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

Jose Mauro: Obnoxius

Read "Obnoxius" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki

by Chris M. Slawecki
November 20, 2016

The oddly-titled Obnoxius bears precious little, and yet quite curious, baggage. Little is known about its original 1971 release other than it came out on a label founded by Brazilian producer Roberto Quartin, who also worked with Eumir Deodato. We seem to know even less about songwriter, guitarist, vocalist and arranger Jose Mauro. We know he co-composed Obnoxius with Brazilian writer and journalist Ana Maria Bahiana, and, from its lushly layered sound, that Mauro greatly admired the orchestral ...

Film Review

The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years

by Doug Collette
November 20, 2016

The BeatlesEight Days a Week: The Touring Years (2 DVD Deluxe Edition) Universal Music Group 2016 Even with an almost immediately coincidental announcement of home video release in the early fall of 2016, Ron Howard's Eight Days A Week: The Touring Years elicited a response so great on its initially limited theatrical showings, the film compelled subsequent extended runs. And rightly so, for the former TV star and renowned director's film contains a mix of ...

Multiple Reviews

Leonard Cohen and His Legacy

by Nenad Georgievski
November 19, 2016

In recent years, nobody has raged against the dying of the light more spectacularly and thrillingly as singer and songwriter Leonard Cohen. For 50 years he had been telling stories of love, faith, death, despair, solitude, war, politics, and exaltation. Before embarked on a successful and eventful career in the show business he had a successful career as a poet and novelist. His achievements were legendary and his status as a writer, poet, songwriter and the famous ladies' man had ...

Album Review

Stu Harrison: Volume 1

Read "Volume 1" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
November 19, 2016

Toronto-based pianist Stu Harrison doesn't boast much of an internet presence, so we'll go with the music: Stu Harrison: Volume I is a celebration of the standard piano trio format, a joyful immersion into ten familiar tunes, beginning with Lerner & Lowe's “The Street where You Live," from My Fair Lady soundtrack. The lively take on the tune puts Harrison, for this particular tune, in the old school, with a bouncy, sparkling sound that brings Red Garland and Oscar Peterson ...

Album Review

Mount Meander: Mount Meander

Read "Mount Meander" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
November 19, 2016

While it might seem that there is a production line for outfits hailing from Scandinavia, Mount Meander demonstrates that the output is far from standardised. Comprising two Germans in pianist Lucas Leidinger and drummer Thomas Sauerborn, along with the Copenhagen-based pair of Latvian saxophonist Karlis Auzins and Polish bassist Tomo Jacobson, the collective quartet shares a common language in spite of their diverse origins. Although all relatively young, their credits already encompass John Tchicai, Lotte Anker, Mat Maneri and Frank ...

Extended Analysis

Harvey Mandel: Snake Pit

by Doug Collette
November 19, 2016

One of the major proponents of contemporary blues-rock guitar, Harvey Mandel has some impressive credentials nonetheless. Cutting his teeth in the Chicago well-spring of the blues, he collaborated with harpist Charlie Musselwhite, among others in that scene and subsequently became a pivotal member of Canned Heat around the apogee of their career, including their appearance at Woodstock 1969. He also played with the John Mayall, as 'The Godfather of British Blues.' was exploring variations on his own long-stated theme of ...

Album Review

Jacam Manricks: Chamber Jazz

Read "Chamber Jazz" reviewed by Dave Wayne

by Dave Wayne
November 19, 2016

Now based in California, composer and multi-reed whiz Jacam Manricks describes himself as “Sri Lankan- Portuguese Australian-born." In other words he's the virtual embodiment of a world citizen. When it comes to his music, Manricks is unafraid to draw from pretty much any source for inspiration. The wryly-titled Chamber Jazz comprises eight Manricks originals plus a cover of Miles Davis' “Deception" and an adaptation of Jean Sibelius' “En Etsi Valtaa Loistoa" (I Seek No Power or Glory). Despite the repeated ...

Album Review

LUME: Xabregas 10

Read "Xabregas 10" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
November 19, 2016

LUME is the acronym for the Lisbon Underground Music Ensemble, which is a large mini-big band type unit, captured live and arranged by pianist Marco Barroso who also penned the compositions. With prog rock nuances and some Frank Zappa style horn charts, the ensemble pushes the envelope from start to finish. It's a stinging presentation that may send tingles down your spine. Moreover, the album is dedicated to the late soprano saxophonist and band member, Jorge Reis. Complete ...

Album Review

Sonny Rollins: Holding the Stage: Road Shows Vol. 4

Read "Holding the Stage: Road Shows Vol. 4" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki

by Chris M. Slawecki
November 19, 2016

At this point in his long and storied career, tenor saxman Sonny Rollins is probably incapable of releasing genuinely bad music (which isn't as obvious a statement as it may seem if, for example, you've tried to listen to Bob Dylan's Shadows in the Night Sinatra homage). Still, some sets are better than others, and Sonny recorded live onstage, spontaneously captured in the improvisational moment, is about as good as Sonny gets. “Something about the interaction of human being to ...

Multiple Reviews

Blues Spotlight: Robert Finley / Donald Jay Johnson And Gas Blues Band / The King Brothers

by James Nadal
November 19, 2016

The blues is an essential element in American music, and continues to thrive, with new releases and artists coming out on a regular basis. The three artists spotlighted here are all experienced musicians, and have a genuine affinity for the blues, as it is their inherent music. While one makes his stunning recording debut, the other two are seasoned veterans in the business. All are qualified to keep the blues alive. Robert FinleyAge Don't Mean A ...