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

Paul Jones: Short History

Read "Short History" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
December 26, 2014

Saxophonist Paul Jones clearly brings a literary bent to his music. This, his debut album, is built largely around original material that takes inspiration from great written works like Jack Kerouac's On The Road (Viking Press, 1957), Charles Bukowski's Women (Black Sparrow Press, 1978), and Bill Bryson's A Short History Of Nearly Everything (Broadway Books, 2003). And while the music is strong enough to stand apart from said literary models, one of the most fascinating aspects of this album has ...

My Blue Note Obsession

Introducing Kenny Burrell – Blue Note 1525

by Marc Davis
December 26, 2014

Stymied again! I really like Kenny Burrell, and I really want this CD. It's a great record. You just can't buy it easily or cheaply, at least not on Blue Note. First, consider the record and the artist. Kenny Burrell is the quintessential cool jazz guitarist, whether leading his own group or playing with an organ trio. And here we have Burrell's very first album as a leader, Introducing Kenny Burrell, recorded in 1956 with a ...

Album Review

Timothy Daisy: October Music (Vol. 1) 7 Compositions For Duet

Read "October Music (Vol. 1) 7 Compositions For Duet" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
December 26, 2014

In 2001 drummer Tim Daisy replaced Tim Mulvenna in Vandermark 5. From that instant, his career has evolved first as a sideman to composer/saxophonist Ken Vandermark in V5, Bridge 61, Resonance Ensemble, The Frame Quartet, and more recently in Audio One and Made To Break. Next he distinguished himself with fellow Chicago musicians in Dave Rempis' Triage, Percussion Quartet and The Engines, Paul Giallorenzo's Trio, Dragons 1976, James Falzone's Klang, and Kyle Bruckmann's Wrack. As a drummer, like ...

Album Review

Arrival: Chegada 3

Read "Chegada 3" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
December 26, 2014

Led by internationally renowned drummer Russ Miller, The Arrival Trio is a modern jazz group from Los Angeles which currently focuses on music from the contemporary side of jazz. Miller's previous efforts included projects of jazz fusion and a concentration on various drum solo albums which, he has now decided to move away from in favor of a more listenable sound. In this regard, the group unveils the dynamic Chegada 3 ("Arrival" in Portuguese and to the third power meaning ...

Album Review

Outhead: Send This Sound To The King

Read "Send This Sound To The King" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
December 26, 2014

This San Francisco Bay-area unit propels a renegade New York downtown-ish vibe amid notions of punk jazz and the occasional flight towards the free zone. They also rock hard as guest guitarist Pete Galub inserts a serrated edge with his avant, jazz fusion vernacular. Nonetheless, they're young artists with big ideas. Besides the instrumentalists notable chops, it's the memorable compositions that segregate the band from many of its peers. Featuring guest vocalists who help proliferate a melodic Indie rock groove ...

Live Review

simakDialog at Shapeshifter Lab

by John Mark McGuire
December 26, 2014

simakDialog Shapeshifter Lab Brookyn, NYC November 10, 2014 The music of simakDialog represents a voyage of discovery: exploring new sonic landscapes through their ambitious, unpretentious but highly skilled approach to playing as individual musicians, and their corporate trust in one another's ability to grasp the subtle dynamics of a given moment and guide the music to its ultimate destination (wherever that may happen to be!). Despite my affection for their most exotic and ...

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Live Review

A Peter White Christmas at Yoshi's

by Walter Atkins
December 26, 2014

A Peter White Christmas featuring Rick Braun and Mindi Abair Yoshi's Oakland Oakland, CA December 18, 2014 A Peter White Christmas, featuring Rick Braun and Mindi Abair, was a great way to enjoy the holiday season. Both Yoshi's Oakland shows were sold out and the 8 pm show was jam-packed with folks ready for the guitarist's annual Christmas concert. The all-star group started playing Christmas classics, encouraging the audience to sing along ...

Rediscovery

John Scofield: Quiet

by John Kelman
December 26, 2014

John Scofield Quiet Verve Records 1996 Today's Rediscovery steps away from ECM for Quiet, an anomaly in John Scofield's career for his exclusive use of nylon-string guitar. Some gorgeous horn orchestrations, a crack trio with Steve Swallow and Bill Stewart, and a couple of guest appearances by Wayne Shorter make this a superb album well worth revisiting. So, what are your thoughts? Do you know this record, and if so, how do you ...

Album Review

Jack Mouse & Scott Robinson: Snakeheads & Ladybugs

Read "Snakeheads & Ladybugs" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
December 25, 2014

This may be a brand new release for 2015, but it's been thirty years in the making. Drummer Jack Mouse and man-of-many-horns Scott Robinson have been contemplating putting together an album of freely-improvised duets since the '80s, and now they've finally found the time and place to make it happen. Snakeheads & Ladybugs presents a dozen aural concoctions that mark these men as players with big ears and strong communicative skills. Mouse and Robinson relish the opportunity ...

Album Review

Tobias Grim: Brazil Lines

Read "Brazil Lines" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
December 25, 2014

Young Swedish-born guitarist Tobias Grim announces his debut album with Brazil Lines, a light Brazilian-styled vocal project featuring singer Karolina Vucidolac, one of Sweden's finest interpreters of the genre. Originally from Linkoping, Sweden, Grim began his musical career performing Rock and Funk music, moved to London for a while, encountered the blues and was introduced to the jazz idiom through jazz fusion. Along with bassist Magnus Bergstrom and drummer Anders Kjellberg--who form the Grim trio--the band and vocalist Vucidolac, have ...