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

Blue Note's Golden Decade

by John Eyles
April 14, 2015

Blue Note! For many of us, the words alone are enough to send a tingle down the spine, conjuring up the indefinable magic of a golden age of jazz. What were the elements that made classic Blue Note records so special? The look? The feel? The sound? All of these and more. Alfred Lion's production? Francis Wolff's photography? Reid Miles design? Rudy Van Gelder's engineering? None of these alone is an essential element, but when all four come together you've ...

Album Review

Tom Tallitsch: All Together Now

Read "All Together Now" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
April 14, 2015

All Together Now--the sixth overall effort from tenor saxophonist Tom Tallitsch, and his third for the Posi-tone imprint--is a well-balanced musical affair built around a surefooted and wholly capable sextet. Tallitsch works with a rhythm section and two other horns here, creating smart and uncluttered settings that showcase the musicians without boxing them in. He works various stylistic angles into his compositions, touching on myriad moods in the process. There's a driving tune that vacillates between swing ...

Album Review

Barry Guy: Five Fizzles for Samuel Beckett

Read "Five Fizzles for Samuel Beckett" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
April 14, 2015

Not to be confused with Fizzles (Maya, 1993), which contains the first documented version of the titular work along with other pieces for solo bass, Five Fizzles for Samuel Beckett is a 14 minute limited edition EP which does what it says on the tin. Virtuoso British bassist Barry Guy has long drawn inspiration from other art forms, especially writings and visual works. Beckett wrote eight texts between 1960 and 1976, seven written in French (under the title Foirades which ...

Album Review

Geo Progulakis Trio: Good Start

Read "Good Start" reviewed by Paul Naser

by Paul Naser
April 14, 2015

New York based pianist Geo Progulakis is definitely a talent to look out for. Having graduated from the New School and studied with greats like Kevin Hays and Aaron Goldberg, he is now an active performer in New York's thriving music scene. Progulakis released his debut album Good Start with his trio- consisting of himself, bassist Luca Rosenfeld and drummer Zan Tetickovic- in 2014. The record explores many themes and shines a light on his compositional prowess, featuring ...

Album Review

Gino Sitson: VoiStrings

Read "VoiStrings" reviewed by James Nadal

by James Nadal
April 14, 2015

The categorization of “Jazz Vocal," which through time has come to cover an expanding field of wide ranging artists, might not be the appropriate tag to hang on Gino Sitson.VoiStrings is a showcase for Sitson's vocal extensions to take on another dimension as he explores in depth the art of singing as instrumentation. Accompanied by a tight ensemble that supplies a comfortable setting for Sitson to do his thing, he delivers a relaxed and assuring production, which not only demonstrates ...

Album Review

Atlas Maior: Palindrome

Read "Palindrome" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki

by Chris M. Slawecki
April 14, 2015

Open the package for Atlas Maior's debut CD and here's the first line you read: “Palindrome was completely improvised and recorded live with no overdubs." How you respond to these words will greatly shape how you respond to this music. A mainstay on the vibrant Austin (Texas) music scene since 2010, Atlas Maior boasts a truly unique sound, not only from the instruments they play but the way they play them. The core trio features Ted Carnat on ...

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Building a Jazz Library

Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?

by Nathan Holaway
April 14, 2015

This article was originally published in September 2005. Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans? The Big Easy. The Crescent City. N'awlins. Some adore it, some despise it. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans continues to be the testimonial travesty of the United States. With certain political officials claiming that New Orleans is “not worth rebuilding, I would have to strongly object. Anyone who has ever enjoyed a beignet with chicory ...

Bailey's Bundles

His Master’s Voice: Joanna Pascale & Thana Alexa

by C. Michael Bailey
April 13, 2015

“Ahab beckons from the side of the whale..." I have had the pleasure to work with a most benevolent Publisher in Michael Ricci for 20 years. His editorial hand has always been liberal and indulging. It is a very rare thing that he would ask me to listen to something that has been ringing his bell. So rare, that when it happens, my ears perk up and I stand at attention. Michael's taste has always been exceptional ...

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Building a Jazz Library

Modern Jazz Guitar

by AAJ Staff
April 13, 2015

Six strings, ten fingers, improvisation, and a sense of adventure: these are the tools required to play modern jazz guitar. While guitar greats like Wes Montgomery and Jim Hall laid the foundation for bop guitar, a whole new crop of musicians came of age starting in the late '60s. Modern jazz guitar, for lack of a better term, describes the new players who took the traditional forms and twisted them asunder. The new generation has absorbed swing, bop, ...

Live Review

Bobby Zankel’s Warriors of the Wonderful Sound with Rudresh Mahanthappa at Philadelphia Clef Club 2015

by Victor L. Schermer
April 13, 2015

Bobby Zankel's Warriors of the Wonderful Sound with Rudresh Mahanthappa Jazz Appreciation Month Ars Nova Workshop Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz Philadelphia, PA April 7, 2015 Bobby Zankel's Warriors of the Wonderful Sound have been delivering exciting shows featuring Zankel's and others' innovative compositions and arrangements for over fifteen years, and this was one of their most glowing and electrifying performances to date. This big band of some of the best and most ...