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

Peeter Uuskyla / Tellef Øgrim / Anders Berg: Ullr

by Mark Corroto
February 8, 2017

Thirty years ago, the trio Power Tools made a one-off recording Strange Meeting (Antilles New Directions, 1987). The long out-of-print LP by Bill Frisell, Melvin Gibbs, and Ronald Shannon Jackson is on many a collector's want list. While only a short-lived band, its memory persists. It was for many, a perfect storm of free-metal-jazz music. If I had one wish, it would be for drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson (1940-2013) to still be with us. And Tony Williams. Okay, two wishes. ...

Album Review

Arthur Lipner: Two Hands, One Heart

Read "Two Hands, One Heart" reviewed by Roger Farbey

by Roger Farbey
February 8, 2017

Arthur Lipner is one of the most prolific vibraphone and marimba players working on the New York scene. His musical influences are eclectic having performed with Tuvan Throat Singers from Russia, The Saakumu Dance Company of Ghana, in Chiapas Mexico's “Marimba Park," at the Royal Palace in Marrakesh, in the mountains of Norway on an ice xylophone and many other locations. Brazil has also played a big part in his life, Lipner having toured there repeatedly and premiering the concerto ...

Out and About: The Super Fans

Meet Ari (ImpressARIo) Silverstein

by Tessa Souter and Andrea Wolper
February 7, 2017

Some people are jazz aficionados. Then there's Ari Silverstein. Hooked from the moment he saw the light of jazz, was he content merely to listen? Not Impress-Ari-o! Once he was in, he was in all the way, from organizing concerts to getting his New York tour guide license in order to start shepherding tourists to his favorite New York city night spots. Read on to find how how Ari turned his love of music and musicians into a part-time professional ...

Album Review

Christer Fredriksen: Vit

by Mark Sullivan
February 7, 2017

On his first two albums Norwegian guitarist Christer Fredriksen was playing in a contemporary jazz style, albeit one with clear rock influences. Urban Country (Losen, 2011) even included a cover of the Duke Ellington standard “In a Sentimental Mood." Vit finds him creating soundscapes in a single take using a loop pedal and three guitar amps (along with guest performers on two tracks). It's his most spontaneous, personal mode of expression to date--and it has little to do with jazz, ...

Album Review

Ken Fowser: Now Hear This!

Read "Now Hear This!" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan

by C. Andrew Hovan
February 7, 2017

Taking a cue from some of the other smaller jazz-based labels, Posi-Tone has done a remarkable job over the past few years of building a roster of budding talents worthy of wider recognition. Part of the allure of such an endeavor is the ability to see the evolution of an artist's muse unfolding like a rose. Those in the know have heard from tenor saxophonist Ken Fowser through his partnership with vibraphonist Behn Gillece via the four albums the two ...

Album Review

Firey String Sistas!: That's What She Said...

Read "That's What She Said..." reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
February 7, 2017

The innovative and versatile cellist Nioka Workman leads the, New York based, dynamic ensemble Firey String Sistas, on the group's captivating sophomore album. The delightful That's What She Said... consists of eight originals that explore various styles with a jazzy sensibility and thematically cohesive manner. The tracks range from the soulful to the stately veering occasionally into Latin territory. “Adversidad" is a wistful, passionate melody that violinist Marlene Rice plays over the hypnotic, sashaying beats of the band. ...

Album Review

Miguel Zenon: Tipico

by Mark Corroto
February 7, 2017

The saying “like butta" comes to mind when listening to the alto of saxophonist Miguel Zenón. His tone has the consistency of velvety cream, with nary a sour note. Hearing him in the context of his long-standing quartet, we get something like the voguish bulletproof coffee, which consists of butter, whipped into your favorite cup of joe. Such is Tipico, a graceful outing with a caffeinated blast.This stimulant is made possible because Zenón's quartet of pianist Luis Perdomo, ...

Bailey's Bundles

Piano – Emily Bear, Dan Cray, Lisa Hilton, Emmet Cohen, Julien Labro

by C. Michael Bailey
February 6, 2017

Like jazz vocal releases, piano-led affairs are legion. The jazz piano combo is a format that is difficult to get either bad or good. Here are five recent releases looking for the latter. Emily Bear Trio Into the Blue Edston Records 2015 The immediate charm of pianist Emily Bear is that she is a mid-teenager...a musically precocious one at that. The 15-year old enfant terrible releases a brief EP, ...

Album Review

Mark Russo: New Affirmation

Read "New Affirmation" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan

by C. Andrew Hovan
February 6, 2017

Living in our current age of technology, it is relatively easy and inexpensive for a musician to record a set of music and put it out for the masses. The ease in such an endeavor also makes it somewhat of a double-edged sword. Just because something is possible doesn't always mean it should be done. As such, sifting through stacks of releases to find those worthy of further exploration can be somewhat the bane of many music journalists today.

Album Review

Lajos Dudas: Some Great Songs Vol. 2

Read "Some Great Songs Vol. 2" reviewed by Mark Sullivan

by Mark Sullivan
February 6, 2017

It's been a long time since the great German-Hungarian clarinetist Lajos Dudas released the first volume of Some Great Songs (Double Moon Records, 1998). Here he is again with an especially diverse collection of material, ranging from bossa nova to modern jazz to standards. These are intimate arrangements centered around Dudas' clarinet and Philipp van Endert's guitar; they are joined by Kurt Billker or Jochen Büttner on percussion on five of the eight tracks. Geraldo Pereira's “Falsa Baiana" ...