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.

The Big Question

Why don't more jazz venues present the music more in line with how people live today, rather than how they lived 60 years ago?

by Christopher Burnett
December 2, 2014

I have pondered for more than a decade as to why most jazz venues don't present the music contemporary to the lifestyles of most people today. Some do. Progressive examples of such venues that come immediately to mind include, Shapeshifter Lab in New York City and The Blue Whale in Los Angeles. But, the fact is that jazz is primarily a listening experience where an audience “participates" by following the dialog that is occurring musically on ...

Album Review

Peter Zak: The Disciple

Read "The Disciple" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
December 2, 2014

Peter Zak has put out one strong trio affair after another, yet his work is often overlooked. Maybe it's due to the fact that he hasn't settled on one lineup for an extended period of time, preferring to try out different combinations for his trio recordings; or maybe it's because he doesn't stray far from the straight-ahead path; or maybe it's simply dumb (bad) luck. Regardless of the root cause of said overlooking, it's a real shame that Zak doesn't ...

Live Review

Jazzdor Strasbourg 2014

by Henning Bolte
December 2, 2014

Jazzdor Strasbourg November 11-12, 2014 Jazzdor is a French festival with two annual editions. One is held in Strasbourg (France) in November and the other one in Berlin (Germany) in June. Both editions present a lot of bilateral or multilateral collaborations; an essential part of the festival's philosophy and policy. Strasbourg is the oldest, main edition spread out over two weeks in November, collaborating with the neighboring German city of Offenburg that also offers a stage ...

Live From New York

Matthew Shipp, Marc Ribot, Dorado Schmitt & Randy Weston

by Martin Longley
December 2, 2014

The Matthew Shipp Trio Dizzy's Club November 3, 2014 It's not often that a hero of New York's alternative downtown improvising scene ventures uptown to play a mainline jazz club. It's even more of a rarity for a Dizzy's set to consist of a single long piece. In fact, it's a virtual certainty that such a thing has never occurred before. Pianist Matthew Shipp seemed to find himself an entirely new audience on ...

Album Review

Trish Clowes: Pocket Compass

Read "Pocket Compass" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
December 2, 2014

On her debut album, Tangent (Basho Records, 2010), saxophonist Trish Clowes gathered together a large group of musicians and included a full orchestra on two tracks. For her impressive second album, And In The Night-time She Is There (Basho Records, 2012), she streamlined the line-up, adding just half a dozen guests to the core quintet but ensuring that the string players had the talent and opportunity to improvise. Pocket Compass is built once again around Clowes and her core group, ...

Album Review

Jim Manley: Funk Factory

Read "Funk Factory" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello

by Nicholas F. Mondello
December 2, 2014

When the great Renaissance sculptor and artist Michelangelo assumed the commission to create his giant, David, he knew he was working with a piece of marble that not only had significant taroli, i.e., imperfections, but also that had been abandoned by two prior artisans. While trumpeter Jim Manley's Funk Factory might not wind up in the likes of the Louvre, this latest artistic effort from the ace trumpeter, composer--and production--master is certainly worthy of the highest artistic acclaim. It's as ...

Album Review

Keith Jarrett/Charlie Haden/Paul Motian: Keith Jarrett/Charlie Haden/Paul Motian: Hamburg '72

Read "Keith Jarrett/Charlie Haden/Paul Motian: Hamburg '72" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
December 2, 2014

Early on in Keith Jarrett's relationship with ECM (the label had released the solo Facing You in 1971), the pianist was recording for three different labels and dabbling in multiple group formations including this trio. In retrospect it's almost unimaginable that a better triad could have existed in comparison to that of Hamburg '72. Jarrett--adding flute, soprano sax and a bit of percussion to his piano performance--bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Paul Motian were the quintessential combo, pulling on their ...

Album Review

Marc Ribot Trio: Live At The Village Vanguard

Read "Live At The Village Vanguard" reviewed by John Ephland

by John Ephland
December 1, 2014

Yours truly is truly ashamed to be reporting on this recording at such a late date. That said, Marc Ribot: Live At The Village Vanguard is the kind of recording that, if you weren't, makes you wish you were there. Yes, it's a Live at the V-squared, which may remind you of other now-celebrated recordings at that famous V-shaped cathouse. In this case, it's particularly notable because of three ingredients: the setting (already mentioned), the artists, and, number ...

Album Review

Erik Honoré: Heliographs

Read "Heliographs" reviewed by John Eyles

by John Eyles
December 1, 2014

Erik Honoré has such an impressive curriculum vitae that it is difficult to know where to begin... In association with his frequent collaborator Jan Bang, since 2005, he has been responsible for the annual ground-breaking Punkt Festival in Kristiansand, where all concerts are remixed live. Over the years, that feature of the festival has attracted such impressive names as Laurie Anderson, Gavin Bryars, Brian Eno, Jon Hassell and David Sylvian. As well as such an international cast, Honoré has been ...

Album Review

Hailu Mergia and The Walias: Tche Belew

Read "Tche Belew" reviewed by Jakob Baekgaard

by Jakob Baekgaard
December 1, 2014

There is a musical moment of great significance in Jim Jarmusch's road movie Broken Flowers. The main character, Don, is going on a journey and has received a cassette with music. When he puts the cassette into the tape deck, the strange, deep and funky sounds of Ethiopian master Mulatu Astatke emerge from the speakers. Music like this has fascinated many listeners and the acclaimed series Ethiopiques, which has reached 29 volumes, speaks about the demand for Ethiopian sounds.