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.

Interview

Arto Lindsay: Watch Out Madames!

by AAJ Staff
April 25, 2017

Since his DNA and Ambitious Lovers adventures, Arto Lindsay's artistry has been defined by a tireless drive and capacity to bridge musical cultures, sounds and arts, making him one of the most intriguing musicians of our times. His new album, the first CD of new songs in over a decade, Cuidado Madame (Northern Spy Records), has just been released and so All About Jazz decided to catch up with him, in advance of his US tour, to ...

Album Review

Chris Washburne: Rags And Roots

Read "Rags And Roots" reviewed by James Nadal

by James Nadal
April 25, 2017

The year 1917 stands out in music history, for that was the year of the first jazz recording, (Livery Stable Blues by Original Dixieland Jass Band) and marks the death of ragtime pianist/composer Scott Joplin. To commemorate these events, and the century that ensued, trombonist Chris Washburne takes a musical exploration back through time on Rags And Roots, revealing the connections and contributions of not only America, but Haiti, Cuba, Mexico, and Brazil, in the early development of jazz.

Album Review

Endemic Ensemble: Tangled

by Jack Bowers
April 25, 2017

Notwithstanding a name that sounds like it could be contagious, the Endemic Ensemble is actually a commendable Seattle-based post-bop quintet whose second recording, Tangled, is packed to the brim with luminous melodies, splendid charts and engaging solos by all hands. While nominally a co-op group, the ensemble was founded in 2010 by bassist Steve Messick who shares composing / arranging credits with pianist David Franklin and baritone saxophonist Matso Limtiaco. The other members are saxophonist Travis Ranney and drummer Christian ...

Album Review

Polly Gibbons: Is It Me...?

Read "Is It Me...?" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
April 25, 2017

British songstress Polly Gibbons made her U.S. debut back in 2015 with the well received and seriously-acclaimed Many Faces of Love (Resonance, 2015), and now presents the highly-anticipated and swinging Is It Me...? . Touching on some R&B, pop-styled songs as well as including music from The Great American Songbook, this is one musical experience that turns out to be bold, brassy and brilliant. A staple of the UK jazz scene since the mid-2000s, the beautiful Ms. Gibbons is armed ...

Album Review

Brass Mask: Live

by Bruce Lindsay
April 25, 2017

London's LOOP Collective has many talented members, including saxophonist and composer Tom Challenger and his band, Brass Mask. The nine-piece band--the octet which appeared on debut album Spy Boy (Babel Label, 2013) plus percussionist Jon Scott--mixes New Orleans, country blues, brass bands and contemporary jazz (including the influence of Henry Threadgill) and electronica. Many of these tracks appeared on that debut recording but Live, the band's second release, recorded at Servant Jazz Quarters in London, gives the tunes added punch ...

Album Review

Otomo / Yamazaki / Parker: 14.11.16

Read "14.11.16" reviewed by Nicola Negri

by Nicola Negri
April 25, 2017

Cafe Oto is one of the most important venues for free improvisation and avant-garde jazz in Europe, with an intelligent programming that often focuses on ad-hoc pairings and special projects. The London venue also has a record label, Otoroku, with a small but already impressive catalogue on LP and CD that expanded considerably after the launch of its digital branch. In November 2016, Cafe Oto organized a concert by the Otomo/Yamazaki duo, and invited a master of free music, Evan ...

Anatomy of a Standard

"Nice Work If You Can Get It" by George and Ira Gershwin

by Tish Oney
April 24, 2017

George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin represent a quintessential songwriting team laying claim to several early masterpieces included in what we now call the Great American Songbook. Representing the epitome of the “Jazz Age," they worked together from 1924-1937, creating no fewer than twenty-five full musical scores for performance in Hollywood and on the Great White Way. One of their many undisputed standards, “Nice Work If You Can Get It," beautifully balances clever lyrics with an interesting interplay of melodic and ...

Album Review

Jorn Swart: Malnoia

by Dan Bilawsky
April 24, 2017

The debut from Dutch pianist Jorn Swart--A Day In The Life Of Boriz (Mainland Records, 2013)--presented music with an eccentric tilt crafted by a fairly conventional quartet. This sophomore date continues along an offbeat path, delivering an incredibly absorbing collection of curious curios, but it does so with a less-than-conventional instrumental line-up in place. Malnoia turns the idea of the piano trio on its head. Swart forgoes the hustle and bustle of drums and the ballast of ...

Album Review

Possibilites: Get 'Em

Read "Get 'Em" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
April 24, 2017

The saxophone/bass/drums grouping--at one time a rarity--seems to be undergoing a renewal of sorts. Drummer Rudy Royston offered up a fine example of the genre with Rise Of Orion (Greenleaf Music, 2016). Saxophonist JD Allen dove deep into the blues on Americana (Savant Records, 2016), and sax man Jason Rigby presented a breakout effort on the marvelous One (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2016). Now it's the group Possibilities' turn, with Get 'Em. Saxophonist Tim Bennett can ...

Album Review

Brian Adler: Radioactive Landscapes EP

Read "Radioactive Landscapes EP" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
April 24, 2017

As was evident on his previous EP releases from 2016, Binary and Mysteries of the Deep, percussionist Brian Adler enjoys working with conceptual frameworks for his compositions. On Binary, he explored the possible interactions between human-and computer-based creativity, and on Mysteries he drew thematic inspiration from the world of Eastern spirituality. These investigations allowed him to explore his intersecting interests in a range of musical styles and genres, not to mention instrumentation, with Indian percussion and classical forms utilized within ...