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

Hank Marvin Gypsy Jazz: Django's Castle

Read "Django's Castle" reviewed by Tyran Grillo

by Tyran Grillo
December 11, 2014

The name Hank Marvin may not be as internationally well known as those he's influenced (Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Mark Knopfler, to name a few), but intimations of his characteristic vibrato have emanated from many a six-string since he first backed Cliff Richard with his band the Shadows in the late 1950s. Marvin has enjoyed continued success as a solo artist, most recently in the present trio with accordionist Nunzio Mondia and rhythm guitarist Gary Taylor. Mondia and Taylor ...

Album Review

Wil Blades: Field Notes

Read "Field Notes" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki

by Chris M. Slawecki
December 11, 2014

It's good to know that no matter how many things change around us, there's still nothing that kicks out the jams like a good old school B-3 organ, guitar and drum trio. Wil Blades provides an excellent case study in groove. Throughout the past fifteen years, this B-3 bombardier has worked with blues and jazz greats both old school and new, such as Joe Louis Walker, Idris Muhammad, Melvin Sparks, Karl Denson, Billy Martin (Medeski Martin & Wood), ...

From the Inside Out

What a Wonderful World (of Music)

by Chris M. Slawecki
December 10, 2014

Wil Blades Field Notes Royal Potato Family 2014 It's good to know that no matter how many things change around us, there's still nothing that kicks out the jams like a good old school B-3 organ, guitar and drum trio. Wil Blades provides an excellent case study in groove. Throughout the past fifteen years, this B-3 bombardier has worked with blues and jazz greats both old school and new, such as ...

Album Review

Akira Sakata, Giovanni Di Domenico, John Edwards, Steve Noble: Live at Cafe Oto

Read "Live at Cafe Oto" reviewed by John Eyles

by John Eyles
December 10, 2014

Recorded in concert at London's Cafe Oto in January 2014, this album features the kind of cosmopolitan ensemble in which the venue specialises. It brings together veteran Japanese reedsman Akira Sataka and Spanish pianist Giovanni Di Domenico with London's own John Edwards and Steve Noble. The latter pair have virtually become the house bassist and drummer at Cafe Oto, appearing with many visiting musicians, some of whom play at the venue for that very reason. It is no exaggeration to ...

Album Review

Kid Millions & Jim Sauter: Fountain

Read "Fountain" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
December 10, 2014

Fountain, the duo by Jim Sauter and Kid Millions, could easily be mistaken for the work of noise artist Merzbow and Hungarian drummer Balázs Pándi, Japanese guitarist Keiji Haino and Rashied Ali, or guitarist Ed Ricart and Chicago drummer Tim Daisy. Sauter of the infamous free jazz noise band Borbetomagus creates sound often mistaken for guitar feedback. The kind comparable to the above artists or an extended solo by the late Jimi Hendrix, but he does all this with an ...

Extended Analysis

Now's the time III: The best in contemporary jazz from France and [tax haven] Luxembourg

by John Ephland
December 10, 2014

Every. One. Of. These. Tracks. Is. A. Keeper. To be swept up in a fervor when listening to music (always an unexpected pleasure) and finding it next to impossible not to write about the experience--during as well as after--is the dream all music journalists crave and celebrate every time they find themselves returning to that zone. Indeed, and in case you didn't know, every one of the writers you read here at allboutjazz.com writes for free. Why? My guess is ...

Album Review

Joana Espadinha: Avesso

by Chris Mosey
December 10, 2014

Avesso is Portuguese for “inside out." It is also used unkindly to imply that someone is a mess. Singer/songwriter Joana Espadinha sees it differently. “For me avesso is vulnerability and truth. I see it as the moment after a storm or a war when everything is clear and you can find peace." She gazes earnestly from the cover of her debut album, blue eyes wide open, as if laying her very soul on the line. The title ...

Album Review

The Matthew Yeakley Group: Clean Numbers & Dirty Words

Read "Clean Numbers & Dirty Words" reviewed by Paul Naser

by Paul Naser
December 10, 2014

The electric guitar has a history of players with fierce energy, and L.A. based guitarist Matthew Yeakley fits right into this tradition. Having studied with jazz guitar legends Scott Henderson and Jimmy Wyble, Yeakley has a refreshing blend of modern influence and tradition; he also cut his teeth performing in blues clubs in his native San Diego, which might explain how he is so adept with both blues licks and bebop vernacular. His formidable debut as a leader, the double ...

Catching Up With

Catching up with Pamela Hetherington

by Pamela Hetherington
December 10, 2014

Meet Pamela Hetherington: Philadelphia native, jazz tap dancer, choreographer, dance educator; director of the tap and music collective Take It Away Dance. Instrument(s): Tap shoes, cajon, piano Teachers and/or influences? I grew up dancing with the best tap teachers in Philadelphia, including Rita Rue, Leon Evans, Delphine Mantz, LaVaughn Robinson and Robert F. Burden, Jr. I knew I wanted to be a musician when... I started studying jazz tap dance ...

Album Review

Sharel Cassity: Manhattan Romance

Read "Manhattan Romance" reviewed by Tom Pierce

by Tom Pierce
December 10, 2014

Since she relocated to New York City in 1999, the steadily building career of this Oklahoma native includes a Bachelor's from the New School and a Master's at Juilliard. Sharel Cassity studied under a number of renowned saxophonists and recorded two CDs. The second, Relentless (Jazz Legacy, 2009), received a 4-star review in Downbeat, whose Critics Poll has consistently cited her as a Rising Star on alto sax. Her career includes performances as a leader at well-known venues, as well ...