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

For Trees & Birds: Seasons 1-4 Live

Read "Seasons 1-4 Live" reviewed by Rob Rosenblum

by Rob Rosenblum
January 6, 2017

Only the optimism of youth can explain the creation of this very ambitious and hopeful CD. For Trees & Birds is the name of their quartet and this is a live recording composed of four recent New York City college graduates sporting music degrees, who are prepared to take on the world--jazz and otherwise. This album was actually an accident. Someone at one of their concerts recorded it and gave them the music. After listening to it, they ...

Year in Review

What We Liked: 2016

by Michael Ricci
January 5, 2017

We took our top lists, found the common recordings, added a dozen of my personal faves, and presented them here for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy, and feel free to post your 2016 favorites in the comments section below. Wadada Leo SmithAmerica's National ParksCuneiform Records Michael Formanek The DistanceECM Records Frank KimbroughSolsticePirouet Records Andreas Loven District SixLosen Records Keith Jarrett ...

Jazz Raconteurs

As Dizzy's World Turns

by Michael Bourne
January 5, 2017

Master raconteur, award winning jazz broadcaster and Downbeat contributor, Michael Bourne recounts a series of remarkable stories about Dizzy Gillespie based on experiences that stretch over a couple of decades. Embodying Bobop I happened to be at home in St. Louis when Dizzy Gillespie was playing at this new jazz joint near the baseball park, called The Gourmet Rendezvous, owned by jazz DJ Spider Burks, so I went. I was still relatively new at Downbeat at ...

My Blue Note Obsession

Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra: Consummation – 1970

by Marc Davis
January 5, 2017

Blue Note was never home to many big bands, but the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra recorded four albums for the label from 1967-70, and one is a certified classic. Consummation is the musical equivalent of Neapolitan ice cream--three flavors packed into one large container. The album contains three moods: soft and contemplative, sprightly and upbeat, and soulful and funky. Each gets two or three songs, and together they make a tasty treat. The record begins with ...

Album Review

Moutin Factory Quintet: Deep

by Dan Bilawsky
January 5, 2017

Deep. So very, very, deep. Rarely does a single four-letter word so eloquently and accurately capture the spirit of an album. Everything from the grooves to the compositions to the thought content embedded in each musician's statements can be summed up by that simple-yet-complex title. The Moutin brothers--bassist Francois and drummer Louis--formed the Moutin Factory Quintet back in 2013, expanding on their already established musical ties while giving further credence to the notion that twins share a ...

Album Review

Anna Webber's Simple Trio with Matt Mitchell & John Hollenbeck: Binary

by Dave Wayne
January 5, 2017

One of a growing number of genre-crushing young artists working at the fringes of modern jazz and so-called “new music," Canadian-born saxophonist and composer Anna Webber has staked out some truly distinctive musical terrain with her all-star Simple Trio. If you're not familiar with Ms. Webber (who's worked with Dan Weiss, Jen Shyu, Ohad Talmor and classical composer John Luther Adams to name a few), you will certainly recognize her Simple Trio-mates: John Hollenbeck and Matt Mitchell. Kindred spirits in ...

Album Review

The Baylor Project: The Journey

Read "The Journey" reviewed by James Nadal

by James Nadal
January 5, 2017

The African proverb, “The spirit will not descend without song," is intrinsically intertwined within the African- American religious experience, and is a revered aphorism encompassing the music of Black America, in its many forms and variations. Jean (vocalist) and Marcus (drummer) Baylor, known collectively as The Baylor Project, have deep roots in the church, and on The Journey, take a look back to where they came from, drawing deep from hymnology for inspiration, yet maintaining the secular swing and edge ...

Album Review

Burak Bedikyan: Awakening

Read "Awakening" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
January 5, 2017

On his third release as a leader, Istanbul based pianist, Burak Bedikyan seamlessly blends his dual education in western classical and jazz and his national/ethnic heritage into an intriguing and cohesive album. Awakening comprises of nine Bedikyan originals that are elegantly crafted balancing intricate harmonies with deceptively effortless fluidity. The gently rolling refrains on the lilting ballad “Mother Earth," for instance, have a warm, Near Eastern lyricism. Saxophonist Loren Stillman embellishes the melancholic theme with yearning spontaneous phrases ...

Profile

The Early Years of Sonny Stitt in Saginaw, Michigan

by Dustin Mallory
January 4, 2017

As one of most recorded saxophonists of his generation, Sonny Stitt made more than 100 albums under his own name. He also performed as a sideman with the likes of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and Art Blakey. Despite the breadth of recorded work he left behind, Sonny Stitt's upbringing in Saginaw, Michigan is less well-documented. The basic facts of his birth have been widely circulated: Edward “Sonny" Stitt was born Edward Boatner Jr., the son of a Massachusetts concert singer/composer ...

Take Five With...

Take Five with Adam Schneit

by AAJ Staff
January 4, 2017

Meet Adam Schneit: Saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Adam Schneit grew up in Portland, Maine, and has made Brooklyn his home since 2006. He earned a Master's degree in Jazz Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with esteemed artists including Steve Lacy and Bob Brookmeyer. Since moving to New York, he has contributed to the work of performers in a range of genres, from jazz musicians to singer-songwriters. Among the creative artists he has ...