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

Lindsey Webster: Back To Your Heart

Read "Back To Your Heart" reviewed by Jeff Winbush

by Jeff Winbush
January 13, 2017

Jazz requires a certain degree of commitment. It's not a genre that gets featured during any of the award shows. Jazz artists don't get to have microphone or wardrobe malfunctions during New Year's Eve progams on live television. Jazz songs don't show up on video games and has largely vanished from film. Even movies which purport to be influenced by jazz (Whiplash, La La Land, Miles Ahead) are long on drama and short on the music itself. As ...

Album Review

Insufficient Funs: Insufficient Funs

Read "Insufficient Funs" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
January 12, 2017

An original name, if not quite such an original concept. Saxophone and drum duets used to be as rare as the proverbial hen's teeth, with John Coltrane and Rashied Ali's 1960s collaboration always the benchmark. In recent years, however, this striking duo combination has seen something of a boom. Charles Lloyd and Billy Higgins; Dave Rempis and Frank Rosaly; Tatsuya Nakatani and Michel Doneda; Eliel Sherman Storey and Famoudou Don Moye; Joe McPhee and Chris Corsano; Neil Welch and Chris ...

Album Review

Evan Parker / Mark Nauseef / Toma Gouband: As The Wind

Read "As The Wind" reviewed by John Eyles

by John Eyles
January 12, 2017

Evan Parker's Psi label was once a flourishing concern, releasing up to ten albums a year in its peak years between 2004 and 2011, but activity has tailed off recently. After releasing five albums in 2012, neither 2013 nor 2014 brought anything, leading to fears that no more would be heard from Psi. Thankfully, since then it has revived, with 2015 and 2016 producing one album each, the welcome reissue of Parker's 1978 solo classic Monoceros followed by this new ...

Album Review

Miguel Zenon: Tipico

by James Nadal
January 12, 2017

The vintage cover photograph on Tipico, of Puerto Rican musicians, might lead one to believe that this is a continuance of alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón's jazz adaptations revolving around his heritage and homeland. But this is not the case. On this release, he hones in on his bandmates, and the music is centered on what each individual member contributes to the ensemble, and overall sound. His quartet for over a decade now is comprised of pianist Luis Perdomo, ...

Album Review

MoFrancesco Quintetto: Kucheza

by Chris Mosey
January 12, 2017

This album features a new, jazz version of the oldest song in the world. “The Seikilos Epitaph," probably from 200BC, was found engraved on a tombstone, or stele near the ancient Greek city of Ephesus in what is now Turkey. It was signed by someone called Seikilos and dedicated to Euterpe, most likely his wife, along with the following lyrics: While you live, shine Have no grief at all Life exists only ...

Opinion

Hentoff helped pave way for jazz journalism’s acceptance

by Jim Trageser
January 12, 2017

Nat Hentoff's passing last week left me feeling, well, old. Whenever we lose a mentor--a grandparent, a teacher, someone who encouraged us--it's a reminder of our own mortality, that we are, in the parlance of football coaches, the next ones up. I don't feel anywhere near to ready or worthy or capable of assuming even a sliver of Hentoff's prodigious mantle, and yet the only way to honor a mentor is take up their work and carry it ...

Album Review

James Brandon Lewis Trio: No Filter

Read "No Filter" reviewed by Mark F. Turner

by Mark F. Turner
January 11, 2017

James Brandon Lewis's authoritative horn is demonstrated in his cultural influenced releases --gospel spirituality in Divine Travels (Okeh, 2014) featuring bassist William Parker and drummer Gerald Cleaver; soulful lyricism and hip hop in Days of Freeman (Okeh, 2015) with heavies bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma and drummer Rudy Royston. He continues that exploration with a new trio in No Filter an edgy but short LP which pays respect to early 90's hip hop, experimental jazz, and groove. Lewis's inclination ...

Album Review

Noah Preminger: Meditations on Freedom

Read "Meditations on Freedom" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
January 11, 2017

Open and civil discourse has always been a tenant of democracy. Recent political events in the U.S. have reduced that discourse to a crude, gutter-level low that has left an alienated population in its wake, marginalized and left without a strong voice. From the time of the Civil War, protest music has provided counsel for vulnerable segments of society. With Meditations on Freedom saxophonist Noah Preminger adds his voice to the ranks of Billie Holiday's “Strange Fruit" (Commodore, 1939), Charles ...

Album Review

Three Sounds: Groovin’ Hard - Live at the Penthouse 1964 - 1968

Read "Groovin’ Hard - Live at the Penthouse 1964 - 1968" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
January 11, 2017

Pianist Gene Harris was a durable jazz force from the beginning of his career as leader of the soul-jazz trio, The Three Sounds in the mid-1950s until his death in 2000. He described himself as “a blues pianist with chops" and that is as good a description as can be had. He had a piano style full of Count Basie and seasoned with Art Tatum (never too much of the latter to make his playing sound superfluous of showy}}.

Album Review

Snaggle: The Long Slog

Read "The Long Slog" reviewed by Dave Wayne

by Dave Wayne
January 11, 2017

In the art world, labeling oneself as “the next (fill in the blank)" or “(name of country)'s answer to (fill in the blank)" is a risky ploy that may reap short-term benefits in terms of quickly generating a fan base, but may actually be detrimental in terms of creative sustainability. The : Toronto-based jazz-funk- rock sextet Snaggle is a case in point. Their press materials are riddled with phrases such as “Canada's answer to Snarky Puppy" and “the next Snarky ...