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

Kris Davis and Craig Taborn Live at The Wexner Center For The Arts

by Mark Corroto
October 11, 2016

Kris Davis and Craig Taborn The Wexner Center For The Arts Columbus, OH October 7, 2016 The two-week, 12 city tour was billed as Kris Davis and Craig Taborn piano duos. It might have been better advertised as a solo act, let's call it 'Davborn' or maybe 'Krisaig.' This is because Friday night, the pianists' two hearts beat as one, as did their sound. Davis has recently released her new ...

Album Review

Andrew Downing: Otterville

Read "Otterville" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
October 11, 2016

Canada's Downing clan hails from the Ontario tobacco belt town, Otterville. Andrew Downing--bassist/cellist/composer--home-ported in Toronto now, celebrates the familial stomping grounds with a two CD set laid down by a sextet, plus guests, of an unusual instrumentation. It's an immersion into the simplicity and tranquility of the out-of-the-way, small town experience. Each of the tunes takes the baton from one of the great American tune-smith's--Gershwin, Mercer, Dizzy Gillespie, Jerome Kern, and more--by borrowing bits from classic songs and ...

Album Review

Bojan Vuletić / Nate Wooley / Zeena Parkins / Vera Westera: Fugitive Beauté

Read "Fugitive Beauté" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
October 11, 2016

On Fugitive Beauté, Serbian composer Bojan Vuletić wrote thirteen pieces inspired by the French poet/writer Charles Baudelaire who, among other accomplishments, is credited with coining the term “modernity" to describe the brief, transient nature of Parisian life during the period of industrialization in the nineteenth century. Baudelaire's poetry has inspired many musical adaptations in the forms of folk, rock and even heavy metal but Vuletić's approach is different beyond the jazz treatments of his compositions. Along with being ...

Album Review

Duke Ellington & His Orchestra: Rotterdam 1969

Read "Rotterdam 1969" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
October 11, 2016

Here's a succulent and long-hidden treat for Duke Ellington aficionados: a wide-ranging and reasonably well-recorded concert performance by the Ellington orchestra from 1969 at the Do Doelen Concert Hall in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Many of Ellington's tried-and-true favorites are here, along with a number of lesser-known themes such as tenor Paul Gonsalves' feature, “Up Jump"; “Come Off the Veldt (and Into the Bush)," a showpiece for drummer Rufus Jones; alto Johnny Hodges' star turn, “Black Butterfly"; and trumpeter Cat Anderson's ...

Album Review

Peter Baumann: Romance 76

Read "Romance 76" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
October 11, 2016

German keyboardist Peter Baumann was a co-founder of the innovative electronics trio Tangerine Dream who seeded new genres and offshoots such as krautrock, new-age music, progressive psychedelia and so on. He remained with the band until 1977. Moreover, Romance 1976 marks Baumann's inaugural solo album, and signifies a distinct contrast from his work with Tangerine Dream, revered for its oscillating and highly rhythmic use of synths, modeled with memorable riffs, up- tempo soloing jaunts and cascading developments. Baumann ...

Album Review

Miguel Angelo Quartet: Miguel Angelo Quarteto: A Vida de X

Read "Miguel Angelo Quarteto: A Vida de X" reviewed by Phil Barnes

by Phil Barnes
October 10, 2016

Neither life nor jazz is simple or linear. On any given event there are multiple possible interpretations and perspectives--some will stand up to scrutiny others will not. At its most extreme there is the entitled trickster who shouts of their integrity even as they rob you in their consummate selfishness, but sometimes it is just that our accumulated experiences show different angles on the same basic events. Our finest jazz musicians can offer startling perspectives on familiar material, yet some ...

Album Review

Allen Hinds: Fly South

Read "Fly South" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
October 10, 2016

Alabama-reared guitarist Allen Hinds combines a distinct style with a strong compositional pen that in many instances, goes above the call of duty when it comes to firebrand guitarist-based solo albums. Essentially, this program is not an atypical sojourn where rock or jazz fusion guitar heroes simply solo atop thumping backbeats and scanty thematic incursions. Hinds merges technical know-how and studio savvy, and is an A-list session artist who has gigged or recorded with celebrated artists and bands spanning jazz, ...

Album Review

Jeff Richman: Sizzle

by Geannine Reid
October 10, 2016

Veteran modern jazz guitarist Jeff Richman will release his seventeenth solo project Sizzle on November 17, 2016. The project joins together longtime collaborators to form a tight-knit band that certainly shares a well-oiled chemistry; with Jimmy Haslip on bass and handling the production, Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, George Whitty (keys/programming), and Gergo Borlai (drums/programming). Richman is given a stunning backdrop to convey his rich musical message. Sizzle has a wonderful guest line-up including: Jeff Beal (trumpet, flugelhorn), Taylor Eigsti (piano), ...

Album Review

Richard Sussman: The Evolution Suite

Read "The Evolution Suite" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
October 10, 2016

On this ambitious recording, keyboardist Richard Sussman draws together several seasoned jazz veterans with the Sirius Quartet for a stimulating, genre-defying album of music. Built around Sussman's five-part “Evolution Suite," the record's guiding theme is also a gesture toward the transcendence of stylistic boundaries that animates Sussman's music. By utilizing conventional jazz, fusion, contemporary classical and a good dose of computer-generated electronics, Sussman is clearly making a statement about the importance of moving beyond pre-established categories in the quest to ...

Album Review

Wadada Leo Smith: America's National Parks

Read "America's National Parks" reviewed by Mark Sullivan

by Mark Sullivan
October 10, 2016

The U.S. National Park Service celebrates its centennial in 2016 (it was created in 1916 when Congress passed the Organic Act). There are many celebrations planned, but few are likely to match the power and individuality of Wadada Leo Smith's epic six-part suite. Over the two discs (a bit over 90 minutes total playing time) Smith explores the spiritual and psychological aspects of setting aside reserves for common property for the use of American citizens--and the political dynamics involved. The ...