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

Scott Kinsey: Near Life Experience

Read "Near Life Experience" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
June 27, 2016

It's been a full decade since Scott Kinsey last released an album under his own name (the 2006 Abstract Logix debut, Kinesthetics) and, if anything, Near Life Experience manages to trump actually its predecessor in both ambition and Kinsey's significant cast of invited contributors. Near Life Experience also continues to hone the cinematic keyboardist's increasingly expansive, pan-cultural musical world view; one that has long dominated the keyboardist's work, dating back to his days playing with Tim Hagans and Bob Belden's ...

Live Review

Miles Electric Band at SFJAZZ

by Harry S. Pariser
June 26, 2016

Miles Electric Band SFJAZZ CenterSan Francisco, CA June 11, 2016 Since his death in 1991, one month after his final performance at the Hollywood Bowl, there has been a vacancy in the jazz trumpet chair. While many have risen as stars on the instrument, no one has quite matched Miles Davis. Davis's bands brought many of today's most successful and best known performers to public prominence: Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, ...

Album Review

Ed Neumeister: Suite Ellington

Read "Suite Ellington" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
June 26, 2016

A complete summary of trombonist Ed Neumeister's musical career would date back to his pre-school years. Initially a regular fixture on the San Francisco circuit, he later immersed himself in the New York jazz scene dividing almost thirty-five years between the Duke Ellington Orchestra and the Mel Lewis Big Band. His additional experiences with classical orchestras and ensembles helped solidify his skills as a conductor and composer. On Suite Ellington, Neumeister and his sextet take on some familiar and less ...

Album Review

Lucio Capece/Kevin Drumm/Radu Malfatti : The Volume Surrounding The Task

Read "The Volume Surrounding The Task" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
June 26, 2016

Let this recording, The Volume Surrounding The Task, be your guide to Buddhist meditation. While the current trend in corporate America (and Europe for that matter) is to foist meditation practices upon employees to gain a competitive advantage, let's head in another direction. CEOs want to sharpen workers' concentration, but minimalist improvisation like this conjured by the trio of Lucio Capece, Kevin Drumm, and Radu Malfatti generates a dreamlike state of distraction. The chimerical illusion of centralization is shattered when ...

Album Review

Marcos Pin: Broken Artist

Read "Broken Artist" reviewed by James Nadal

by James Nadal
June 26, 2016

Santiago de Compostela, Spain, is famous for the religious pilgrimage, but in the jazz world it is gaining a reputation as a breeding ground for premier musicians. A host of piano players make the area home, so guitarist Marcos Pin easily stands out in the crowd. The hard bop influenced Broken Artist is his tenth release as leader, representing a focused trajectory and commitment to craft. This project is based around six compositions which depict a day in ...

Album Review

Justin Piper: Avant Funk

Read "Avant Funk" reviewed by Geannine Reid

by Geannine Reid
June 26, 2016

Avant Funk, Justin Piper's debut album, completes the creative circle for this remarkable musician in a number of ways. First of all, it documents his ability to create unique sounds and textures, Piper is the heart of the project, performing on guitar, bass, Rhodes and programing, in addition to writing all the compositions, making Avant Funk truly a personal portrait of his musical mind set. Secondly, it documents his abilities in shifting easily between styles, roles and instruments, while always ...

Album Review

Louis Heriveaux: Triadic Episode

Read "Triadic Episode" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
June 25, 2016

Where has Louis Heriveaux been hiding? That's the first question/thought that pops into the head after hearing this music. But truth be told, Heriveaux hasn't been hiding at all. We--the jazz public at large--just haven't had enough exposure to his talent(s). Heriveaux has racked up sideman credits with major jazz figures like guitarist Russell Malone and vocalist Nneena Freelon, he's a central figure on the scene in Atlanta, Georgia, and he's a first call player for jazz heavies (i.e. saxophonist ...

Album Review

Boujeloud: Candy Prince

Read "Candy Prince" reviewed by Jakob Baekgaard

by Jakob Baekgaard
June 25, 2016

Sometimes, there is a moment on a record that embodies the promise of a group or an artist. Such is the case with the track “Jojo" from Danish experimental jazz group Boujeloud. This is one of the most amazing jazz tracks I have heard this year and a little journey into a strange and fascinating world of sound. It starts with a slowly dragging afrobeat-groove, with slurring horn lines and punctuated riffs. Emil Palme's spiky guitar keeps ...

Album Review

Jasper Høiby: Fellow Creatures

Read "Fellow Creatures" reviewed by Roger Farbey

by Roger Farbey
June 25, 2016

Taking a break from his highly (and justifiably) praised trio Phronesis, virtuoso bassist Jasper Høiby described the rationale for Fellow Creatures thus: “it's been a dream of mine for a while to start a larger ensemble and to have the option of writing for two melody instruments as well as the trio." Høiby also regards the album in three ways; first he wanted to tell a story with a whole album, establishing a relationship between the album and ...

Album Review

Red Hot Chili Peppers: The Getaway

Read "The Getaway" reviewed by Nenad Georgievski

by Nenad Georgievski
June 25, 2016

All the surface evidence on The Getaway suggests that the band Red Hot Chili Peppers, for most part, is steering its music towards unfamiliar territory. This change of sound first began on I'm With You, (Warner Bros. 2011) the first recording the band did without one of its key members, guitarist John Frusciante who left to pursue solo career. Instead, his protégé Josh Klinghoffer took over guitar duties and provided more layered guitarscapes. I'm With You (Warner Bros. 2011) was ...