Jazz Articles
Daily articles including interviews, profiles, live reviews, film reviews and more... all 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 future articles page.
A Different Drummer, Pt. 6: Iberian Beats – Jorge Rossy & Pedro Melo Alves
by Karl Ackermann
The music of the Iberian Peninsula is as rich and diverse as any in the world. Its influences are many yet it developed in the pre-global bubble of geography. Early music of the peninsula was impacted by much of the known world in the primeval period and the Middle Ages. The peninsula was isolated by the Pyrenees Mountains effectively blocking off modern Spain and Portugal from the rest of Europe but cultural aspects of the Roman Empire, Turkic tribes, and ...
read moreAndrew Cyrille, William Parker & Enrico Rava: 2 Blues For Cecil
by Karl Ackermann
Cecil Taylor's music was not for the faint of heart. The legendary pianist who performed like a combination of poet-percussionist-dancer rests now, but there is little doubt that discoveries from the archives will continue to be unearthed or reissued. In the meantime, tribute albums as eclectic as Taylor himself have been surfacing since he passed in 2018. Among the best was Six Encomiums for Cecil Taylor (Tzadik, 2018) from the Winged Serpents collective that included top pianists Craig Taborn, Kris ...
read morePat, We Hardly Knew You
by Patrick Burnette
For our first podcast of 2022 we take a deep dive into the work of recently departed guitarist Pat Martino. From a live burner to an introspective duet to a fusion foray and an all-star showcase, Pat's recordings always delivered quality and kept his unique personality to the fore whatever the context. Mike brings a bonanza to pop matters but Pat has only one little Nightmare. Playlist Discussion of Pat Martino's album Live (Muse) 5:00 Discussion of Pat ...
read moreCecil Taylor: The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert
by Mike Jurkovic
If the title alone The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert doesn't blow out those flu-like post-holiday cobwebs in a big hurry, the full, near ninety minute assault on all that was and is holy damn well will. Couple the jittery anticipation of NYC's Town Hall audience pushing up against the cool onstage élan of alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons, percussionist Andrew Cyrille and bassist Sirone aka Norris Jones and the air in the hall is highly, nervously charged, all of them ...
read moreGuitars A Plenty
by Bob Osborne
On this show recent guitar focused album releases from Dave Stryker, Gastón de la Cruz, Greg Amirault, Ken Serio, Oli Astral, and Guillaume Vierset. There's also great improvisation from the band of Alvin Fielder, David Dove, Jason Jackson, and Damon Smith, plus, a track from the debut double album of solo piano from Nick Maclean. Playlist Dave Stryker “Lanes" from As We Were (Strikezone Records) 00:00 Gastón de la Cruz, Valentino Sampaoli, Nahuel Flores Catino “Bosque" from Onirica ...
read moreErkin Kydykbaev Keeps Jazz Alive in Central Asia
by Schaen Fox
An unintended consequence of Stalin's murderous dictatorship is that many Soviet citizens developed a fondness for jazz after he began punishing anyone caught listening to the forbidden art form. As a result, even today in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, a people with their own ancient musical traditions, enough interest in jazz survives that jazz is taught in at least one university. Jazz clubs have also popped up in the cities, and there is a yearly International Jazz-Bishkek Festival. ...
read moreSean Fyfe Quartet: Late Night
by Jack Bowers
The opening number on pianist Sean Fyfe's latest album, Late Night, is “Happy," which could serve as a subtext for the album as a whole. Even when performing a solo rendition of Billy Strayhorn's mournful “Lush Life," Fyfe somehow manages to sound happy, lending a sunny counterweight to the heart-breaking sense of loss that permeates Strayhorn's jazz classic. Happy seems to be inbred in Fyfe's temperament, which is one of the reasons listening to Late Night is such a pleasure. ...
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