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

Annahstasia, Ryan Blotnick, Vincent Courtois, Walter Smith III & More

by Ludovico Granvassu
May 9, 2026

Enjoy a playlist that ranges from the jazz infused power folk of Annahstasia to the neo-cool of Walter Smith III passing through, chamber, cinematic and classical influences. Happy listening! Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Annahstasia “Stress Test" Live at Glasshaus (Glasshaus) 0:16 Host talks 6:29 Ryan Blotnick “Cuyo" The Woods (Fishkill) 8:14 Lars Danielsson “Supreme" Liberetto V: Echomyr (ACT) 11:31 Host talks 18:16 Reverso (Ryan Keberle, Frank ...

Album Review

Charles Tolliver: Right Now... And Then

Read "Right Now... And Then" reviewed by Andrew Schinder

by Andrew Schinder
May 9, 2026

While jazz fusion dominated the commercial jazz scene during the 1970s, beneath the surface many musicians eschewed current market trends, and continued to develop and push forward the hard bop, modal, and spiritual sounds established during the previous decade. Many of those artists recorded for Strata-East Records, the now-seminal label co-founded by trumpeter Charles Tolliver and pianist Stanley Cowell in 1970. Before co-founding Strata-East, Tolliver had established himself in the New York scene as a strong and intense horn player, ...

Live Review

The Billy Hart Quartet featuring Ethan Iverson at Blues Alley

by Robert Bellafiore
May 9, 2026

The Billy Hart Quartet featuring Ethan Iverson Blues Alley Washington, DC May 3, 2026 Elder statesman of the drums, contributor to Miles Davis's On the Corner (Columbia, 1972), and Washington, DC, native: Billy Hart was the perfect figure to feature in a centennial celebration of Miles Davis at DC's Blues Alley. Hart has been leading a quartet with saxophonist Mark Turner, pianist Ethan Iverson, and bassist Ben Street for some 20 years, but in a twist ...

Radio & Podcasts

Jackson Plays Dylan & Dylan Plays Dylan

by Katchie Cartwright
May 9, 2026

Spinning Javon Jackson's extraordinary album Jackson Plays Dylan (Solid Jackson Records, 2026) on this edition of Caminhos do Jazz. His outstanding bandmates on the project include Jeremy Manasia on piano and Fender Rhodes, Isaac Levien on bass/electric bass, and Ryan Sands at the drums. Jackson wrote the opener, “One for Bob Dylan." The rest are Bob Dylan classics. As a reminder of the source, Dylan tracks are included where Jackson's are instrumental (all but two on the Jackson ...

Album Review

Jason Stein / Damon Smith / Adam Shead: Five Nights in the Midwest

Read "Five Nights in the Midwest" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
May 9, 2026

Their tour did not pass through the Rattlesnake Speedway in the Utah desert. Still, the improvising trio of bass clarinetist Jason Stein, bassist Damon Smith, and drummer Adam Shead conjure a similar sense of a gathering force, like the superstorm evoked in Bruce Springsteen's 1978 song “The Promised Land." “There's a dark cloud rising from the desert floor," Springsteen sings, heading straight into the storm. Stein, Smith, and Shead do much the same. Their music does not trade in rock ...

Live Review

William Parker's Pocketwatch at Loove Annex

by Fran Kursztejn
May 8, 2026

William Parker's Pocketwatch Loove Annex AFA ResidencyNew York City April 8, 15, 22, 29, 2026 Before beginning his final set of the night, William Parker took a moment to explain the name of his 'Pocketwatch ensemble, a rotating group of polyphonic masters that have met every Wednesday of April at Greenpoint's Loove Annex. The watch was handed down from Parker's father. It was made of real gold (Mr. Parker points to a facsimile that hangs from his ...

Live Review

David Murray, Amina Claudine Myers and Matthew Shipp At The Long Play Festival

by Paul Reynolds
May 8, 2026

David Murray, Amina Claudine Myers, and Matthew Shipp Theater for a New Audience Long Play Festival New York NY May 2, 2026 As the first full day of the Long Play Festival, Saturday offered the event's usual diversity of offerings, with 25-plus performances ranging from New-Music ensemble Bang on a Can All-Stars through avant-garde classical harp to music rooted in ancient Moroccan spirituals. And Long Play's wide artistic palette also brought jazz, ...

Album Review

Living With Tollways: Eponymously Titled

Read "Eponymously Titled" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
May 8, 2026

Living With Tollways emerged from Chicago's South Side music scene, where multi-instrumentalist and educator Matt Riggen has spent years mentoring young players through improvisation and open collaboration. The chord-less trio--Riggen on double bass, Randy Trubitt on tenor saxophone and bass clarinet, and Kevin Almazan on drums--draws directly from that environment. Their debut, Eponymously Titled, distills years of shared trust into eight tracks. Less a formal statement than a candid snapshot, this is music made by people who know each other ...

Album Review

Tierney Sutton and Tamir Hendelman: Spring

by Pierre Giroux
May 8, 2026

There is a quiet courage in making an album like Spring, with just two seasoned musicians sitting with the material and letting it develop. In unsettled times, it feels almost revolutionary. Tierney Sutton has long understood that the heart of a song lies in its words. Here, she treats the lyrics as truths to be uncovered. She bends a line just enough to make the listener hear it anew. Tamir Hendelman proves to be the ideal partner, with his refined ...

Radio & Podcasts

Reggie Watkins Quartet

by Daniel Peck
May 8, 2026

Long-time Pittsburgh resident trombonist, pianist and band leader Reggie Watkins has released four recordings as Band leader and has appeared on too many others to count. From 1999 to 2006 he served as trombonist and musical director for trumpeter and band leader for Maynard Ferguson and later served in the same capacity with singer-songwriter Jason Mraz. The May 2025 release of his album Rivers marks Reggie's fourth as a band leader, and his quartet performs selections ...