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.

Radio & Podcasts

Elton Dean & The Wrong Object, Steven Bernstein, Joe Henderson And More

by Lawrence Peryer
June 25, 2026

This episode of Rotations is about the conversation between what's just been made and what's been waiting to be heard. We move from a clutch of brand-new records and hear art-pop, haunted folk, choral minimalism, drumless ambient jazz before moving into a 1969 session that sat lost for half a century. It's an hour built on the idea that creative music doesn't really age so much as keep finding new rooms to fill. Enjoy.Playlist Elton Dean & The ...

Groove Orbit

How John Coltrane Changed Rock Music: The Grateful Dead

by Kyle Simpler
June 24, 2026

The Grateful Dead, probably more than any other rock band that emerged from the 1960s, tapped into the full scope of American musical tradition. From their earliest days, they were an eclectic rock band, blending elements of blues, r&b, country, bluegrass, and jazz. But rather than trying to replicate particular genres exactly, the band's goal was to allow their music to amalgamate these influences in a natural and unpretentious manner. The Dead's broad musical foundation, although something of ...

Album Review

Tyshawn Sorey: Members... Don't!

Read "Members... Don't!" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
June 24, 2026

One of the most welcome developments in twenty-first century jazz has been drummer Tyshawn Sorey's enthusiastic turn toward the jazz canon. While he had already established himself convincingly as one of the premier figures in creative music on immersive, challenging works such as The Inner Spectrum of Variables (Pi Recordings, 2016) and Verisimilitude (Pi Recordings, 2017), when Sorey decided to begin his idiosyncratic interrogations of classic jazz repertoire it opened up new facets of his musical identity, especially as an ...

Album Review

Pedro Molina: A Name I Knew

Read "A Name I Knew" reviewed by Scott Lichtman

by Scott Lichtman
June 24, 2026

It is a rare occurrence when multiple jazz skills are executed at such high level that the experience transcends music and becomes a moment of exhilaration and reflection. Such a moment exists with acoustic bassist Pedro Molina's quartet album, A Name I Knew. It balances free improvisation with an impression of careful scoring, mesmerizing personal voices on each instrument with fine-tuned interplay, delicacy with grit, and wordless enjoyment with a heartbreaking overall theme. What is more, the group are just ...

Radio & Podcasts

New music from South Africa's Nduduzo Makhathini, Kalia Vandever, Emily Kuhn and the Helen Sung Big Band

by Hobart Taylor
June 24, 2026

New music from South Africa's Nduduzo Makhathini, Kalia Vandever, Emily Kuhn, and the Helen Sung Big Band.Playlist Host Speaks 00:00 D.J. Sparr “There Is Nothing in the Universe That You Are Not" from The Tao of Muhammad Ali (Neuma) 00:23 Desiree/Emmanuel Jal “Macho" from (single) (Mmino) 02:08 Allen Toussaint “Whirlaway" from Songbook (Concord) 08:15 Allen Toussaint “Long, Long, Journey" from Songbook (Concord) 08:54 Host Speaks 13:21 Venna /Yussef Dayes “Eternal Reflections" from Malik (Cashmere Thoughts) 14:45 Faye Carol ...

Album Review

Janel Leppin: Ensemble Volcanic Ash: Pluto In Aquarius

Read "Ensemble Volcanic Ash: Pluto In Aquarius" reviewed by Don Ball

by Don Ball
June 24, 2026

Janel Leppin's title choice for her 2026 Ensemble Volcanic Ash (EVA) recording gives a hint of what kind of music to expect. Pluto being in Aquarius is a momentous sign, one of change and tension, and lasts 20 years (we are currently in one such phase). The last time Pluto was in Aquarius was 1777 to 1798--during the American and French Revolutions. Whether you believe in the astronomy or not, the Pluto in Aquarius is certainly bursting with tension and ...

Radio & Podcasts

Mal Waldron, Bria Skonberg, and James Blood Ulmer (RIP)

by Jerome Wilson
June 24, 2026

This episode features a tribute to the late guitarist James Blood Ulmer. It also contains music from Mal Waldron, Bria Skonberg, Leigh Pilzer and others. Due to technical difficulties, the recording begins in the middle of the first selection.Playlist Andrew Hill “Cantarnos" from Black Fire (Blue Note) 00:00 Paul Hecht “Wayne" from Pyrography II (ears&eyes) 4:54 Host Speaks 13:14 Benji Kaplan “Bryant Park" from Chorando Sete Cores (Big Apple Batucuda) 14:32 Sarah Wilson “Incandescence" from Incandescence (Brass tonic) ...

Book Review

Cosmic Music: The Life, Art And Transcendence Of Alice Coltrane

by Ian Patterson
June 24, 2026

Cosmic Music: The Life, Art and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane Andy Beta 452 PagesISBN: 978 1 3996 2621 7 White Rabbit2026 As is often the case with marginalized, controversial or divisive figures in jazz, recognition of their achievements tends to come in a rush only after they have passed. Alice Coltrane died in 2007. Since then, contemporary jazz musicians such as Kamasi Washington, Shabaka Hutchings, Brandee Younger, Nubya Garcia, Alina Bzhezhinska and Matthew Halsall ...

Record Label Profile

Calligram Records: Chicago Meets the World

by Mark McKergow
June 23, 2026

Chicago-based Calligram Records was founded in 2023 by trumpeter Chad McCullough and saxophonist Geof Bradfield. Three years and 34 albums later, they have emerged as an authoritative and varied voice for creative jazz from the Windy City and around the world. Their output ranges from small groups to chamber jazz to lively, horn-driven soul outings. With third anniversary celebration events coming up, it seems like a good time to look behind the scenes of this small yet distinctive label.

Radio & Podcasts

Nils Berg, Mahan Mirarab, Luca Falomi-Anais Drago-Fausto Beccalossi & More

by Ludovico Granvassu
June 23, 2026

Enjoy the fragrant aromas, vivid textures and evocative soundscapes of a handful of remarkable new albums that illustrate the richness of today's transnational jazz scene.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Shai Maestro “GG's Metamorphosis" The Guesthouse (Naive) 0:16 Host talks 6:07 Nils Berg, Norrbotten Big Band “Blues for Siw" Paid to Cry (Hoob)7:23 Host talks 11:12 Michael Blake Chroma Nova “Mauritania" Piccolos Before Rifles (Baby Tank) 12:57 Mahan ...