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.
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Allison Philips: Make it Better
by Daniel Lehner
In agreement with the wistful but pleasant nostalgia of the photograph of her grandmother that adorns its cover, there is a dignified, almost blue collar ethos imbued within the locomotive, highbrowed modern jazz of Brooklyn trumpeter Allison Philips' Make It Better," where warm, resolute melodies ground the improvisation templates with a sense of purpose, history and tact. Written, like much of world's mid-00's releases, in the contemplative limbo of the pandemic, where Philips had worked for over a year for ...
Continue ReadingDeadeye: Deadeye
by Bruce Lindsay
Many years ago, jazz combos simply called themselves after one of their number: the Dudley Moore Trio, the Miles Davis Quintet, and so on. The tradition still lingers, but even a well-established format such as the Hammond organ trio must sometimes follow the modern trend of adopting a name that is at once original and also opaque. Hence Deadeye, a trio consisting of Kit Downes on organ, Reinier Baas on guitar and Jonas Burgwinkel on drums. Why Deadeye? Who knows? ...
Continue ReadingShane Cooper & Mabuta: Finish The Sun
by Dan Bilawsky
On Mabuta's debut—Welcome To This World (Afrosynth Records, 2018)—South African bassist, electronic musician and composer Shane Cooper introduced ears to a leading-edge ensemble intent on delivering trippy, dance-friendly designs. Now, with this second album, he doubles down on that core concept, delivering a heap of hip groovers which draw strength from Pan-African influences and ride high in the atmosphere, twirling atop a rotating cast of drummers plucked from points across the eastern hemisphere. Kicking things off with ...
Continue ReadingBenjamin Herman: Hypochristmastreefuzz (Special Edition)
by Bruce Lindsay
Since Esquire voted alto saxophonist Benjamin Herman Best Dressed Dutchman 2008, most reviews of his music have felt compelled to mention the award, and this review is no exception. Of course, such sartorial fripperies would be barely worthy of comment if Herman couldn't actually play. But play he can--whether he's flying like Charlie Parker on “Hypochristmastreefuzz," blowing rhythm 'n' blues style on “Brozziman," or adding mournfully to the funereal sound of “Arm Weil." Hypochristmastreefuzz was originally released ...
Continue ReadingWouter Hamel: Nobody's Tune
by Guy Zinger
Wouter Hamel is a young vocalist of Dutch origin, touring the world successfully with his laidback and velvety sound. He surrounds himself with pop harmonies and rhythm lines, bridging the gap between jazz and pop in his own special way. Nobody's Tune, his second CD, is a cross between the musical fields of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Apple, 1967) and a young crooner, with Hamel phrasing his songs and producing his lovely voice in a modern ...
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