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.

Catching Up With

Hristo Vitchev: Charting His Own Way

by David Becker
November 22, 2016

Hristo Vitchev isn't a typical guitar hero. Supremely fluent with his instrument, the prolific composer and performer would rather communicate than show off complex technique. His albums and concerts are full of gorgeously understated performances that leave just the right amount of room for the musicians to support each other and the audience to fill in the blanks. Maybe it was inevitable that Vitchev would take an idiosyncratic approach to jazz, given the twisted route he took to ...

Profile

Improvised Music Company: Orbital Pathways, Gravitational Pull

by Ian Patterson
November 22, 2016

Arguably some of the most dramatic changes in jazz have taken place in the last quarter of its century-long history: the emergence of a strong European jazz identity/identities; technological advances that empower individuals to become their own producers; Youtube, which has all but erased the boundary between past and present; the increase in pedagogical institutions; pan-national collaborations facilitated by myriad budget travel options; instant communication and dissemination brought about by the explosion of social media; greater cross-genre experimentation than ever ...

Album Review

David Virelles: Antenna

Read "Antenna" reviewed by Mark Sullivan

by Mark Sullivan
November 22, 2016

Pianist/composer David Virelles has combined his Cuban heritage with jazz before, most notably on his 2014 ECM leader debut Mbókò, which had the subtitle “Sacred Music for Piano, Two Basses, Drum Set and Biankoméko Abakuá." But this EP--which is being released exclusively on vinyl and digitally--takes things in an entirely new electro-acoustic direction. It's a dense sonic stew of improvisation and ritual rhythmic grooves, a sound both urban and traditional. “Binary" opens with the sound of Los Seres, ...

Album Review

Kenny Burrell: Unlimited 1, Live at Catalina's

Read "Unlimited 1, Live at Catalina's" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
November 22, 2016

Guitarist Kenny Burrell, who isn't generally known for hanging out with big bands, now has one of his own: the Los Angeles-based Jazz Orchestra Unlimited, for which he serves as music director on its debut album, Unlimited 1, Live at Catalina's. While the ensemble is splendid, individually and collectively, there's no doubt that Burrell is the star attraction. Any misgiving about that is erased by the fact that the names of orchestra members aren't listed in the Catalina's booklet except ...

Live Review

Quinsin Nachoff's Flux at Constellation

by Hrayr Attarian
November 22, 2016

Quinsin Nachoff's Flux Quartet Constellation Chicago, IL November 16, 2016 Chicago's Constellation, the city's premier venue for innovative music, hosted composer and tenor saxophonist Quinsin Nachoff and his Flux quartet. The intense and stimulating recital, in the intimate space, captivated the small and attentive audience for close to 2 hours. The intricate Nachoff originals allowed for plenty of individual spontaneity as they served as vehicles for his band members' unique expressiveness. For instance, ...

Album Review

Borah Bergman/Peter Brötzmann/Frode Gjerstad: Left

by John Sharpe
November 22, 2016

Left brings together a particularly uncompromising triumvirate of veterans in pianist Borah Bergman (who died in 2012), German saxophone icon Peter Brötzmann and Norwegian reedman Frode Gjerstad. Although all three recorded after this date in various combinations, this performance from the 1996 Molde International Jazz Festival was the threesome's first and only appearance together on disc. Gjerstad unearthed the tape while seeking an overview of old recordings and was struck by Bergman's contribution and especially his shining left hand, hence ...

Album Review

Peter Saltzman: Blues, Preludes and Feuds

Read "Blues, Preludes and Feuds" reviewed by Geannine Reid

by Geannine Reid
November 22, 2016

Solo piano albums have the special place in the cannon of improvised music as a mode of presentation and holds an honored place in jazz; the history could even be traced to music predating the origins of the genre. In mechanical terms, it has not changed, one musical artist sitting at the piano for well over a century, what has evolved is the way that artists keep renewing the application of the format and material presented. On a jazz history ...

Album Review

Fresh Cut Orchestra: Mind Behind Closed Eyes

Read "Mind Behind Closed Eyes" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki

by Chris M. Slawecki
November 22, 2016

It's difficult to believe that the rich, full Mind Behind Closed Eyes is only the second release from Philadelphia's Fresh Cut Orchestra; it sounds so much more developed and mature than that. Composed by the Orchestra's core trio of drummer Anwar Marshall, bassist Jason Fraticelli and trumpeter Josh Lawrence, and rounded out by a host of guest keyboard, guitar, reed, brass and percussion players, Mind Behind Closed Eyes was recorded all the way live (including the electronics) and surveys vast ...

My Blue Note Obsession

Leo Parker: Rollin' With Leo – 1961

by Marc Davis
November 21, 2016

What if I told you there's a saxman who was there at the birth of bebop--literally, he played on the very first bebop recording--and you've never heard of him? And what if I told you his life story is the very archetype of the tragic, drug-addicted jazz musician? Would you still want to hear his music? Listen anyway. Rollin' With Leo by baritone saxman Leo Parker is an obscure pleasure. Lately, I've been listening to it ...

Multiple Reviews

Christmas Roundup 2016: Aguankó, Jeff Collins, & Vinnie Zummo

by Mark Sullivan
November 21, 2016

It's that time of year again. While some people genuinely love holiday records, others are just looking for some alternative to have available for self-defense against the onslaught of traditional holiday pop music. Regardless of what camp you're in, here are two new releases, plus three that are new to me: Latin jazz, mainstream jazz, bossa nova, and one that's a retro-pop blend. Aguankó Latin Jazz Christmas in Havana Self Produced 2015