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

Snik: Metasediment Rock

Read "Metasediment Rock" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
November 24, 2015

The Clean Feed imprint continues to unearth new outfits from Scandinavia deserving wider appreciation. Among the latest is Snik, a predominantly Norwegian quartet which includes bassist Ole Morten Vågan, best known for his tenure in saxophonist Joshua Redman's Trio. Completing the line up are young trombonist Kristoffer Kompen, who contributes half a dozen of the eight charts, saxophonist Kristoffer Berre Alberts, familiar from the group Cortex, and Swedish drummer Erik Nylander. At times, the New York Contemporary ...

Album Review

Rich Halley 4: Eleven

Read "Eleven" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
November 24, 2015

Saxophonist Rich Halley exploded out of a five year recording hiatus in 2010 with Live at Penofin Jazz Festival, a growling, high energy, in-front-of-the-crowd mad man rant that featured trumpeter Bobby Bradford in the front line of a wild and often raucous chordless quartet. Five years off or not, there was a history there--a bunch of fiery quartet and trio sets on Louie Records. Coming off the break, Halley formed his own label, Pine Eagle Records. He has taken Bob ...

Album Review

Various Artists: Peru Boom: Bass, Bleeps & Bumps from Peru's Electronic Underground

Read "Peru Boom: Bass, Bleeps & Bumps from Peru's Electronic Underground" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki

by Chris M. Slawecki
November 24, 2015

Lima is often referred to as the intersecting point for the cross-pollinating Andean, African, European and South American cultures of Peru, the cradle of the Incas. Club revelers throughout Central and South America (and the DJs who the spin music that keeps them dancing) also consider Lima to be home base for the Tropical Bass sound and style, and the birthplace of “the digital cumbia boom" which fuels dancefloors from South Africa to South Central Los Angeles. “It ...

Live Review

Keith Jarrett At The National Concert Hall, Dublin

by Ian Patterson
November 23, 2015

Keith Jarrett National Concert Hall Dublin, Ireland November 17, 2015 Following a solo performance in Dublin's National Concert Hall in 1982, Keith Jarrett's Irish fans would have to wait thirty one years for his return--another solo gig, in early 2013. Therefore, the news that Dublin was on Jarrett's short European tour 2015 was met with surprise and delight in equal measure in the Irish capital. Inevitably enough, tickets sold out in the blink of an ...

Album Review

John Abercrombie: The First Quartet

Read "The First Quartet" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
November 23, 2015

In his more than thirty year career--almost exclusively with ECM--guitarist John Abercrombie has more often than not confined his formation to smaller groups ranging from solo through quartet. He has been less restricted in the style of music he creates and that diversity is demonstrated with mixed results on The First Quartet. The albums included in the three-disc set are remastered from original ECM analog recordings of Arcade (1979), Abercrombie Quartet (1979) and M (1981). All but unavailable in CD ...

Live Review

Eliane Elias at Dazzle

by Geoff Anderson
November 23, 2015

Eliane Elias Dazzle Denver, CO November 19, 2015 Eliane Elias' current album Made in Brazil (Concord Jazz, 2015) is a lush affair. An orchestra provides a luxurious atmosphere on over half the songs. Guest vocalists add further layers and Take 6 contributes its brand of vocal jazz. Guitarists, drummers, percussionists, bass players all chime in throughout; a cast of thousands! Well, maybe not quite that many. In contrast, Elias' performance Thursday evening a ...

Album Review

Wadada Leo Smith & John Lindberg: Celestial Weather

Read "Celestial Weather" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
November 23, 2015

Trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, one of the original AACM artists and a major avant-garde artist in his own right, is perhaps best known of late for his highly ambitious, monumental orchestral works--Ten Freedom Summers (Cuneiform Records, 2013) and Occupy the World (TUM Records, 2013). In 2014 he turned this approach down a bit--using using an all-star quintet--and released one of the finest recording of his career, the much heralded The Great Lakes Suite (TUM Records). He turns things down even ...

New York Beat

Carol Fredette at Jazz at Kitano

by Nick Catalano
November 23, 2015

Carol Fredette Jazz at Kitano New York, NY November 19, 2015 Jazz at Kitano, the club in Gotham's Kitano Hotel on Park Ave. and 38th St., continues to grow in popularity with artists and audiences alike -the former avidly competing for the best dates and the latter chatting about the room's intimacy and sensible pricing policy. On November 19th we caught Carol Fredette's opening set joining the packed house ...

Album Review

Slobber Pup: Pole Axe

Read "Pole Axe" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
November 23, 2015

Imagine the avant improv metal trio Slobber Pup, which is made up of keyboardist Jamie Saft, guitarist Joe Morris, and drummer Balazs Pandi, crafting a homemade greeting card that says, “you complete us" to give to Mats Gustafsson. As heartwarming and moving as that gesture is, the inclusion of the Swedish saxophonist on the trio's sophomore effort complements the atmospheric thrash and burn of Pole Axe.The convergence of the players here draws from their various associations with the ...

Album Review

Halie Loren: Butterfly Blue

Read "Butterfly Blue" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
November 23, 2015

All About Jazz collegue R.J. Deluke published a lengthy piece on Alaska-now-Oregon native vocalist Halie Loren. In that piece, DeLuke concludes: “Loren is also in a place vocally where her sound has moved away from influence and is her own. Emulating her favorites, and learning from that in years, are behind. Her phrasing and her presentation are seasoned. They move to unexpected places. It is Halie Loren's voice." And in that, lies what is ...