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.

Year in Review

John Kelman's Best Releases of 2014

by John Kelman
December 17, 2014

2014 was another challenging year, with a personal health matter that began in early summer (thankfully finally diagnosed, non-life threatening and now being treated, though still waiting for signs of improvement) slowing down both travel and the usual breakneck writing in a significant way. Since the rule of this list is that any titles on it must have been reviewed, there are many releases that deserved consideration but are exempt because there was insufficient time to review them.

Album Review

George Gee: Swing Makes You Happy!

Read "Swing Makes You Happy!" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
December 17, 2014

The George Gee Swing Orchestra swings in the manner of Gee's friend and mentor, Count Basie, albeit on a somewhat smaller scale (Gee's group numbers only eleven, and that includes vocalists Hilary Gardner and John Dokes). Even so, the Basie spirit is ever-present, and if Swing Makes You Happy, Gee's eighth album as leader (and first for Rondette Records) should put a smile on your face and a spring in your step. Thanks to resourceful charts by trombonist / music ...

Year in Review

Kurt Gottschalk's Top 12 for 2014

by Kurt Gottschalk
December 17, 2014

A dozen of my top picks and in no particular order. <br /><br />Dave Burrell & Steve Swell Turning Point No Business Neneh Cherry & FourTet Blank Project Smalltown Supersound Gato Libre Dudu Libra JazzWerkstatt Wien New Ensemble Sympathikus-Parasympathikus JazzWerkstatt Ju Sei and Utah Kawasaki U is for Utah ftarri / ...

Live Review

Penang Island Jazz Festival 2014

by Ian Patterson
December 16, 2014

Penang Island Jazz Festival Bayview Beach Resort Malaysia December 4-7, 2014 It was business as usual at the Penang Island Jazz Festival 2014, following the tenth anniversary celebrations of the previous year. That milestone was no small feat for Festival Director Paul Augustin, business partner Chin Choo Yeun and their loyal team, in a region where jazz of all stripes--with the notable exception of smooth jazz--occupies the bottom rung of the popular music ladder. ...

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Year in Review

C. Michael Bailey's Best Recordings of 2014

by C. Michael Bailey
December 16, 2014

This year turned out to be a watershed of jazz and beyond vocals, instrumental jazz and important reissues. It was a year of music that further opened my eyes and ears to music I had not previously valued or considered. How short-sighted of me. Beat Kaestli Collage (B&B Productions) Bob Dorough Eulalia (Self Produced) Kate McGarry and Keith Ganz Genevieve & Ferdinand -Live

Live Review

Barry Guy Blue Shroud Band in Krakow, Poland

by John Sharpe
December 16, 2014

Barry Guy Blue Shroud Band Alchemia Krakow, Poland November 18-22, 2014 Chapter Index The Blue Shroud Krakow Jazz Autumn Small Group Formations Day One Day Two Day Three Polish Musicians Post Script The Blue Shroud From the first notes the audience was spell bound. You could hear the proverbial pin ...

Album Review

Art Hirahara: Libations & Meditations

Read "Libations & Meditations" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
December 16, 2014

Pianist Art Hirahara's latest release on the Posi-Tone label is, as the title implies, music to drink in and think in. It's a collection of aural offerings tied to Hirahara's experiences coping with the loss of his father, but it's not a somber program. In fact, quite the opposite. The first three numbers--a brief, up-tempo display of pianistic agility ("With Two Ice Cubes"), a piece born with pulsation that travels to a joyous space ("Father's Song"), and a number that ...

Live Review

Soulive at Higher Ground, South Burlington, Vermont

by Doug Collette
December 16, 2014

Soulive Higher Ground Ballroom South Burlington, Vermont December 13, 2014 Strikingly reminiscent of the Lettuce show October 25 2014, Soulive's extended single set at Higher Ground this night took flight during a blazing solo by guitarist Eric Krasno. It wasn't the only such instance that occurred during the two-hours plus the trio occupied the stage--another cam shortly after when Krasno and keyboardist Neal Evans engaged in some extremely intense interplay--but it was evidence of how ...

Album Review

Richard Galliano: Sentimentale

Read "Sentimentale" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
December 16, 2014

Accordionist Richard Galliano is a true innovator of both the extemporized role of his instrument and of the fusion of French folk music with jazz. His breathtaking instrumental facility combined with a creative ingenuity makes his oeuvre, particularly the series of superb albums on Dreyfus Jazz, uniquely satisfying. In view of this, his release on the non-for-profit Resonance Label, Sentimentale is a bit of a letdown. A couple of Galliano compositions, and a few jazz, Bossa Nova and ...

Album Review

Dobet Gnahoré: Na Drê

by James Nadal
December 16, 2014

The oral tradition of the griots can be traced back to the 13th century in the vast West African Mande Empire of Mali, which included what is now the Ivory Coast. They are an essential cultural trait of the region, heralded as messengers of praise and visionaries of the future. Dobet Gnahoré, a native of the Ivory Coast, is a descendant of the griots and daughter of a master percussionist. She was trained and immersed in artistic rituals from an ...