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

Kristin Korb: Beyond The Moon

Read "Beyond The Moon" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
December 2, 2016

While Johnny Mercer's place in history has been acknowledged time and again, album-length tributes to the legendary lyricist, songwriter, vocalist, and Capitol Records founder aren't as common as you might think. Yes, there are gems in that category (and/or compilations) from vocal icons like Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Rosemary Clooney; oddities that fit the bill, like drummer Buddy Rich's vocal-centric journey through Mercer's work; under-the-radar dates from unsung vocal treasures like Bill Henderson and Daryl Sherman that ...

Album Review

Friends & Neighbors: What's Wrong

Read "What's Wrong" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
December 2, 2016

Norwegian quintet Friends & Neighbors' third CD presents a line up unchanged sinceNo Beat Policy(Øra Grammofon, 2011) and Hymn For A Hungry Nation (Clean Feed, 2014). The moniker gives a clue as to their inspiration, referencing one of Ornette Coleman's less well known albums recorded live at his Prince Street loft and featuring a chorus of exactly what the title suggests alongside his regular quartet of the time (Flying Dutchman, 1970). But the reality goes way beyond imitation or homage. ...

Album Review

Etienne Charles: San José Suite

Read "San José Suite" reviewed by Nigel Campbell

by Nigel Campbell
December 2, 2016

Whenever Trinidadian jazz trumpeter and composer Etienne Charles releases an album, it is an event. In this case, it is his latest opus, the ten-part San José Suite--soon to be performed live in Trinidad and Tobago for the first time on November 20. [The album was released in the US in June 2016 and debuted live at the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest in August 2016.] This suite dares to magnify the idea of the wider Americas as a crucible ...

Album Review

Adam Schneit Band: Light Shines In

Read "Light Shines In" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
December 2, 2016

For several years, saxophonist Adam Schneit has been making the rounds as a first-call sideman other than co-leading Old Time Musketry and this talented quartet, instilled with his impressive compositional skills. Here, the musicians' venture into the outside realm while dishing out more conventional fare during various phases or movements. For example, the opener “A Clearer View," is erected with a laid-back groove and a cordial primary theme anchored by Eivind Opsvik's booming bass lines and drummer Kenny Wolleson's steady ...

Album Review

Awakening Orchestra: Atticus Live!

Read "Atticus Live!" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
December 2, 2016

Sorry. If this is the direction in which big-band jazz is moving, please apply the brakes as quickly and gently as possible so that this listener may exit the train. When it comes to big bands, some members of an older generation cling to standards that must always be upheld. Not swinging is from time to time a forgivable sin, depending on the circumstances; plodding erratically forward with a minimum of charm and no clear purpose in mind is less ...

Album Review

Keith Jarrett: A Multitude of Angels

Read "A Multitude of Angels" reviewed by Geno Thackara

by Geno Thackara
December 2, 2016

Music is fundamentally a spiritual experience, but it's still rare for Keith Jarrett to be as forthright about it as he is in the liner notes to A Multitude of Angels. Occasionally he's written oblique blurbs vaguely touching on the mysteries of inspiration--after all, the music always speaks best for itself. By contrast, here he's admirably candid about being helped through the trying circumstances under which he recorded these discs in October 1996: unexplainably weakened with what turned out to ...

Mr. P.C.'s Guide to Jazz Etiquette and Bandstand Decorum

Easy Swing, Fours and More, Medicinal Jazz

by Mr. P.C.
December 1, 2016

Dear Mr. P.C.: I just played a gig, and one of the charts said the feel should be “Easy Swing." What does that mean? The bassist thinks he was supposed to play in two, but I think it would have said “In Two" if that was the case. I think he was supposed to walk, but he says the charts would have said “In Four" or “Walking Bass." Please settle our argument. --Swingless In Seattle

Album Review

Nicole Johanntgen: Henry

by Ian Patterson
December 1, 2016

Still only in her mid-thirties, Zurich-based German alto saxophonist/composer Nicole Johänntgen has been performing and tirelessly exploring music for over twenty years. With half a dozen recordings as leader under her belt, Johänntgen turns to New Orleans for inspiration on Henry. Named after her father, who used to play trombone in lieu of an early morning alarm clock for the young Johänntgen, the songs were written during a six-month sojourn in New York and recorded in the Crescent City. The ...

Album Review

Rudy Royston Trio: Rise Of Orion

Read "Rise Of Orion" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
December 1, 2016

303 (Greenleaf Music, 2014) was the debut we were waiting for from drummer extraordinaire Rudy Royston, but it wasn't necessarily the debut we were expecting. Instead of playing the chops-and-brawn card that he always holds somewhere in his hand, Royston took a more thoughtful approach. He wowed with multidimensional maneuvers instead of brute force, using a uniquely patterned septet to good advantage. This follow-up date is more in line with the expectations that were defied on 303, but it's hardly ...

Album Review

Le Boeuf Brothers + JACK Quartet: Imaginist

Read "Imaginist" reviewed by Mike Jacobs

by Mike Jacobs
December 1, 2016

If one were to reference the Le Boeuf Brothers previous recordings for what to expect from their latest effort with the JACK Quartet, Imaginist, they might indeed find a pattern of fine musicianship and compositional ability that would not mislead. But clear evidence would also be shown of the Le Boeuf's tendencies toward eclecticism and unpredictability. These clues would also not mislead but would be of little help, specifically. And if one were to look to some of the many ...