Articles by Matthew Miller

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AAJ's Guide to NYC Jazz Venues in the New Decade

by Matthew Miller
January 31, 2010

In its nearly eight years of existence, All About Jazz has become the foremost chronicler of live jazz in New York City. Our monthly issues, like bibles in hotel rooms, have found a place in nearly every jazz venue in the city and concertgoers have looked to its pages to keep them abreast of new arrivals. At the dawn of a new decade, it seems fitting to take a look back at the venues we've covered in our first 92 ...

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Industrial Jazz Group: Leef

by Matthew Miller
October 15, 2009

It's hard to take anything about the Industrial Jazz Group for granted. Even the LA-based ensemble's name is misleading to the point that its leader, Andrew Durkin, feels the need to address it in the header of the group's website. “So we're not really industrial. Were The Beatles really insects?" As explanations go--humorous as they might be--it rings a little hollow. It does, however, speak volumes about IJG and its singular approach to music-making. Just when you think you've got ...

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Charlie Parker: Bird in Time & Washington, DC, May 23, 1948

by Matthew Miller
August 2, 2009

Charlie Parker Bird in Time 1940-1947 ESP-Disk2008 Charlie Parker Washington DC, 1948 Uptown Jazz2008 In the liner notes to Washington, DC, 1948, Ira Gitler reaffirms an assessment made in his 1966 classic The Masters of Bebop: “The period of 1947-48 was the zenith of Charlie Parker's career and the time of his greatest influence," ...

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Lee Konitz / Martial Solal: Star Eyes

by Matthew Miller
July 11, 2009

Lee Konitz and Martial Solal were in the 15th year of their recorded relationship in the fall of 1983 and their easy rapport is evident within the first notes of “Just Friends," the breezy opener of Star Eyes. After a cursory harmonic introduction by Konitz, Solal enters with a characteristically buoyant counterpoint that sends the altoist to the height of his register. The liberties the duo take with the familiar standard sound every bit as fresh today as they must ...

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Brooklyn Jazz Underground

by Matthew Miller
June 23, 2009

With a name that conjures smoky clubs in cab- forsaken neighborhoods, the approachably progressive ethnic and global appeal of Brooklyn Jazz Underground (BJU) might surprise the uninitiated. The association, which has thrived on the practical notion of collective strength and shared PR, has also served as another example of the musical microcosm its namesake borough has become. Its members share ZIP codes, but hailing from Spain, France, Denmark and Southeast Asia, the group rarely treads on common musical territory. “We're ...

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Mark Turner & Fly

by Matthew Miller
April 15, 2009

From the first authoritative notes of Sky & Country, the trio Fly's new release on ECM records, saxophonist Mark Turner lays out a conundrum. Over the ambling underpinnings of bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard, the saxophonist conjures a sense of ease while unleashing a stream of ideas that take him from the middle to the stratospheric heights of his instrument's range. It's a technique that frequently draws gasps from live audiences and has become a hallmark of Turner's ...

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Henry Grimes: Like He's Never Been Away

by Matthew Miller
March 14, 2009

Henry Grimes The Call ESP Disk 2008

The disappearance and re-emergence of Henry Grimes after almost 30 years is one of jazz music's great resurrection stories. The Juilliard-trained double bassist, who began his career in the late 1950s with the likes of clarinetist Benny Goodman and saxophonist Gerry Mulligan before becoming an avatar of the avant-garde in the bands of saxophonist Albert Ayler and pianist Cecil Taylor, vanished at the height of ...

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Das Hammerklavier Trio: Now I Know Who Shot J.F.K.

by Matthew Miller
February 24, 2009

Pianist Boris Netsvetaev's Das Hammerklavier Trio (archaic German for Grand Piano Trio) is a throwback in name only. The fleet, youthful ensemble is deeply entrenched in jazz's 21st century incarnations, embracing genre-hopping styles, global influences and a devotion to collective freedom. The group is also aptly named in that Netsvetaev's piano occupies the foreground for the vast majority of Now I Know Who Shot J.F.K., unleashing eighth-note runs and thundering fourths over the nimble, more reserved rhythmic underpinnings of bassist ...

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Charles Mingus: Mingus Ah Um

by Matthew Miller
January 23, 2009

Drop the needle on Charles Mingus' bluesy call to prayer on “Better Git It In Your Soul" and Legacy's decision to include Ah Um in its vinyl series comes into sharp focus. There's simply no better way to hear the 1959 Columbia masterpiece than on 12" vinyl and, while it may be hard to detect the business logic behind the series, the meticulous remastering by Allan Tucker makes clear the aesthetic motive. During the last decade, the ...

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Bob Stewart: Brassy Bass Lines

by Matthew Miller
October 9, 2008

Over his 40-year career, tubaist Bob Stewart has redefined his instrument's role in modern jazz. His thundering, breathy grooves and fluid improvisations have been integral to the work of a who's who of creative musicians, including Arthur Blythe, David Murray and Carla Bley, as well as to Stewart's own impressive discography as a leader.