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.

188

Album Review

Deborah Pearl: Souvenir Of You

Read "Souvenir Of You" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
May 30, 2011

Singer, actress, screenwriter and lyricist Deborah Pearl's debut is a souvenir of a very special “you": alto saxophonist and composer Benny Carter. Pearl has taken 13 of Carter's compositions, added her own lyrics, and produced a lovingly-crafted collection that's a worthy addition to the Carter canon. His instrumental presence is also stamped firmly on the album, thanks to the ability of modern technology to combine Pearl's voice with the Benny Carter Big Band on two tracks. Pearl, ...

148

Album Review

Randy Sandke and the Metatonal Big Band: The Subway Ballet

Read "The Subway Ballet" reviewed by Ken Dryden

by Ken Dryden
September 29, 2006

Trumpeter Randy Sandke, considered a mainstream jazz stylist, reveals another side on this release, compiled from two sessions recorded about fifteen years apart. The Subway Ballet is a wild suite scored for big band (substituting vibes and xylophone for piano) that utilizes a metatonal harmonic approach, frequently sounding like snippets of music written for a suspense movie. Key centers are often fleeting, though most of the charts seem tightly scored. Sandke's compositions fit his individual titles perfectly; ...

146

Album Review

Randy Sandke and the Metatonal Band: The Mystic Trumpeter

Read "The Mystic Trumpeter" reviewed by Michael P. Gladstone

by Michael P. Gladstone
August 21, 2005

Trumpeter and composer Randy Sandke has recorded 22 albums as a leader since 1985 and has appeared on countless others in largely a mainstream and postwar swing setting, and of late he has dabbled in outside jazz. The Mystic Trumpeter may be Sandke's most ambitious effort to date. The album is presented as “metatonal" music, which is a term that Sandke uses to describe how his compositions use harmonies that are derived in a way that hasn't yet been integrated ...

192

Album Review

The Randy Sandke Quartet: Trumpet After Dark

Read "Trumpet After Dark" reviewed by Michael P. Gladstone

by Michael P. Gladstone
August 16, 2005

There is much to admire in this album, subtitled Jazz In A Meditative Mood. Trumpeter Randy Sandke has been actively recording since 1985, largely in a postwar swing and mainstream style, although Mainstream Meets the New Music, his 2002 venture into free jazz, raised some eyebrows and garnered new fans. Sandke is comfortable working in a “jazz with strings" setting, and his arrangements here are quite attractive. Many of these selections recall the albums that cornetist Ruby Braff made under ...