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.

Album Review

Melvin Sparks: Live at Nectar’s

Read "Live at Nectar’s" reviewed by Joe Gatto

by Joe Gatto
May 14, 2017

A cool thing about music is that when you follow a band for a long time, you eventually get turned on to the music that influenced them. You get to hear all kinds of exciting new music, and start digging deep, going down groovy rabbit holes to discover great musicians you might not find on your own. This is the case with Melvin Sparks, the late great soul jazz guitarist, whose music greatly influenced one of my current ...

Catching Up With

Martin Torgoff Discuss Bop Apocalypse

by S.G Provizer
May 14, 2017

I recently reviewed Martin Torgoff's book Bop Apocalypse; Jazz, Race, The Beats and Drugs. Mr. Torgoff was kind enough to answer a few follow up questions. One of the things that jazz people still try to understand is why so many players became heroin addicts in the 40's and 50's, even after it was clear that using junk would not make you the player Bird was. Did your understanding of this change before and after your research? Were ...

Album Review

Howard University Jazz Ensemble: Beatrice

by Jack Bowers
May 13, 2017

One sure sign of spring is the arrival of the latest studio recording by the always exemplary Howard University Jazz Ensemble, a tradition that dates to 1976, one year after Fred Irby III (who remains its first and only music director) founded the Washington, DC-based ensemble. Unlike most of these enterprises, which are labeled HUJE followed by the number of the year in which they were recorded, this one has a name: Beatrice. While no other information about her is ...

Live Review

Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2017

by Nick Davies
May 13, 2017

Cheltenham Jazz Festival Cheltenham, Gloucestershire April 26 to May 1, 2017 The Cheltenham Jazz Festival saw the jazz world descend on the Regency Spa Town of Cheltenham for six days. The festival presented a mix of established jazz acts with emerging artists, complemented by stars from the soul and blues world. It was a fine balancing act and the need to sell tickets broadened the festival's approach. Once again, Festival Director, Ian George, with ...

Album Review

Torben Westergaard: Tangofied III

Read "Tangofied III" reviewed by Geno Thackara

by Geno Thackara
May 13, 2017

For the finale of his globe-spanning triptych (an unplanned endeavor that unexpectedly grew from the first installment's success), bassist Torben Westergaard considers himself to be making very much a return home. After the expanded cross-national lineup and largely Argentinian focus of Tangofied II (Gateway Music, 2014), he returned to his native Denmark to record only with the Tangofied Ensemble for the close of the cycle. This entry is a smooth blend with roots in both places that weaves songs around ...

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Live Review

Omar Sosa At SFJAZZ

by Walter Atkins
May 13, 2017

SFJAZZ, Miner AuditoriumOmar Sosa TourSan Francisco CAApril 21, 2017 Acclaimed pianist Omar Sosa quietly took the unlit stage with only a single candle providing limited illumination. He silently started his show with a solemn keyboard solo. Respected SF Bay Area percussionist and educator John Santos then entered from the opposite side and joined in. The process continued until the last group member was onstage, contributing to the percussive mix. The full lineup consisted of: Sosa, ...

Album Review

Matt Chandler: Astrometrics

Read "Astrometrics" reviewed by Roger Farbey

by Roger Farbey
May 13, 2017

The concept of the organ trio in jazz is well-established and often provides a dynamism that even some big bands struggle to manifest. Happily this is one such trio album. Dispensing with the pedantic formalities first, the quirky title of this album is actually an anagram derived from the first names of each of the band members. But this fact speaks nothing about the music itself which proves consistently engaging. This is Matt Chandler's third album hot in ...

Album Review

Rev. Sekou: In Times Like These

Read "In Times Like These" reviewed by James Nadal

by James Nadal
May 13, 2017

Throughout American history, southern black churches have been a source of reassurance and hope, and a respected safe haven for their congregation. Rev. Sekou (Reverend Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou) is a third generation Pentecostal-Holiness Church minister from Zent, Arkansas, who stepped out of the pulpit, taking his motivational message to the streets with In Times Like These. As critical civil rights issues continue to be in the national spotlight, Sekou draws on the functional intent of music to chronicle the frustrations ...

Album Review

Meg Morley: Through The Hours

Read "Through The Hours" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
May 12, 2017

Pianist Meg Morley's debut solo release, Through The Hours features five original compositions that highlight the London-based musician's talent for what fellow pianist and composer Kit Downes refers to as her “Subtle voicings and elegant turns of phrase."Morley is originally from Australia, where she studied classical music and jazz, but has been resident in London since 2010. Her day job is as pianist for the English National Ballet School: she has also worked with choreographer Matthew Bourne and ...

Album Review

Hayden Prosser: Tether

by Roger Farbey
May 12, 2017

Born in Somerset, England in 1990 and now based in Berlin, Hayden Prosser studied jazz at Middlesex University before leaving England and teaming-up with New York pianist Elias Stemeseder along with tenor saxophonist Philipp Gropper and drummer Max Santner.“Undo" is characterised by an unrelenting astringency, the melodic element consolidating towards the end of this eight minute lugubrious outing dominated by tenor saxophone and piano. “Glas" at just one minute's duration is effectively a link track populated by piano ...