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

Roberta Piket: One for Marian

Read "One for Marian" reviewed by Victor L. Schermer

by Victor L. Schermer
June 14, 2016

In 1945, as World War II came to an end, Marian McPartland (1918-2013) moved from England to the United Sates with her then husband, trumpeter Jimmy McPartland. She had already achieved some notoriety as a pianist on radio shows and with the USO, and in the U.S., with her husband's encouragement, she found a secure niche as a jazz pianist, leader, and composer, most notably as a house pianist at the famed Hickory House in New York, where many greats ...

Album Review

Kris Allen: Beloved

by Mark Corroto
June 14, 2016

You have to love how a sommelier might describe a certain wine. It has “a jammy taste with a sweet attack, leather, tobacco, and very muscular with integrated wood." Listening to saxophonist Kris Allen's Beloved reminds us that jazz listeners use similar terms to describe the music they're hearing. Allen's alto saxophone is flavored with hints of Bobby Watson, the body feel of Paul Desmond, and the terrior of Hartford. In other words, it tastes great. The Hartford ...

Reassessing

Black Market

by Jeff Winbush
June 14, 2016

As Weather Report returned to the studio to cut their next album the band was yet again in flux. Gone from 1975's Tale Spinnin' line up were percussionist Alyrio Lima and drummer Ndugu Leon Chancler. Zawinul explained the latest comings-and-goings in a 1976 interview, “We're always happy with the group, because if we're not happy, we change it. There are a lot of musicians out there in the world. All the people who have played with us are ...

Profile

David S. Ware and the Wisdom of Uncertainty

by Jakob Baekgaard
June 13, 2016

Every record label needs a beginning, a first release, but it is seldom that the initial release is a masterpiece. However, this is the case with Wisdom of Uncertainty, saxophonist David S. Ware's album from 1997, which was the inaugural release of Steven Joerg's AUM Fidelity imprint. The name of the label is inspired by Charles Mingus' iconic album Mingus Ah Um. Referencing one of the all-time classics in jazz history, Joerg set the bar high for ...

New York Beat

Clifford Brown and Max Roach in 1954: New Research

by Nick Catalano
June 13, 2016

Jazz history is all about revisionism. New material about musicians--biographical information, newly discovered recordings and photos, corrected anecdotes and stories -are some of the areas where history is constantly evolving. This is an important process and writers should always be aware of it and report its occurrences. Since I published my book on Clifford Brown Clifford Brown: The Life and Art of the Legendary Jazz Trumpeter (Oxford University Press, 2000) I have been contacted by individuals who ...

Album Review

Siama: Rivers

by James Nadal
June 13, 2016

The Congo is located at the very heart of Africa, and has played the major contributory role of influencing musical trends throughout the region. Soukous originated in the 1950's when the impact of the Cuban rumba blended with traditional Congolese music. Incorporating the 3/2 clave rhythm, and adapting the piano montuno into guitar; it has two distinct parts, the slow complex rumba, which leads into the up-tempo sabene, and is based on the three chord structure. Siama Matuzungidi ...

Album Review

Illogical Harmonies with D’Incise: Illogical Harmonies with D’Incise

Read "Illogical Harmonies with D’Incise" reviewed by John Eyles

by John Eyles
June 13, 2016

For several reasons this download-only release makes an excellent companion piece to Volume (Another Timbre, 2016) by Illogical Harmonies. Firstly, the Illogical Harmonies duo of violinist Johnny Chang and double bassist Mike Majkowski is here joined by INSUB curator D'Incise who acts as a wild card, adding electronics and field recordings to the impressive contributions of the two string players, enhancing the soundscape and giving it another dimension; together, the three sound like a mutated chamber group. Secondly, ...

Album Review

Hildegunn Øiseth: Time Is Coming

Read "Time Is Coming" reviewed by Mark Sullivan

by Mark Sullivan
June 13, 2016

Norwegian trumpeter/composer Hildegunn Oiseth has been a full time professional player since age 24, beginning with the Bohuslän Big Band. She has been featured in several projects with the Trondheim Jazzorkester, and can be heard hosting national radio shows. In addition to trumpet and flugelhorn she has been fascinated with more ancient instruments, including the “bukkehorn" (goat horn, so called because it is made from the horn of a ram or goat) heard on two tracks here. She brought an ...

Album Review

Defibrillator & Peter Brötzmann: Conversations About Not Eating Meat

Read "Conversations About Not Eating Meat" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
June 13, 2016

Imagine the fight posters we could create for the various musical boxing matches organized for saxophonist Peter Brötzmann. His profile picture would be facing a fellow competitor with all the relevant statistics--height, weight, reach, and age. The boxing poster image often comes to mind when he grapples with plugged-in artists and those dealing with electronics, as we have here. His newest collaborations signal a bit of a shift from the now defunct Chicago Tentet, to spread his sound ...

Bailey's Bundles

The Big Beat: Edwin G. Hamilton, Scott Neumann, Donald Edwards, Arthur Vint, Rob Garcia, Jeremy Warren

by C. Michael Bailey
June 12, 2016

This is a spotlight on drums...a pretty big spotlight. Edwin G. Hamilton The Whole World Must Change Self Produced2016 It's hard enough to find a drummer, much less one who sings. There is Les DeMerle, and he is fine, but, the drummer/singer is a pretty hard chair to fill, if that is what one is looking for. Enter Edwin G. Hamilton, student of Herlin Riley and contemporary of a generation of young artist ...