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.

Bailey's Bundles

Jazz Quanta July: Fundamental Piano Trio I - Bill Evans, Mike Jones, Fahir Atakoğlu, Roberto Magris, Chat Noir

by C. Michael Bailey
July 8, 2016

Bill Evans Some Other Time: the Lost Session From the Black Forest Resonance 2016 Pianist Bill Evans has never suffered from a lack of musical documentation. A majority of his recordings remain in release and more unheard performances continue to surface. Resonance Records' Some Other Time: the Lost Session From the Black Forest is not the first unreleased Evans in their roster, Live At Art D'Lugoff's Top Of The Gate (2012) preceded ...

Album Review

Joe Lovano Quartet: Classic! Live at Newport

Read "Classic! Live at Newport" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
July 8, 2016

It's safe to say that many years from now, when the critics and historians have the benefit of distance to help focus their thoughts, many if not most will continue to hail much of saxophonist Joe Lovano's presently-admired body of work on the Blue Note imprint. But what will stand tallest in said discography? Some may continue to laud the bold, rhythmically charged work of his Us Five quintet; others may celebrate his fascinating Trio Fascination outings; and a different ...

Album Review

Leap of Faith Orchestra: The Expanding Universe

Read "The Expanding Universe" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
July 8, 2016

The creative music cooperative known as Leap of Faith had a long initial run from 1993 to 2001 and then re-booted in 2015. At their core, from the beginning, have been multi-instrumentalists David Peck (aka PEK) and Glynis Lomon. PEK, however, assumes a more than democratic leadership role across the many manifestations of the collective that live on his Evil Clown label. On The Expanding Universe the Leap of Faith Orchestra--true the album title--escalates with full (but non-conventional) ensemble of ...

Album Review

Savoldelli - Casarano - Bardoscia: The Great Jazz Gig In The Sky

Read "The Great Jazz Gig In The Sky" reviewed by Roger Farbey

by Roger Farbey
July 8, 2016

There have been many tribute albums to great rock records but perhaps fewer in a jazz idiom. Two notable ones were Mike Westbrook's Off Abbey Road and Sandy Brown's Hair At It's Hairiest. So this paean to one of the best selling albums of all time, Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon is a welcome experiment. Boris Savoldelli's earnest, Italian-accented vocals might be slightly discombobulating to listeners used to those of Messrs Roger Waters and Dave Gilmour ...

Album Review

Chris Rogers: Voyage Home

Read "Voyage Home" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
July 8, 2016

Recorded in February of 2001, Voyage Home is trumpeter Chris Rogers' long-awaited debut album as a performer, composer and band leader. Released fifteen years after its original recording, the music documents performances from incredibly talented artists whom Rogers has known his entire life, including the late saxophonist Michael Brecker as well as a statement lifted from a 1965 album by Eddie Palmieri featuring legendary Latin jazz trombonist Barry Rogers--and father of the leader--who passed away well before this recording. An ...

Album Review

Johan Moir Ensemble: Chasing Shadows

Read "Chasing Shadows" reviewed by Eyal Hareuveni

by Eyal Hareuveni
July 8, 2016

The five musicians of Swedish Johan Moir ensemble met at the Academy of Music and Drama of Göteborg. Moir is the bassist, the composer and the director of HearHere Records. His ensemble debut album features his partner, vocalist Casey Moir, who also plays with him in the group Svelia and the duo Mother Jack; saxophonist Malin Wättring, who released last year her highly impressive debut album with her quartet and octet (Glöd, Havtorn, 2015) and plays in saxophonist Anna Högberg ...

Live From New York

Red Hook Jazz Festival 2016

by Martin Longley
July 7, 2016

Red Hook Jazz Festival 2016 Urban Meadow Community Garden Red Hook, Brooklyn June 12 & 19, 2016 This ninth edition of the Red Hook Jazz Festival appeared to draw its biggest crowd yet. Not that it's a large- capacity event, but perhaps a setting close to the water's edge at Red Hook makes it seem psychologically inaccessible to the lazy New Yorker, involving an actual 15 minute amble from the closest subway ...

Album Review

Golfam Khayam & Mona Matbou Riahi: Narrante

Read "Narrante" reviewed by Mark Sullivan

by Mark Sullivan
July 7, 2016

Iranian guitarist Golfam Khayam and clarinetist Mona Matbou Riahi--also known as the Naqsh Duo--bring a whole host of additional influences to bear on the Persian musical traditions they grew up with in the collaborative music on Narrante. Khayam explains that “the freshness and purpose of improvisation come mostly from the Persian side, while the careful structure and careful crafting come from Western contemporary music." It's a personal synthesis, with composition and improvisation intertwined. Opener “Testamento" (Testament) does sound ...

Album Review

David Ambrosio / Russ Meissner: Moments in Time

Read "Moments in Time" reviewed by Jakob Baekgaard

by Jakob Baekgaard
July 7, 2016

For a long time, bassist David Ambrosio has been a vital part of the jazz scene in New York City and his playing has been documented on many releases, including the wonderful trio recordings by pianist Eri Yamamoto. In 2014, a new chapter began in Ambrosio's story when he released his first album as a leader on Fresh Sound New Talent: Gone. Here, he was in the good company of alto saxophonist Loren Stillman and drummer Russ ...

Album Review

Greg Ward & 10 Tongues: Touch My Beloved's Thought

Read "Touch My Beloved's Thought" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
July 7, 2016

To describe saxophonist Greg Ward's Touch My Beloved's Thought as his magnum opus is to impede his development as a composer. Let's just say for many a jazz artist, if this recording were included in their discography, it would be their signature piece. For Ward, it just represents the possibilities. The backstory to this live recording is Charles Mingus' The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady (Impulse!, 1963), a six-part composition written for dancers. Ward was commissioned to ...