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

DUCHESS: Laughing At Life

Read "Laughing At Life" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
January 27, 2017

Jollity seems to be at a premium these days, so thank God for DUCHESS. This fizzy vocal trio is the antidote to all things grim, bringing joy to the masses one smile and song at a time. Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner, and Melissa Stylianou--three of the most captivating vocalists around today--clearly appreciate great music laced with good humor. With their trio debut--DUCHESS (Anzic Records, 2015)--they delved into a brand of Boswell Sisters-inspired music that you just don't ...

Album Review

Wingfield Reuter Stavi Sirkis: The Stone House

Read "The Stone House" reviewed by Mark Sullivan

by Mark Sullivan
January 27, 2017

Electrifying collective improvisation from four progressive masters. The combination of electric guitar, touch guitar, electric bass and drums recalls the classic David Torn album Cloud About Mercury (ECM, 1987), as well as the various improvisational King Crimson spinoffs called ProjeKcts. U.K. guitarist Mark Wingfield (Jane Chapman, solo artist, and one half of the long-running guitar duo, with acoustic maestro Kevin Kastning) typically takes the lead lines. German touch guitarist Markus Reuter (Stick Men, The Crimson ProjeKct, Centrozoon) plays ...

Album Review

Jon Armstrong: Burnt Hibiscus

Read "Burnt Hibiscus" reviewed by Dave Wayne

by Dave Wayne
January 27, 2017

Now firmly ensconced as the Director of Jazz Studies at Idaho State University, Jon Armstrong may just be a little homesick. Well, more than a little. After all, Pocatello is a far cry from the multi-cultural hustle and bustle of his hometown of Los Angeles. It's not surprising that Armstrong's new album, Burnt Hibiscus is a quirky and ambitious paean to the City of Angels. In Armstrong's own words, Burnt Hibiscus is an ..."unsentimental love letter to Los Angeles, highlighting ...

Album Review

Jim Black: Malamute

Read "Malamute" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
January 27, 2017

Shortly after breaking into the progressive jazz scene in the 1990s via his work with saxophonist Tim Berne's Bloodcount, trumpeter Dave Douglas's ensembles, Pachora and other fruitful ventures, drummer Jim Black's signature stylistic approach to the kit ignited much interest. Simply stated, he does wonders with a basic 5-piece drum-set amid his quirky off-beats and uncanny sense of time while often staying on top of a given pulse and then some, also evident while leading his AlasNoAxis band.

Live Review

William Parker: 65th Birthday Celebration Concert at the Painted Bride

by Victor L. Schermer
January 26, 2017

William Parker and Friends Painted Bride Arts Center William Parker 65th Birthday Celebration Philadelphia, PA January 21, 2017 To celebrate the 65th birthday of legendary bassist William Parker, the Painted Bride Arts Center, Ars Nova Workshop, and Bobby Zankel's Warriors of the Wonderful Sound joined forces to sponsor a top of the line sextet including Parker in the catbird seat and Zankel at the helm. For those who don't know about Parker, he ...

Album Review

Dino Massa Kansas City Quintet: Echoes Of Europe

Read "Echoes Of Europe" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
January 26, 2017

While conversations about the military tend to roam widely, touching on everything from peacekeeping to warmongering, rarely do they touchdown on the topic of cultural exchange. But that's not to say the military doesn't foster such a thing. American troops stationed abroad have always managed to interact with the local population(s), imparting and taking away knowledge in the process, and cross-pollination often materializes through such meetings. Those types of exchanges have helped to build bridges, create lifelong friendships, and birth ...

Album Review

Howard Johnson and Gravity: Testimony

Read "Testimony" reviewed by Roger Farbey

by Roger Farbey
January 26, 2017

Howard Johnson really should need no introduction. He's played with many of the greats including Charles Mingus, Archie Shepp, Hank Crawford, Jack De Johnette and Gil Evans (his solo on “Voodoo Child" was a highlight of Evans's Jimi Hendrix tribute album). He also appeared on Carla Bley's seminal 1971 album Escalator Over The Hill. Throughout his career, Johnson has been a trailblazer in the acceptance of the tuba in modern jazz, not merely as an oompah substitute for the bass ...

Album Review

Matthew Shipp Trio: Piano Song

Read "Piano Song" reviewed by Troy Collins

by Troy Collins
January 26, 2017

Matthew Shipp has long been considered one of the leading pianists of his generation. Collaborating with artists from wide ranging genres over the past three decades, Shipp has maintained a distinctively singular vision with an immediately recognizable sound. Publicized as Shipp's final release for Thirsty Ear, Piano Song follows in the footsteps of The Conduct of Jazz, his 2015 trio recording for the revered label, although he is slated to remain curator of the imprint's ground-breaking “Blue Series."

Album Review

Stream: Second Stream

Read "Second Stream" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
January 26, 2017

It is always a pleasure to hear a working band. Not a one-off meeting, or an all-star project hastily thrown together, both of which often promise more than they deliver--but a genuine team of musicians committed to a shared musical vision, one that can be honed and refined over the long course of a true collaborative partnership. Case in point is this release, the second from the group Stream, and it is a marvel of what can happen when three ...

Live Review

Internationales Jazz Festival Münster 2017

by Henning Bolte
January 26, 2017

Theater Münster Münster, Germany Internationales Jazz Festival 2017 January 6-8, 2017 Münster, city of 300,000 inhabitants, situated in the northern part of German state North Rhine-Westphalia, with 18 million inhabitants the most populous state of Germany, has an ambitious biannual jazz festival now in its 27th year. The northern part of the state with Münster as the center clearly differs from the southern North Rhine part with its old and densely populated Ruhr area and ...