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.

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Building a Jazz Library

Funk Jazz: '60s-'70s

by Douglas Payne
June 4, 2015

Somewhere between the soul-jazz of the early sixties (often called “funk" in its day) and the disco of the mid-seventies, funk jazz was born. Rock was already crossing over into jazz. And it just made sense that rock would inject soul jazz with a greater sense of urgency and a stronger feel for the groove. Funk had that thing that made soul and any other kinds of dance music what it was--a deep, true conviction to getting you ...

Album Review

Samuel Blais/David Liebman: Cycling

by Dan Bilawsky
June 4, 2015

There's no accounting for how great music comes together on record. Sometimes everything is meticulously laid out for months or years in advance, as artists use planning and implementation to their advantage in the creative process; other times, sparks just fly at spur of the moment sessions. Cycling falls into the latter category. In October of 2012, saxophonist Samuel Blais organized a quartet tour that found him working alongside three of his favorite saxophonists--David Binney, Donny McCaslin, ...

Album Review

Rayford Griffin: Reflections of Brownie

Read "Reflections of Brownie" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
June 4, 2015

Trumpeter Clifford Brown left a big legacy, in spite of living a lamentably short life--he died in a car accident in 1956, when he was just twenty-five years old. His recordings with drummer Max Roach endure as near-perfect works of art. Sets like Study in Brown (1956), Clifford Brown and Max Roach (1954), Clifford Brown and Max Roach at Basin Street ( 1956), and Brown and Roach Incorporated (1954), all on EmArcy Records, are bright, hard-blowing masterpieces of bop's early ...

Live Review

14-Bis at Centro Dragao do Mar

by Ernest Barteldes
June 4, 2015

14 Bis Centro Dragao do Mar Fortaleza, Brazil May 30, 2015 On their second concert at Fortaleza's Centro Dragao do Mar concert series for the 2015 season, 14-Bis kicked off their set with “Bola de Meia, Bola de Gude," a Milton Nascimento composition from the band's second album 14 Bis II (EMI-Odeon, 1980), with lead vocals shared by Claudio Venturini (guitar), Vermelho (keyboards) and Sergio Magrao (bass). Nascimento was a ...

Album Review

Eliza Neals: Breaking and Entering

Read "Breaking and Entering" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
June 4, 2015

After singing the praises of one Detroit native, Greg Nagy on Stranded (Big O Records, 2015) for incorporating all that was good from Motown in his sound, another Detroit artist shoots straight out of the Motor City to Chicago and down the Mississippi River to parts unknown. Eliza Neals joins the inestimable Mandy Lemons Nikides of Low Society, who, on You Can't Keep A Good Woman Down (Ice House Records, 2014) defined the term unhinged musically. Neals ...

Rediscovery

Eberhard Weber: Fluid Rustle

by John Kelman
June 4, 2015

Eberhard Weber Fluid RustleECM1979 Today's Rediscovery, after a bit of a hiatus, looks at an album by Eberhard Weber that is of particularly significance in the German bassist's discography. Fluid Rustle, released by ECM Records in 1979, was, in fact, one of many anomalies in Weber's discography for its unusual instrumentation (electric guitar/balalaika, vibraphone/marimba, bass/tarang, voices); but beyond that, it stands out as the album that introduced guitarist Bill Frisell to the world.

Album Review

Simon Phillips: Protocol 3

Read "Protocol 3" reviewed by Dave Wayne

by Dave Wayne
June 4, 2015

A professional musician from the age of 12, Simon Phillips' drumming sound and style is instantly recognizable. He's toured and recorded with just about every major rock and pop act imaginable; from Mick Jagger, The Who and Toto to Judas Priest, Mike Oldfield, and Joe Satriani. Also an uber-session player, he's recorded countless jazz, fusion and progressive rock sessions with lesser-known, highly-gifted artists such as Duncan Browne, Gary Boyle, Phil Manzanera, and Ray Russell. Lately, he's turned increasing attention to ...

Interview

Daniel Schnyder: The Anatomy of an Opera: Charlie Parker’s Yardbird Suite

by Victor L. Schermer
June 3, 2015

Saxophonist Charlie Parker revolutionized the world of music with his legendary approach to jazz. Unfortunately, his life was much too short and filled with tragedy. In 1955, Parker died at the age of 34 from excessive drug use. He died in the apartment of the Baroness Nica von Koenigswarter in New York City, but ironically his body remained unidentified in the morgue for days afterwards. The imaginary limbo state in which Parker has extra days to finish his life is ...

Film Review

The Time Capsule: Live At The Palace Of Arts Budapest

by Dan Bilawsky
June 3, 2015

Endre-eNerd The Time Capsule: Live at the Palace of Arts Budapest Hunnia Records & Film Production 2014 The Time Capsule is one incredibly detailed production. Drummer Endre Huszar--a.k.a. Endre-eNerd--spared no expense in capturing every aspect of this live performance that took place at the Joe Zawinul Memorial Day at the Palace of Arts Budapest. Three-hundred-and-sixty degree camera work, High Definition 3D video, and 5.1 Surround/Stereo Sound are all part of this impressive Blu-Ray release. ...

Album Review

Michael Kocour: Wherever You Go, There You Are

Read "Wherever You Go, There You Are" reviewed by David A. Orthmann

by David A. Orthmann
June 3, 2015

Wherever You Go, There You Are, Michael Kocour's energetic, deeply focused, imaginatively performed solo recital, is a patchwork of eight, twentieth-century jazz and popular songs, as well as two of the pianist's original compositions. On the one hand, Kocour is clearly cognizant of the original intent and the performance history of material ranging from “Con Alma," to “How About You?," to “An Affair To Remember," to “Evidence." On the other, Kocour's arrangements and improvisations are brimming with fresh ideas and ...