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

Logan Metz: The Last Remaining Payphone in L.A.

Read "The Last Remaining Payphone in L.A." reviewed by Paul Naser

by Paul Naser
October 18, 2016

There aren't many young players around actively channeling the powerful feel of New Orleans musicians like Doctor John, let alone doing it convincingly. This doesn't describe Chicago based musician/composer Logan Metz fairly, though. His danceable, joyful music has that same spirit, but it draws on too many influences to be so quickly categorized. Not too surprising, considering the musical company he's kept. Playing stages from “backwoods biker rallies to Walt Disney Concert Hall," Metz has played with American legends like ...

Album Review

Mary Halvorson Octet: Away With You

Read "Away With You" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
October 18, 2016

Continuing her streak of outstanding releases, guitarist extraordinaire Mary Halvorson once again shows her determination to build upon her unique style as a composer and bandleader. She's taken her septet from 2013's superb Illusionary Sea and added an eighth member, pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn, and the resulting music is typical Halvorson: harmonically complex, emotionally compelling, and full of interesting moments worth savoring. The first thing one notices about Alcorn's presence is the sense of atmosphere she provides. ...

Album Review

Craig Hartley: Books On Tape, Vol. 2 - Standard Edition

Read "Books On Tape, Vol. 2 - Standard Edition" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
October 17, 2016

Pianist Craig Hartley's debut--Books On Tape, Vol. 1 (Self Produced, 2013)--focused on autobiographically-based originals, with only a single cover in the mix. Now, for the sequel, Hartley flips the script. Books On Tape, Vol. II-Standard Edition is all about the covers, with only one Hartley-penned number on the program. Everybody from Duke Ellington to Paul McCartney and Johann Sebastian Bach to Miles Davis gets their due here. But don't let the focus fool you. This is anything ...

Extended Analysis

Jim Ridl: Door in a Field V2, Songs of the Green River

by Victor L. Schermer
October 17, 2016

This is pianist Jim Ridl's seventh album as a leader, and all revolve around specific motifs involving people, places, things, images, and words. For example, his debut CD, Five Minutes to Madness and Joy (Synergy Music, 1999), is based on a poem by Walt Whitman which Ridl then elaborated upon in a variety of musical expressions. On the one hand, Ridl is a solid, mainstream jazz pianist who has worked with a panoply of cohorts like Dave Liebman, Joe Locke, ...

Album Review

California Guitar Trio: Komorebi

Read "Komorebi" reviewed by Geno Thackara

by Geno Thackara
October 17, 2016

Things come somewhat full circle for the California Guitar Trio on their fifteenth album Komorebi. Having often experimented with all manner of electronics and effects to weave sound textures, here they drift back towards compositions that use their acoustic guitars pure and unadorned. It was made live in a room with a minimal rig, much the same way their earliest recordings were when starting out in 1991 (and the crystal quality on this one is sharp enough to let you ...

Album Review

Christoph Irniger Pilgrim: Big Wheel Live

Read "Big Wheel Live" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
October 17, 2016

Here's a young European jazz outfit that has a distinct personality. Led by Swiss tenor saxophonist Christoph Irniger, the quintet's upfront deportment is consummated by interweaving progressions and climactic pieces riding above variable currents. One of many outwardly enticing attributes is how sublime choruses often feel like they are on the verge of exploding into impacting sojourns, even when they don't. Irniger and top-flight guitarist Dave Gisler are strong foils and are undoubtedly a near-flawless match, here, on the quintet's ...

Album Review

Jaco Pastorius: Jaco Pastorius

Read "Jaco Pastorius" reviewed by Sacha O'Grady

by Sacha O'Grady
October 17, 2016

For any serious fan of jazz fusion, the release of Jaco Pastorius' debut solo album should have come as no surprise. Largely self taught, by 22 he was already teaching bass at the University of Miami, where he forged a strong friendship with guitarist Pat Metheny, one which would lead to the two eventually recording together, issuing a little known LP (simply titled Jaco) in 1974. But it wasn't until he became a member of fusion pioneers Weather Report that ...

Jazz Near Me

Mariza at Town Hall

by Ernest Barteldes
October 17, 2016

Mariza Town Halk New York, NY October 15, 2016 As part of her first major U.S. tour in nearly five years (she took a break to start a family), Mariza kicked off her set at Town Hall in a more traditional manner, backed by Portuguese and Spanish guitars and acoustic bass, which acknowledged the heritage of the music of Alfama, the Lisbon neighborhood where her career began--including the classic black dress worn by most fado ...

Live Review

Euopean Jazz Conference 2016: Polish Jazz Showcases

by Ian Patterson
October 17, 2016

European Jazz Conference: Polish Jazz Showcases National Forum Of Music Wroclaw, Poland September 22-24, 2016 One of the great things about returning to Poland each time is the exposure to new jazz talent, because beyond the internationally renowned marquee names--the historic Polish greats--are a great number of outstanding artists. How could it be otherwise in a country that boasts over a hundred jazz festivals? Wroclaw is home to Jazztopad, one of Poland's ...

Multiple Reviews

Two Sides of Stunt: Jacob Anderskov and Jacob Christoffersen

by Jakob Baekgaard
October 16, 2016

Stunt Records is the most prominent jazz label in Denmark, and for a long time they have released high quality jazz, but other genres have also caught the attention of label heads, Søren Friis and Peter Littauer. However, there is a decidedly mainstream appeal to many of their releases and the voices of the so-called avant-garde are relatively rarely heard. There have been attempts earlier to cover the more experimental alleys of jazz with the series Stunt X, but it ...