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

Jim James: Eternally Even

Read "Eternally Even" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
November 5, 2016

With the very announcement of Eternally Even, My Morning Jacket's titular leader Jim James telegraphed the topical nature of his solo album, a somewhat disingenuous gesture to be sure, but ultimately a telling one. The sentiments as voiced in such a sing-song fashion on “Hide in Plain Sight" and “Same Old Lie" sound as superficial as the production and arrangements he's fashioned here with co-producer Blake Mills. The latter is an artist in his own right, but has ...

Live Review

Live From Birmingham: Hamid Drake, Paul Dunmall & The Phoenix Jazzmen

by Martin Longley
November 5, 2016

The Paul Dunmall & Hamid Drake Quintet mac October 4, 2016 This gig was part of a very short three-date tour, assembled by Birmingham promoter Tony Dudley-Evans. Saxophonist Paul Dunmall's free jazz and improvising eminence has now cloaked the entire globe, so his regular Stateside tours have helped forge relationships with some of his finest American counterparts. The Chicagoan drummer Hamid Drake is one of these sonic allies, and a further collaboration between the ...

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Live Review

Jonathan Butler at Yoshi's

by Walter Atkins
November 5, 2016

Jonathan ButlerYoshi'sOakland, CAOctober 27, 2016 Serious Bay Area fans braved heavily snarled traffic on this rainy dark Thursday night for the second set of renowned South African guitarist Jonathan Butler. Now living in warm Southern California, Butler and his potent band flew in the same day for a two night stand at Yoshis in Oakland. Butler's steadfast band consisted of bassist Dan Lutz, drummer Chaun Horton and keyboardist Arlington Jones.During his introduction, Butler ...

Out and About: The Super Fans

Meet "Mr. Saturday Night" Joe France

by Tessa Souter and Andrea Wolper
November 4, 2016

Dubbed “Mr. Saturday Night" by jazz bassist Peter Washington, because for years he was unfailingly at the Village Vanguard every Saturday night, 87-year-old Super Fan, Joe France, has seen--and hung out with--them all: Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Jackie McLean. Nowadays, you'll mostly run into him--on Saturday nights, of course!--at Smoke Jazz & Supper Club. Got a reluctant partner? Check out Joe's cunning method for turning unsuspecting ordinary citizens into jazz lovers!

Multiple Reviews

Allison Miller & Honey Ear Trio: Lean; Swivel

by Doug Collette
November 4, 2016

Allison Miller may well be the renaissance woman of modern jazz. High-profile mainstream gigs like appearing with the band on Late Night with Seth Myers hardly hint at the diverse complexity of her collaborations and work under own name, most conspicuously including the band Boom Tic Boom. She parses out individual components of her artistry with equal measures of humility and ambition, so that her authority as a bandleader equals her generosity of spirit as expressed in tandem with other ...

Album Review

Rale Micic / John Abercrombie / Peter Bernstein / Lage Lund: Inspired

by Jack Bowers
November 4, 2016

Inspired showcases four of the world's most accomplished jazz guitarists honoring the legacy of a fifth: the late maestro Jim Hall, an exemplar to all and mentor to many. The quartet consists of American luminaries Peter Bernstein and John Abercrombie, Norway's Lage Lund and Serbian-born Rale Micic (Rah-lay Mee-cheech). Four unique personas with one inflexible purpose: to enhance and perpetuate the vision of a friend, comrade and archetype. The album consists for the most part of songs ...

Album Review

Mark Dresser Seven: Sedimental You

Read "Sedimental You" reviewed by Mark Sullivan

by Mark Sullivan
November 4, 2016

Bassist/composer Mark Dresser has long maintained a bi-coastal career. Born in Los Angeles, for many years his base of operations was New York--including ten years as a member of the Anthony Braxton Quartet--but since 2004 he has been on the faculty of the University of California, San Diego. The all-star septet on Sedimental You bridges the East and West Coast scenes, and provides an ensemble capable of a wide range of sounds and textures. Flautist Nicole Mitchell is ...

Album Review

Peter Evans Quintet: Genesis

Read "Genesis" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
November 4, 2016

The unbounded creative experimenter, Peter Evans, returns to his quintet formation for their third outing on Genesis. Pianist Carlos Homs, departed the group following their debut, Ghosts (2011), being replaced by Ron Stabinsky (Mostly Other People Do the Killing) on Destination: Void (2014), both on the More is More label. Evans was also a member of MOPDtK, overlapping with Stabinsky only on Blue (Hot Cup Records, 2015). Bassist Tom Blancarte, joins Sam Pluta on live electronics and the very busy ...

Album Review

Alyssa Allgood: Out Of The Blue

Read "Out Of The Blue" reviewed by Tyran Grillo

by Tyran Grillo
November 4, 2016

If Alyssa Allgood's debut EP Lady Bird made a splash, then Out of the Blue is a veritable deluge of inspired thinking. The Chicago vocalist's imprint is evident in every lick of this full-length follow-up. From the original lyrics and arrangements to her choice of musicians and production, Allgood uses everything in her toolkit throughout 10 redux tunes from the Blue Note catalog. Many of these tracks started out as instrumentals in their heyday, foregrounding the melodic and improvisational stylings ...

Interview

Bill Cunliffe: A Day In the Life

by Tish Oney
November 3, 2016

Grammy award-winning arranger and pianist Bill Cunliffe has been on the cutting edge of large ensemble arranging and jazz trio performance for the past few decades. An avid composer, performer, film scorer, educator and author of several jazz piano books (and online workshops), Cunliffe is focusing his creative output these days around a few select projects. His thorough exploration of several genres and his delivery of relevance in his work throughout his career reveal an inquisitive artist capable of appreciating ...