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.
Sign in to customize your My Articles page —or— Filter Article Results
Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, featuring Ingrid Jensen: 7 Shades of Melancholia
by Jack Bowers
Although he was born and raised in Turkey, pianist, composer and educator Mehmet Ali Sanlikol says he was not a student of Turkish musical traditions until after he arrived in the United States more than thirty years ago. By the late '90s, however, Sanlikol, by then a successful working jazz musician, had reconnected with his Turkish roots, studied its grammar and played hundreds of concerts focused on the music of his homeland, blended with elements of American jazz and other ...
Continue ReadingMehmet Ali Sanlikol: Turkish Hipster: Tales From Swing To Psychedelic
by Jack Bowers
Those who believe the term Turkish Hipster has to be an oxymoron should get to know composer/arranger/multi-instrumentalist Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, a Turk whose seventh album, subtitled “Tales from Swing to Psychedelic," is about as hip as can be. Sanlikol knows where is going but chooses to get there in his own special way, using every weapon in his musical arsenal to create vivid sound pictures whose jazz components rest solidly within a Middle Eastern framework that set them apart from ...
Continue ReadingMehmet Ali Sanlikol: The Rise Up
by Jack Bowers
Yes, the boundaries of jazz have spread far beyond any perimeter its early enthusiasts could have envisioned. Yes, the idea for composer / arranger Mehmet Ali Sanlikol's The Rise Up was advanced by saxophonist Dave Liebman--and yes, there's no way to downgrade his jazz credentials. Liebman, Sanlikol says, asked that the piece draw from Turkish and Sephardic Jewish traditions as well as cultural and historical experiences, and feature him as soprano saxophone soloist. Two years later, Sanlikol completed a picturesque ...
Continue ReadingMehmet Ali Sanlikol & Whatsnext?: Resolution
by Dave Wayne
Turkish multi-instrumentalist, composer and ethnomusicologist Mehmet Ali Sanlikol has a wide variety of interests and clearly isn't afraid to think big. His second album, Resolution features two distinct ensembles: a 19-member jazz orchestra and a 12- member jazz combo. Each track, except for “A Dream in Nihavend" and the set closing “Love Theme from Ergenkon," features jazz luminaries such as Anat Cohen, Dave Liebman, Tiger Okoshi, and Antonio Sanchez as guest soloists. And, despite Sanlikol's liberal application of electronics and ...
Continue ReadingMehmet Sanlikol: What's Next?
by Jack Bowers
After listing the personnel (which varies on every track) for Turkish-born composer Mehmet Ali Sanlikol's new CD, What's Next?, there's scarcely room for a review. Well, perhaps a small one, starting with the fact that Sanlikol, a graduate of the Berklee School of Music and New England Conservatory, first studied classical piano with his mother, Fethiye Sanlikol, and by age five was presenting public recitals in his homeland. After further studies, with Turkish composer / jazz pianist Aydin Esen (to ...
Continue ReadingMauro Palmas: A Volte Ritornano
by Glenn Astarita
According to the press release, “ A Volte Ritornano is an important legacy to the next generation and beautiful homage to some of the most important social songs of the Italian history”. Beautiful it is, as vocalist/guitarist Mauro Palmas has assembled a diverse cast of Italian musicians equally proficient and experienced with jazz and Sardinian Roots music. Here, Palmas presents the listener with twelve pieces that “cover events from the Risorgimento to the Second World War”. The lyrics are sung ...
Continue Reading
