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

Ralph Towner: My Foolish Heart

Read "My Foolish Heart" reviewed by Nenad Georgievski

by Nenad Georgievski
March 28, 2017

There is no lack of poise in guitarist Ralph Towner's music. As the principle writer and guitarist for the band Oregon, a group which since 1970 has blended jazz, world music, and classical elements together, he has garnered a well-deserved reputation as one of the most virtuosic guitar players ever. For years, Towner has been consistently one of the most interesting guitars who captivated guitar fans worldwide with his sublime guitar playing, virtuosic original compositions, and innovative guitar arrangements.

Live Review

Brilliant Corners 2017

by Ian Patterson
March 27, 2017

Brilliant Corners 2017 Various Venues Belfast, N. Ireland March 7-11, 2017 In just five years, Brilliant Corners--Belfast's only jazz festival--has earned a reputation for adventurous programing. The 2017 edition went one further, with the inclusion of alt rock and electronic music stretching the boundaries of what constitutes a jazz festival these days. Or perhaps not, for as jazz celebrates its first centenary it's practically the norm throughout Europe--and elsewhere--that other styles of ...

Interview

Tom Green: A Man And His Trombone

by Nick Davies
March 27, 2017

Tom Green is a trombonist, composer and arranger described as “a new rising star in the British jazz scene" by Nigel Williams (Jazz FM). In 2014 he was mentioned three times as Jazzwise “One to Watch," and was the recipient of a Help Musicians UK Emerging Excellence award. He is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music jazz course, and has performed at venues including Ronnie Scott's, the Vortex and 606 Club, as well as the Montreux, Toronto and ...

Interview

Remembering Milt Jackson

by Lazaro Vega
March 27, 2017

This interview was first published at All About Jazz in November 1999 and is part of our ongoing effort to archive pre-database material. This interview was conducted prior to a Modern Jazz Quartet performance at Hope College, Holland, Michigan in September of 1989. Broadcast at the time on Blue Lake Public Radio; portions of this interview appeared in an advance article published by the Grand Rapids Press. Jackson spoke from his home in Teaneck, N.J. Lazaro ...

Album Review

Joe Fiedler: Like, Strange

Read "Like, Strange" reviewed by Geno Thackara

by Geno Thackara
March 27, 2017

It's not always easy for musicians to know what to call their own stuff, especially the kind of players who prefer not to settle into one cozy niche. Joe Fiedler certainly makes it difficult, being a fan of things from classic swing to avant-garde--some of which use the trombone in easily familiar ways, some of which couldn't be farther away from its usual wheelhouse. Through a career that's ranged from the Glenn Miller Orchestra to Sesame Street, many others have ...

Album Review

Jessica Ackerley: Coalesce

Read "Coalesce" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
March 27, 2017

The contemplative and captivating Coalesce is guitarist Jessica Ackerley's debut release. On it Ackerley, with her trio, interprets seven of her engaging originals with intelligence and passion. The intimate atmosphere is well suited for both the collective musical expressions and individual melodic embellishments. This results in a cohesive album that thrills and intrigues. The dramatic “Snakes in the Grass" opens with drummer Nick Fraser's unaccompanied galloping beats. Ackerley contributes sparse angular lines giving the tune an expectant edge. ...

Album Review

DST: Il sistema periodico

Read "Il sistema periodico" reviewed by Nicola Negri

by Nicola Negri
March 27, 2017

DST is the duo of Alberto Collodel on clarinets and Simone Di Benedetto on double bass, two young Italian musicians with an already long experience in the fields of jazz, contemporary music and free improvisation. The bulk of their debut recording Il sistema periodico, a suite of seven compositions by Collodel, was inspired by Primo Levi's book of the same title (translated in English as The periodic table), where the names of chemical elements are used as ...

Album Review

Carmen Lundy: Code Noir

Read "Code Noir" reviewed by James Nadal

by James Nadal
March 27, 2017

Being a genuine jazz singer requires a dedicated focus on sincerity, enhanced individuality, and a commitment to honoring tradition. With Code Noir, songstress extraordinaire Carmen Lundy reveals herself as a gifted griotte, a female singer of praises, exploring the musical and emotional realms encompassing the African diaspora through the music of Black America. As a source of reference: Code Noir --Black Code--was enacted by the King of France, Louis XIV in 1685, to decree that is was illegal ...

Album Review

Nguyen Le & Ngo Hong Quang: Ha Noi Duo

Read "Ha Noi Duo" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
March 27, 2017

After exploring the pop culture of the 1960s/1970s in Songs of Freedom (ACT Music, 2011) and paying big-band tribute to Pink Floyd's iconic album on Celebrating The Dark Side of the Moon (ACT Music, 2014), French guitarist/producer Nguyên Lê returns to explore his Vietnamese ancestry on Hà Nôi Duo, with vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Ngô Hồng Quang and several of Le's trusted collaborators. It's Lê's sixth album to take Vietnamese music as a launching pad, and whilst the traditional elements are deeply etched, ...

Album Review

The Milwaukee Jazz Orchestra: Welcome to Swingsville!

Read "Welcome to Swingsville!" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
March 26, 2017

Even as the likelihood of big-band success keeps shrinking, there are those who willingly laugh at the odds and stay true to their heart, which insists that they keep on swinging even when common sense says they would be better off pursuing other musical avenues. They can be found occupying small pockets of resistance in cities and towns from coast to coast, engaging in a labor of love that is no doubt intellectually and emotionally rewarding but can't possibly pay ...