nash (read); The Ed Palermo Big Band Announces It's An Ed Palermo Christmas! God Bless Us, Everyone!, Arriving November 13, 2026 (read); Jeff Herr Corporation Returns With New Album 'Five Moons' (read); Russ Lorenson Announces "What I Want For Christmas (20th Anniversary Edition)" (read).

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Posted to All About Jazz Newsletter IN THE All About Jazz GROUP
Read more posts by Michael Ricci