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.

Live Review

Gerry Malkin Quintet at the BeanRunner Café

by Karl Ackermann
November 15, 2016

Gerry Malkin QuintetThe BeanRunner Café Peekskill, New York November 12, 2016 The Gerry Malkin Quintet is a quintessential, hard-working, New York area group that plays top-notch music, while going under-recognized in the competitive and crowded metropolitan marketplace. What is atypical of its session-savvy members are jazz pedigrees that run deep in the jazz hierarchy. The quintet brought their show to the popular BeanRunner Café in the Hudson River city of Peekskill, New York, just ...

Album Review

Mehmet Ali Sanlikol & Whatsnext?: Resolution

Read "Resolution" reviewed by Dave Wayne

by Dave Wayne
November 15, 2016

Turkish multi-instrumentalist, composer and ethnomusicologist Mehmet Ali Sanlikol has a wide variety of interests and clearly isn't afraid to think big. His second album, Resolution features two distinct ensembles: a 19-member jazz orchestra and a 12- member jazz combo. Each track, except for “A Dream in Nihavend" and the set closing “Love Theme from Ergenkon," features jazz luminaries such as Anat Cohen, Dave Liebman, Tiger Okoshi, and Antonio Sanchez as guest soloists. And, despite Sanlikol's liberal application of electronics and ...

Album Review

Arthur Williams: Forgiveness Suite

Read "Forgiveness Suite" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
November 15, 2016

Forgiveness Suite belatedly constitutes trumpeter Arthur Williams' first leadership date. A mysterious and troubled soul who flew below the radar, even within free jazz circles, Williams surfaced on a handful of albums in the 1970s and 80s before dropping from view not long after. His most notable appearances are documented on saxophonist Frank Lowe's Lowe And Behold (Musicworks, 1977) Jemeel Moondoc's Muntu Recordings (2009), William Parker's Centering: Unreleased Early Recordings 1976-1987 (2012) box set and Peter Kuhn's Livin' Right, reissued ...

Album Review

Steve Slagle: Alto Manhattan

Read "Alto Manhattan" reviewed by Roger Farbey

by Roger Farbey
November 15, 2016

Alto Manhattan is a confident and intelligent follow-up to saxophonist Steve Slagle's 2012 album Evensong. Kicking-off with a blues head (but with a twist) “Family" is a no-nonsense stormer benefitting from guests Joe Lovano on tenor sax and Roman Diaz on congas and some good tenor / alto “jousting" towards the end of the track. “Alto Manhattan" is Latino for the NYC area in which Steve lives, otherwise known as Upper Manhattan or The Heights. Here it's represented by a ...

Album Review

Nenad Vasilic Trio: Wet Paint

Read "Wet Paint" reviewed by Nenad Georgievski

by Nenad Georgievski
November 15, 2016

Wet Paint or “fresh paint" symbolizes the formation of the new band or the trio led by soulful bassist, producer and composer Nenad Vasilic who continues to build on the variety steam generated from his previous releases. Here he explores the trio format accompanied by pianist/keyboardist Bojan Z, who finds himself in the role of a sideman. Actually, Bojan Z has lent his talent on Vasilic's album Seven where he was a guest on just two tracks. At one time, ...

Live Review

Stockholm Jazz Festival 2016

by John Ephland
November 14, 2016

Stockholm Jazz Festival Stockholm, Sweden October 7-16, 2016 This year's autumnal Stockholm Jazz Festival continued their tilt toward world and improvisational music in the context of a jazz festival. That said, there was an ample supply of shows to go see and hear where “jazz" was preeminent. Programming world music artists -and by so doing, highlighting the incredible diversity that exists -the contrast to other major jazz festivals that've gone pure pop alongside ...

Album Review

The Common Quartet: The Hive

Read "The Hive" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
November 14, 2016

The first spin of any particular recording is more often than not a cursory affair, a listening experience done without undivided attention; and The Hive, by the Brooklyn-based Common Quartet, under these conditions, seemed to have a West Coast cool jazz vibe. And saxophonist Seth Trachy brought Paul Desmond, of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, to mind, even though he's on tenor, versus Desmond's alto. That may or may not be an accurate first impression (though it lingers). The important thing ...

Album Review

Nate Wooley: Argonautica

Read "Argonautica" reviewed by Troy Collins

by Troy Collins
November 14, 2016

Argonautica reveals a subtle new facet in Nate Wooley's eclectic discography. A celebrated leader of the new trumpet scene, Wooley has expanded the instrument's language by incorporating innovative extended techniques into his bold improvisations. Most of his work has fallen under the banner of lower-case improv, noise or advanced post-bop, but little of his prior output has found commonality within the realm of fusion--until now.Comprised of a single 43-minute composition, “Argonautica" is realized by a somewhat unconventional ensemble. ...

Album Review

House Of Waters: House Of Waters

Read "House Of Waters" reviewed by Roger Farbey

by Roger Farbey
November 14, 2016

The eponymous follow-up to House Of Waters's 2012 album Revolution is no less an iconoclastic offering than its predecessor (or the band's previous two albums Peace The Coats and Elsewhere). Iconoclasm here is a relevant noun because the trio's musical approach confounds traditional perspectives. So although not compositionally similar to say, Philip Glass's extraordinary soundtrack Koyaanisqatsi, or Frank Zappa's Hot Rats the overall effect to the uninitiated is just as startling. Even without the occasional addition of extra ...

Live Review

Bobby Zankel's Warriors of the Wonderful Sound with Rene McLean at the Painted Bride

by Victor L. Schermer
November 14, 2016

Warriors of the Wonderful Sound Special Guest Artist Rene McLean Painted Bride Art Center Philadelphia, PA November 10, 2016 Philadelphia's own Bobby Zankel and the Warriors of the Wonderful Sound keep reeling off exciting concerts in their ongoing series at the Painted Bride. This one featured saxophonist Rene McLean as the guest artist. He is the son of legendary saxophonist Jackie Mclean, so the stage backdrop displayed a slide show that included nostalgic ...