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

Flying Machines: Flying Machines

Read "Flying Machines" reviewed by Roger Farbey

by Roger Farbey
August 29, 2016

Flying Machines is the eponymous debut album by a group led by British guitarist Alex Munk whose late father Roger Munk was the inspiration for the project. Munk Senior was a leading figure in the design and construction of modern airships, otherwise known as Hybrid Air Vehicles. Munk Junior graduated in 2009 from Leeds College of Music with first class honours where he was awarded the prestigious Yamaha Jazz Scholarship. He then progressed his academic prowess at London's Royal Academy ...

Live Review

Jack DeJohnette at the Byrdcliffe Barn, Woodstock, N.Y

by Peter Occhiogrosso
August 28, 2016

Jack DeJohnette Byrdcliffe Barn Woodstock, NY August 13, 2016 When the lights went out, the power came on. Drummer Jack DeJohnette was scheduled to give a solo piano concert at the Byrdcliffe Barn--a century-old wooden structure-turned-concert venue--that had been part of the original Byrdcliffe Arts Colony in Woodstock, N.Y.--but ten minutes before show time, following an ear-splitting crack like a boxful of M-80s exploding at once, the barn was flooded ...

Album Review

Black Art Jazz Collective: Black Art Jazz Collective - Presented By The Side Door Jazz Club

Read "Black Art Jazz Collective - Presented By The Side Door Jazz Club" reviewed by Budd Kopman

by Budd Kopman
August 28, 2016

The Black Art Jazz Collective was founded in 2013 by saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and drummer Johnathan Blake, with bassist Dwayne Burno added shortly thereafter, and further expanded by trombonist James Burton (III) and pianist Xavier Davis. The group's first performance was Dizzy's Club Coca Cola in April, 2013. Sadly, Burno died in December of that year, and was eventually replaced by Vicente Archer. The avowed purpose of the group is to celebrate Black culture, particularly jazz, but ...

Album Review

Michael Musillami/Rich Syracuse: Of The Night

Read "Of The Night" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
August 28, 2016

It would be hard to name an artist who has written more jazz standards than saxophonist Wayne Shorter, someone who has been penning memorable tunes since his days with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the very early sixties. After his stint with Blakey, he contributed his singular song crafting acumen to Miles Davis' Second Great Quintet in the same decade, as well as recording numerous albums under his own name on Blue Note Records during that time. Now, the year ...

Album Review

Harry Allen's All Star New York Saxophone Band: The Candy Men

Read "The Candy Men" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
August 28, 2016

The legendary Four Brothers reed section of Woody Herman's famous “Second Herd" big band of 1947, (Herbie Steward, Zoot Sims, Stan Getz and Serge Chaloff) is reimagined and reinvigorated by jazz icons Harry Allen, Eric Alexander, Grant Stewart and Gary Smulyan on the exciting, swinging and audacious recording of The Candy Men by Harry Allen's All Star New York Saxophone Band. Offering a sensational set of twelve bop-infused tunes containing some hard-driving, mid-tempo swing pieces to breathy and bossa-styled ballads, ...

On and Off the Grid

Remembering Dominic Duval

by Dom Minasi
August 28, 2016

Around 1985, I got a call from a close friend and my drummer at the time, Tony Lupo. Tony and I had been friends and playing together since 1963. At that time, we were both into Be-Bop and as we grew in age, our musical tastes and interest leaned towards outside playing. Of course, we never played that way on gigs, but when we got together that's how we played. In the seventies, my trio consisted of Mitchel May on ...

Album Review

Dave Stryker: Eight Track II

Read "Eight Track II" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
August 27, 2016

Sequels are a tricky business, often playing to expectations and hewing close to the formula(s) that helped spawn them in the first place. For many, for those very reasons, they're automatically viewed as a slam dunk, aiding in the creation and extension of a franchise entertainment experience for general audiences that went in hard for the original; for critics, however, they're usually a losing bet. Few who wield the pen or keyboard with a critical gaze look kindly upon these ...

Album Review

Nate Wooley/Hugo Antunes/Jorge Queijo/Mário Costa/Chris Corsano: Purple Patio

Read "Purple Patio" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
August 27, 2016

If I had to do it all over again, I would not have judged Purple Patio as soon as I dropped the needle onto the LP. Yes, this is a vinyl-only release, and yes, it is only an edition of 300 copies. Instead, I should have listened to both sides all the way through. But that would have required getting up to turn over the disc. So, I just luxuriated in the first track of the first side. ...

Album Review

Nacka Forum: We Are The World

Read "We Are The World" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
August 27, 2016

Doom and gloom begone, now for some serious fun. Nacka Forum is back with their fifth recording. The Swedish/Danish quartet cherry picks the biography of jazz for the juiciest and sweetest music, combining systems and methodologies from Ornette Coleman to Sun Ra to create a high-spirited concoction of jazz entertainment. Spinning We Are The World you get the idea, that in addition to the listener's, the pleasure of making this music is also the quartet's. Opening with a ...

Album Review

Calato: Swong

by Mark Corroto
August 27, 2016

There is a word, “earworm" or sometimes the term “brainworm" is used to describe the phenomena of getting a song stuck in your head. One that repeats, and repeats and repeats itself. Usually, it is a saccharin pop song with a hook. Strange, then, to catch an earworm from the songs played by the Argentinian free jazz quartet Calato. Yes, really. Swong is their second release, and it follows their eponymously titled 2012 disc on Jardinista! Recs. The ...