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 future articles page. Read our daily album reviews.
Sign in to customize your My Articles page —or— Filter Article Results
Scott Hesse Trio: Intention
by Troy Dostert
Guitarist Scott Hesse self-released his debut album, Intuition, in 1998, but he has been criminally under-recorded since then. At least, that is the conclusion many will draw after listening to his superb trio disc, Intention, recorded live in Chicago in 2023. His most recent date as a leader since 2015's The Stillness of Motion (Origin Records), here he is partnered with bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Dana Hall, with an opportunity to showcase his formidable talents in a way sure ...
read moreDave Bayles Trio: Live at the Uptowner
by Jack Bowers
Here's a rather unusual lineup for a trio: trumpet, bass and drums. Russ Johnson is the trumpeter, Clay Schaub the bassist, Dave Bayles the drummer and leader. That is rather like assembling the Gerry Mulligan quartet without inviting Mulligan. Bayles' trio was recorded live in February 2023 at the Uptowner nightclub in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it has a regular weekly gig. The concert, which lasts well over an hour, consists of five original compositions by Schaub, three ...
read moreAtlantic Road Trip: ONE
by Jack Bowers
Although it is not clear at first (or even second) glance, Atlantic Road Trip is the name of the group on this superb album from Chicago-based Calligram Records, while ONE is the title of the album itself. What is clear is that the music the quintet produces is splendid, overflowing with delightful melodies and tantalizing rhythms, and enhanced considerably by the presence of vibraphonist Miro Herak in the group. Before moving on, hats off to Calligram Records for recording a ...
read moreChad McCullough: The Charm of Impossibilities
by Jack Bowers
At its core, trumpeter Chad McCullough's album, The Charm of Impossibilities is an homage to the music of classical composer Olivier Messiaen, whose singular approach to composition has inspired McCullough since he first happened upon works by the French writer soon after the turn of this century. He writes, “Messiaen's music is so complex in structure, yet still accessible to the casual listener and completely overwhelming emotionally." His plan for the album was to transpose Messiaen's concepts to a setting ...
read moreGeof Bradfield Quintet: Quaver
by Jack Bowers
While tenor saxophonist Geof Bradfield's versatile Chicago-based quintet does not play “free jazz" on Quaver-- customary rhythmic and harmonic precepts underline every number--the music is explicitly adventurous and forward-looking, as Bradfield and his mates seize every chance to take flight within prescribed boundaries. All the compositions are Bradfield's, and they range from powerful to placid, none of which seems to faze any members of the group, three of whom --Bradfield, bassist Clark Sommers, drummer Dana Hall--have been ...
read moreArman Sangalang: Quartet
by Jack Bowers
Chicago-based tenor saxophonist Arman Sangalang, still in his mid-20s, makes his recording debut with Quartet, wherein his talented four-member ensemble uses delicate textures and shadings in lieu of heated fire and brimstone to amplify its even-tempered musical purpose. That was clearly Sangalang's idea, as he wrote all save one of the album's ten by and large tranquil themes (chaperoning the lone standard, Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen's “Polka Dots and Moonbeams"). Sangalang's unaccompanied intro to that ...
read moreChad McCullough: The Charm of Impossibilities
by Dan McClenaghan
Trumpeter Chad McCullough encountered classical composer Olivier Messiaen's “Quator pour la fin du temps" back in the early days of his jazz career. That music was written in 1940 by Messiaen to be played by a chamber ensemble consisting of the composer's fellow inmates in a German prison camp. McCullough's The Charm Of Impossibilities takes its inspiration from this classical work. McCullough describes Messiaen's chamber piece: “Complex in structure, yet still accessible to the casual listener and completely ...
read moreRuss Johnson Quartet: Reveal
by Troy Dostert
While he has appeared on seemingly countless releases as a sideman, trumpeter Russ Johnson remains chronically under-recorded as a leader. It thus comes as a cause for rejoicing whenever one sees his name at the top of a release. Thankfully, Calligram Records has helped redress that problem with Reveal, Johnson's latest offering featuring a quartet with violinist Mark Feldman, bassist Ethan Philion and drummer Timothy Daisy. Geof Bradfield and Chad McCullough started Calligram with an eye toward showcasing some of ...
read more
Giveaway
Days remaining: 7
