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.

Profile

Arthur Blythe, 1940-2017: A Remembrance

by Todd S. Jenkins
March 30, 2017

The emotive power of Arthur Blythe's bracing alto saxophone tone and flighty phrasing set him apart from many of his generation. A poet, a muezzin, an angry activist, a lamenting lover: Blythe conjured a broad array of sonic images through his nonpareil approach to music. The beloved altoist, who had battled Parkinson's disease for the past several years, passed away on March 27, 2017 at the age of 76. Blythe's musical cohorts and fans remember him with deep ...

Album Review

Eivind Opsvik: Overseas V

Read "Overseas V" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
March 30, 2017

Like his first four Overseas albums, Eivind Opsvik's Overseas V defies conventional descriptions. The New York resident, of Norwegian roots, has developed a peculiar style that marries experimental avant-garde with the folkloric traditions of the North Country. This had been particularly evident on IV when Brandon Seabrook's mandolin and Jacob Sacks' harpsichord meet up with Tony Malaby's saxophone and Kenny Wollesen creative percussion. The cultural clash manages to succeed as a new entity. The quintet personnel remain the same, but ...

Album Review

Martin Pyne: Behind The Mist

Read "Behind The Mist" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
March 30, 2017

Ten solo vibraphone improvisations, recorded in single takes with occasional electronic processing on three tracks, form the content of Martin Pyne's Behind The Mist. Pyne creates cool, spacious, crystalline sounds--music that seems to emerge organically from its inspirations. Pyne is a member of Busnoys, has accompanied silent films and has worked with jazz and improvising musicians including saxophonist Stan Sulzmann. He is also clearly a man with a love of the fantastical. The title track of Busnoys' Weaving ...

Album Review

John Dikeman / Luis Vicente / Hugo Antunes / Gabriel Ferrandini: Salão Brazil

Read "Salão Brazil" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
March 30, 2017

Amsterdam-domiciled American saxophonist John Dikeman and Portuguese trumpeter Luis Vicente have become regular collaborators, although the only prior evidence on disc is their first meeting in Twenty One 4tet's Live At Zaal 100 (Not Two, 2016). For the limited edition LP Salão Brazil they have enlisted two of the brassman's countrymen in Belgian-based bassist Hugo Antunes (who may be familiar from some outstanding alliances with trumpeter Nate Wooley) and in demand drummer Gabriel Ferrandini from the RED Trio and Rodrigo ...

Album Review

Mark Dresser Seven: Sedimental You

Read "Sedimental You" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
March 30, 2017

So much has been written about Mark Dresser's brilliance as a bassist that his skill as a composer can be in danger of being forgotten. But showcases like Sedimental You and its predecessor Nourishments (Clean Feed, 2014) should more than redress that potential imbalance. His artfully arranged structures prove engaging vehicles for the improvisational insight of his star-studded cast. Trombonist Michael Dessen constitutes the only holdover from the previous outing. He's joined in the front line by flutist Nicole Mitchell ...

Album Review

Eivind Opsvik: Overseas V

Read "Overseas V" reviewed by Troy Collins

by Troy Collins
March 30, 2017

Norwegian-born bassist Eivind Opsvik has been a mainstay of the Downtown scene since his relocation to New York over two decades ago. Starting in 2003, he began issuing a series of sequentially numbered instrumental albums under the banner Overseas, which have featured some of Gotham's finest musicians. Bolstered by the improvisational mettle of his longstanding bandmates, Opsvik's accessible tunes draw melodic, harmonic and rhythmic inspiration from popular music, rather than traditional jazz.Overseas V incrementally ups the ante from ...

Interview

Dennis Coffey: Hot Coffey and The Pursuit of Excellence

by Chris M. Slawecki
March 29, 2017

Every Tuesday night at the Northern Lights Lounge on Baltimore Street in Detroit, you'll find a funky little guitar-organ trio setting up musical shop. You'll find Julian Vanslyke on drums and Phil Whitfield on organ. And playing right in between them, you'll find one of the world's best guitarists--Dennis Coffey. You may not know Dennis Coffey by name, but you sure know the sound of his guitar. In the late 1950s and early '60s, that sound was a ...

Live Review

The Tom & Jamie Show at the College Street Congregational Church

by Doug Collette
March 29, 2017

The Tom & Jamie Show College Street Congregational Church Burlington, VTMarch 25, 2017 Anyone who attended the Chick Corea / Bela Fleck concert at the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival in 2007 had to feel some measure of deja vu as The Tom & Jamie Show commenced at the College St Congregational Church Saturday evening March 25th. Not that this performance was anywhere near as intense, but it was scintillating in its own relaxed way because ...

Album Review

Angles 9: Disappeared Behind the Sun

Read "Disappeared Behind the Sun" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
March 29, 2017

The nonet, Angles 9, returns fully intact from their Injuries (Clean Feed, 2014) and with a powerful political and social statement on Disappeared Behind the Sun. The direct correlation between the title and the content is the imprisonment, torture, murder and starvation of innocent victims of world conflicts. Even without the seeming advantage of words, the group--led by saxophonist--Martin Küchen, conveys a depth that is emotionally dynamic and piercing. Originally a sextet, the core group has changed little ...

Album Review

Eyot: Innate

by Bruce Lindsay
March 29, 2017

The drama of prog, the heft of rock and the subtleties of the jazz quartet all combine on Innate, the fourth album from Serbian quartet Eyot. This time round, the group has decamped to Chicago for recording purposes. Courtesy of big-name engineer/producer Steve Albini Innate benefits from excellent sound quality, which enhances the drama of much of the music. The seven tunes are all written and arranged by the band, led by pianist Dejan Ilijic. Eyot has the ...