Jazz Articles
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Best Jazz Albums of 2025: All-Star Break Edition
by AAJ Staff
As we hit the halfway mark of 2025, All About Jazz has adopted Major League Baseball's All-Star break approach but swapping homers for albums. Our team of 55 writers convened to name their top three albums of the year so far, with Mary Halvorson's About Ghosts (Nonesuch) emerging as the clear favorite and an early contender for album of the year. Her collaboration with Sylvie Courvoisier (Bone Bells, Pyroclastic Records), also earned spots on a few lists. Other notables include ...
Continue ReadingChapter Thirteen: Paradiso Fire
by Alan Bryson
Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 The alchemy was immediate. The new members of the Django Phralipen Brotherhood hadn't just slotted in; they'd fused, creating a sound far richer and more complex than before. Marc Reuter's Hammond B3 swirled and pulsed, adding deep, soulful colors, while Rico's congas ...
Continue ReadingLive From Cologne (And Dortmund): Jordan White, Roger Kintopf, Luise Volkmann, Kiko Dinucci, The Dorf & The German Jazz Prize
by Martin Longley
Jordan White/Roger Kintopf The Loft Cologne, Germany June 10, 2025 Here's an evening of electro-acoustic sounds from a pair of local investigators, each using their instruments as a foundation for expansion via plugged-in tinkering or other sonic-altering techniques. The music of both artists gave the impression of improvisational abstraction, but ultimately featured some prepared content. Cologne's own Roger Kintopf used an upright bass to establish subtle patterning, with curt bow-strikes, low ...
Continue ReadingIntroducing Pianist Ben Collins-Siegel
by Sanford Josephson
I first saw Ben Collins-Siegel play piano in July 2019 at the Roselle Park Jazz Festival. Then a 12-year-old seventh grader at Maplewood Middle School, he led off a performance by the JTole Jazz Orchestra of Thad Jones' “Counter Block," written for the Count Basie Orchestra. It was stunning. JTole stands for Julius Tolentino, the Jazz Director at Livingston, NJ's Newark Academy and Director of the RP Festival. Collins-Siegel had already been studying with Tolentino and began attending ...
Continue ReadingMehmet 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 ReadingCamila Meza, Julian Shore, and Billy Hart
by Jerome Wilson
This episode features recently released albums by Camila Meza, Julian Shore and Billy Hart as well as older music by Ray Charles, Allen Toussaint, and Myra Melford.Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Dabin Ryu “Taxi Driver" from Wall (Self Produced) 1:01 Simon Moullier “Lotus" from Elements of Light (Candid) 9:34 Host Speaks 13:14 Graham Bond “Can't Stand It" from ...
Continue ReadingKrokofant: Krokofant 6
by Glenn Astarita
Formed in 2011, the band--Tom Hasslan (guitar, bass), Jørgen Mathisen (saxophone, synthesizers), Axel Skalstad (drums, percussion)--fuses jazz-rock with progressive elements in a style as quirky as their name suggests. Krokofant 6 is issued by the fittingly-named Is It Jazz? label, marking a return to its core trio setup. This shift ignites a fiery improvisational spark, delivering a sonic assault that balances meticulous craftsmanship with thrilling unpredictability. Listeners may feel momentarily unmoored but will savor the electrifying impact. The ...
Continue ReadingInes Velasco, Fareed Haque, Lakecia Benjamin and Carlos Mena
by Hobart Taylor
New music from Ines Velasco, The Freedom Art Quartet, Lakecia Benjamin and Fareed Haque who celebrates Pat Martino.Playlist Michael Dessen Trio “Restless Years" from Between Shadow and Space (Clean Feed) 00:00 Ines Velasco “This Is The Way Down" from A Flash of Cobalt Blue (Self Produced) 04:51 Host Speaks 11:09 Freedom Art Quartet “ Song For The Old Ones" from First Dance (Self Produced) 12:01 Lakecia Benjamin “Noble Rise" from (Single) (Ropeadope) 27:48 Host Speaks 31:08 Danny Grissett ...
Continue ReadingPolar Bear: Dim Lit
by Andrew Hunter
When Polar Bear released Dim Lit in 2004, shortly after being nominated for Best Band at the BBC Jazz Awards, it was clear that the British quartet led by drummer Sebastian Rochford were going to make some waves. Mark Lockheart (sax) was already in the middle of a successful career, having played with Django Bates and been part of the seminal 1980s British big band Loose Tubes. Pete Wareham (sax) was playing with Rochford in Acoustic Ladyland. Tom Herbert added ...
Continue ReadingChapter Twelve: Toots is in Town
by Alan Bryson
Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 The roar of the KLM jet engines faded as the plane taxied towards a private section of Schiphol. At the behest of EMI, a sleek black Mercedes limousine waited discreetly on the tarmac. As the VIP stairway was positioned, a familiar figure ...
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