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

Philip Clemo: Dream Maps

Read "Dream Maps" reviewed by Roger Farbey

by Roger Farbey
August 13, 2016

This is composer, multi-instrumentalist and filmmaker Philip Clemo's sixth album and the summation of nine pieces painstakingly developed over the course of three years. His music is essentially uncategorisable but, within a jazz context, could even be regarded as a new kind of third stream. Certainly there are elements within his compositions which allude to some of his influences such as the Cocteau Twins (especially Liz Fraser's sublime wordless vocals), Brian Eno, David Sylvian and undoubtedly Steve Reich.“Liberation" ...

Album Review

Tasha Taylor: Honey For The Biscuit

Read "Honey For The Biscuit" reviewed by James Nadal

by James Nadal
August 13, 2016

Born into music royalty, does not, in any manner, guarantee success. Quite the contrary, it makes one work harder, to not only maintain the legacy, but break out from the looming shadow. With Honey For The Biscuit, vocalist Tasha Taylor, the daughter of Stax soul legend Johnnie Taylor, passed the heirloom boundary and crossed over into her own territory. Taylor went into the studio with thirteen well balanced compositions, and produced a reputable exposition of contemporary rhythm and blues, with ...

Live Review

The Chris Robinson Brotherhood at The Rusty Nail

by Doug Collette
August 13, 2016

The Chris Robinson Brotherhood The Rusty Nail Stowe, Vermont August 5, 2016 In its third visit to Vermont in as many years, The Chris Robinson Brotherhood betrayed scant evidence of the transition apparent on their recently-released record Any Way You Love, We Know How You Feel (Silver Arrow, 2016). On the contrary, in two lengthy sets, the quintet demonstrated a growing self-assurance as they continue incorporating a new rhythm section and simultaneously reconfiguring the fundamental ...

Live Review

Siena Jazz 2016

by Duncan Heining
August 12, 2016

Built around the city's Jazz University Summer School, the Siena Jazz Festival is unique. Each evening, tutors and students perform in a variety of gorgeous settings in this most beautiful of cities. One night it is a stage set against the 16th century backdrop of the Basilica Provenzano, another dwarfed by the mighty Basilica di. S. Domenico with views of the white and black marble of the Duomo and another in a quiet garden of one of Siena's 17 contradas. ...

Album Review

Faiz Lamouri: Wonders

Read "Wonders" reviewed by Mark F. Turner

by Mark F. Turner
August 12, 2016

One of the many pleasures of listening to jazz is heard in the mystical connection between a musician and their instrument exampled in saxophonist Faïz Lamouri's debut Wonders. The Moroccan born/French saxophonist plays with songbird quality--sumptuous tone and darting flight paths which speak of his arduous studies and experience playing in popular France jazz clubs Sunset/Sunside and Le Baiser Salé. These attributes provide for a swinging straight-ahead program recorded in New York with a world class ensemble ...

Album Review

Francisco Pais' Lotus Project: Verde

by Dan Bilawsky
August 12, 2016

Despite this album's title, it's not a monochromatic musical affair. In fact, it's one of the most kaleidoscopic offerings to touchdown in 2016. Guitarist Francisco Pais pulls together a collection of New York's finest young-ish guns to breathe life into his variegated works--pieces that alternately touch on everything from indie rock to modern jazz, country to tempered fusion, and American blues ideals to the sounds of drum 'n' bass. You simply never know what you're going to ...

Album Review

Keiko Matsui: Journey To The Heart

Read "Journey To The Heart" reviewed by Jeff Winbush

by Jeff Winbush
August 12, 2016

Out of pain comes growth and in 2007, Keiko Matsui, emerged from a divorce, record label troubles, and embraced her new singularity by striking out in a bold new direction as she traveled to South Africa, paired up with trumpeter Hugh Masakela and the results gave birth to the adventurous Moyo, one of the brightest and best recordings of a 30-year career. Fast forward nine years and Matsui's at it again with Journey To The Heart, a spirited ...

Album Review

Kim Waters: Rhythm and Romance

Read "Rhythm and Romance" reviewed by Jeff Winbush

by Jeff Winbush
August 12, 2016

If you're open to accepting a musician who's converted his comfort zone to a comfort home, you're ready Kim Waters' Rhythm and Romance, which isn't half bad as long as your expectations are modest. Having racked up 26 years as neither the best nor the worst of mellow and soulful smooth jazz sax slingers Waters has done well for himself by meeting expectations and carved out a solid, if not necessarily spectacular career. Here on Rhythm and Romance ...

Album Review

Spike Wilner: Koan

by Mark Corroto
August 12, 2016

I have an idea that pianist Spike Wilner has read Kenny Werner's book Effortless Mastery: Liberating The Master Musician Within (1996), because Koan emulates Werner's lessons in surrendering one's self to music. Werner's teachings on enlightenment flow through this trio recording, Wilner's sixth as a leader. As a disciple of Harlem stride and ragtime, Wilner, like so many modern pianists from Thelonious Monk to McCoy Tyner, has the ability to open his own book at any page in ...

Album Review

Will Calhoun: Celebrating Elvin Jones

Read "Celebrating Elvin Jones" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
August 11, 2016

Properly paying tribute to a figure like the late Elvin Jones is about more than aping a style of drumming and referencing songs; it's about acknowledging a specific life force, how it fueled the music, and how it lives on in those who Jones influenced on the bandstand, in the studio, and through his recorded work. Drummer Will Calhoun hits the mark in all of those ways on Celebrating Elvin Jones. For Calhoun, Jones was both a ...