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

Terje Isungset / Arve Henriksen: World of Glass

Read "World of Glass" reviewed by Eyal Hareuveni

by Eyal Hareuveni
March 2, 2015

Norwegian percussionist Terje Isungset and trumpeter Arve Henriksen seem to have enjoyed careers predicated on the continuous, never-ending search for new sounds. Isungset has incorporated, into his arsenal of percussive instruments, some that are made of natural elements including wooden trunks and branches, stones--and, in recent years, ad-hoc instruments made of ice from different locations around the globe. Henriksen, a close Isungset collaborator who has performed on ice trumpet, has expanded the sonic language of the trumpet in a manner ...

Album Review

Alex Norris Organ Quartet: Extension Deadline

Read "Extension Deadline" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
March 2, 2015

Extension Deadline isn't the first organ-based date that trumpeter Alex Norris put together. It is, however, the first one to see the light of day. In the liner notes for this satisfying quartet outing, Norris notes that he recorded an organ-centric record in the '90s, but that record was shelved. So it is with great satisfaction that he sees this record to its release on the BJU Records imprint. While Norris has been a fixture on the ...

The Big Question

If Coltrane emerged today, would he receive recognition and appreciation?

by Maxim Micheliov
March 1, 2015

A while ago I had a chat with Vytautas Labutis, an influential Lithuanian saxophonist, educator and, at the time, curator of Vilnius Mama Jazz Festival. He said: “The list of players with top skills is almost endless. Today we have kids who can do amazing things on their instruments, but the world is waiting for a new Coltrane." This phrase set my mind to thinking about this nearly religious aspect of contemporary jazz reality. If He arrives, how will we ...

Album Review

Lucas Pino: No Net Nonet

Read "No Net Nonet" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
March 1, 2015

So there is hope after all. With so much jazz these days soaring into realms that are often uncharted and at times unfathomable, it is a pleasure to hear groups such as tenor saxophonist Lucas Pino's No Net Nonet, which are remarkably creative even as they adhere to the basic precepts of melody, harmony and rhythm. Pino's new album, apparently the first under his own name, is awash in likable tunes (seven written by Pino), performed with dexterity and assurance ...

Album Review

Matt Pavolka: The Horns Band

Read "The Horns Band" reviewed by Dave Wayne

by Dave Wayne
March 1, 2015

I played Matt Pavolka's The Horns Band for a friend who immediately noticed that the very impressive list of acknowledgements contained more nods to literary and intellectual heavyweights such as Jose Saramago, Cormac McCarthy and Soren Kierkegaard than to musicians (the band members and Guillermo Klein). Perhaps Pavolka's intent was to show that he's interested in things besides music. Or maybe these literary companions were just as important to the development of his multi- faceted modern jazz compositions as the ...

Album Review

Mark Helias - Tony Malaby - Tom Rainey: The Signal Maker

Read "The Signal Maker" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
March 1, 2015

Celebrated bassist Mark Helias brings his all-star Open Loose trio back to the studio where compositions are reimagined, and heavy doses of improvisation are devised with a whole lot of cunningness. With these 13 pieces, the band infuses changeable and buoyantly rendered grooves, ideas, and detours, highlighted by the respective musicians' signature styles and striking intuitiveness. It's a manifold program that projects a sense of adventure via off-kilter deviations, gobs of counterpoint and a flock of shrewdly conceptualized twists and ...

New York Beat

Jazz at Lincoln Center: The Search for Original African Music

by Nick Catalano
March 1, 2015

Although jazz emerged as an art form around the turn of the Twentieth century in the southern United States, its roots extend backward over several centuries. The music largely developed from a synthesis of many African and European forms that was achieved through the institution of slavery. Blacks were captured or purchased from specific “factory" areas in West Africa--the Portuguese took from Senegal and transported to Brazil, the English plundered the Ashantis of the Gold Coast and sold them in ...

Album Review

Shawn Maxwell: Shawn Maxwell's Alliance

Read "Shawn Maxwell's Alliance" reviewed by Ben Scholz

by Ben Scholz
March 1, 2015

Fronted by an already well-established Chicago area saxophonist, the Shawn Maxwell Alliance expands the concept of what a mixed ensemble can accomplish in the jazz realm. This debut album features a sprawling list of modern jazz composers and leaders including another Chicago saxophonist, Chris Greene, vocalist Keri Johnsrud, vibraphonist Stephen Lynerd, and bassist Stacy McMichael. The group is augmented with a collection of featured players including guitarist Mitch Corso, double bassist Marc Piane, drummer Paul Townsend and Rachel Maxwell and ...

Interview

Ted Gioia Talks "Love Songs: The Hidden History"

by S.G Provizer
March 1, 2015

Ted Gioia is a prolific writer and a good one. Readers probably know him through his books and articles about jazz, but Mr. Gioia is a polymath and writes on a wide range of subjects. In this interview, he talks about his recently released book, Love Songs: The Hidden History. I'm confident that what he says will inspire many of you to pick up a copy of this fascinating book. All About Jazz: In your introduction, ...

Album Review

Brian Simpson: Out of A Dream

Read "Out of A Dream" reviewed by Jeff Winbush

by Jeff Winbush
March 1, 2015

Some records not only desire your attention, they demand it. Think of Miles or Trane or Mingus and think of just puttering around the house as the music plays. It can't be done. The grandmasters of jazz made music that required it be heard and not merely listened to. Out of A Dream is not one of those records. In fact, it really would prefer if you went on with doing laundry, peeling potatoes, or organizing your socks ...