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

Alexander Hawkins: Alexander Hawkins Trio

Read "Alexander Hawkins Trio" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
April 11, 2015

Oxford, UK native Alexander Hawkins continues to chart a course that will inevitably place him in the creative category of pianist/composers of the caliber of Cecil Taylor and Andrew Hill. It is simply a matter of time before this is a young artist--who has an abundance of time--along with a distinctive, broad and progressive vision, comes to wider attention. In his relatively brief career to date, Hawkins has worked as a leader in nonet, ensemble, quartet and solo formats, now ...

Album Review

Mark Lomax Trio: Isis and Osiris

Read "Isis and Osiris" reviewed by Dave Wayne

by Dave Wayne
April 11, 2015

Record collectors and DJs are fond of the term “spiritual jazz." Like most colloquialisms, its meaning is nebulous and vague; more emotional than factual, more indicative of a feeling that the music projects, as opposed to a distinct lineage or coterie of musicians. For many, the term refers to jazz that incorporates African and Middle Eastern rhythmic and harmonic concepts, the application of abstruse philosophies such as Egyptology, overt displays of religious devotion (both Christian and non-Christian), and strong ties ...

Jazz Fiction

Now's the Time: Part 3-5

by Sean Murphy
April 10, 2015

Introduction The life and times of a minor jazz legend are recounted through his narrated memories. In this fictional treatment of jazz music in the mid-to-late 20th century, issues of race, creativity, addiction and, ultimately, redemption, are explored. With a title taken from the immortal Charlie Parker tune, “Now's The Time" is an extended meditation on the artistic life. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 He ...

Extended Analysis

Doug Webb: Triple Play

by David A. Orthmann
April 10, 2015

As tempting as it is to simply consign a blowing session label to Triple Play, a three tenor saxophone plus rhythm date led by Doug Webb, there's ample evidence that something more disciplined and structured is afoot. For one thing, eight of the disc's eleven tracks are under six minutes--in other words, there's not a lot of room for indulgence, excess, or one-upmanship of any kind. The material, including striking originals by the leader, Walt Weiskopf, and Joel Frahm, as ...

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Building a Jazz Library

Coleman Hawkins

by Henk de Boer
April 10, 2015

Although Adolphe Sax actually invented the saxophone, in the jazz world the title “Father of the Tenor Saxophone" became justly associated with Coleman Hawkins (1904-1969), not only an inventive jazz giant but also the founder of a whole dynasty of saxophone players. Before Hawkins, the saxophone (itself “born" in 1846) was mainly a favorite in marching bands and something of a novelty instrument in circus acts and vaudeville shows. Indeed, at age 16, Coleman started out with such a vaudeville ...

Album Review

Paolo Angeli: S'û

by Bruce Lindsay
April 10, 2015

S'û is the sound of a master musician. The master in question is Paolo Angeli, a virtuoso player of the prepared Sardinian guitar (an instrument he has developed over the past 20 years). Angeli has worked with musicians from many genres--including jazz players such as Pat Metheny, Hamid Drake, Evan Parker and Fred Frith--developing an ever-increasing catalog of music for this unique instrument. Angeli's 2014 live album with American percussionist Drake (Deghe, ReR Megacorp) was a powerful, rhythmical, ...

Album Review

Tesla Manaf: Tesla Manaf

Read "Tesla Manaf" reviewed by Dave Wayne

by Dave Wayne
April 10, 2015

The beneficiary of free-range musical knowledge gleaned from his father's record collection---one which included discs by the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Gentle Giant, Pat Metheny, and Soft Machine--guitarist / composer Tesla Manaf has subsequently developed a completely unique musical voice. Perhaps more importantly, he's a daring young fellow who's not afraid to take artistic chances. Classically-trained, he tired of that world's rigidity and embarked on a career in jazz and improvised music in 2007. While his compositions contain some truly startling echoes ...

Album Review

Tyshawn Sorey: Alloy

by John Ephland
April 10, 2015

Tyshawn Sorey's Alloy is, if nothing else, a wondrous reconfiguration of the so-called jazz piano trio. Some may quibble as to the nomenclature but drummer Sorey's four through-composed compositions are pure jazz expression, if what we mean by that term is melodic, harmonic and rhythmic improvisation within a larger context. That Sorey is yet another drummer who composes is no real surprise. The history is long in that department. What is novel, though, is the radically understated ways ...

Album Review

Tim Berne's Snakeoil: You’ve Been Watching Me

Read "You’ve Been Watching Me" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
April 10, 2015

In the course of his long and prolific career, alto saxophonist/composer Tim Berne has been more of a musical agitator than a mediator. While that's a positive characteristic of Berne's creative process, it is also a demanding one for all concerned. Berne's tenure with ECM, however, has been marked by a more pronounced move toward balancing restorative musical properties to juxtapose very complex structures. The result of Berne's continued growth is You've Been Watching Me, a high point of his ...

Album Review

Thom Douvan: All Over Again

Read "All Over Again" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
April 10, 2015

Hailing from Ann Arbor, MI, guitarist Thom Douvan launched his career in the 70s as an in-demand session artist for the Motown circuit, contributing to numerous hits by legends such as Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops and many icons of that era. In addition to funk and R&B, he's a skilled jazz guitarist. With Douvan's third solo release he delves into the contemporary jazz market space while employing well-known sidemen, bassist Trey Henry, keyboardist Mitchell Forman, bassist Jimmy Earl and ...