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

Bobby Avey: Authority Melts From Me

Read "Authority Melts From Me" reviewed by Dave Wayne

by Dave Wayne
October 26, 2014

It's no mean feat for a creative artist to translate historical events--much less those marred by centuries of slavery, political struggles, foreign occupation (most notably by the US) and the endless oppression of a chronically poor underclass wracked by disease--into a cogent, coherent musical statement. Recent events on the island nation of Haiti have included a devastating earthquake and an ensuing cholera epidemic. Yet the nation and its people persevere. How does all of this translate into music?

Live Review

Blue Öyster Cult at The Space at Westbury

by Mike Perciaccante
October 26, 2014

Blue Öyster Cult The Space at Westbury Westbury, NY October 18, 2014 In its over 40 years of existence Blue Öyster Cult has sold multiple millions of albums worldwide. The group came from humble beginnings. It was formed in 1967 at Stony Brook University on Long Island. The band was originally called Soft White Underbelly and was comprised of guitarist Donald “Buck Dharma" Roeser, drummer Albert Bouchard, keyboardist Allen Lanier, singer Les ...

Album Review

The WHO Trio: The WHO Zoo

Read "The WHO Zoo" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
October 26, 2014

American drummer/percussionist Gerry Hemingway has made his home in Switzerland since 2009. Besides his teaching and solo performances, currently, his most accomplished working band is The WHO Trio. 'WHO' stands for Wintsch/Hemingway/Oester. It's Hemingway's unconventional piano trio with Swiss partners pianist Michel Wintsch and bassist Bänz Oester.The WHO Zoo is their fifth release, beginning with Choucas (Leo, 1999) through Less Is More (Clean Feed, 2010). Each disc has been a revelation and affirmation of this trio's like-mindedness.

Live Review

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Allen Toussaint in Lansdale, PA

by Wade Luquet
October 26, 2014

Preservation Hall and Allen Toussaint The Oh Yeah! Tour Lansdale Community Concerts Lansdale, PA October 18, 2014 The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is on the roll again, and this time they have company. The venerable fifty year old band is on a thirty-eight city tour sharing the spotlight with the legendary Allen Toussaint who lights up the stage with his colorful suits and his even more colorful performance of some ...

Interview

Koichi Makigami Presents His Unique Musical Vision In The Stone

by Eyal Hareuveni
October 26, 2014

At the end of October, Japanese vocal artist extraordinaire Koichi Makigami celebrates his unique, eclectic and often eccentric art during a week long residence at The Stone club in New York. Makigami will play with old comrades and some newer, like-minded musicians in a rare opportunity to present his band Hikashu in a different setting. In this interview Makigami speaks about the upcoming residence, Hikashu, his ongoing affiliation with John Zorn, founder of The Stone and the ...

Album Review

SPOKE: (r)anthems

Read "(r)anthems" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
October 25, 2014

According to the members of SPOKE, this album--the band's third to date--"is both musical rant and anthem." So what does that mean? Well, it means that there's an intentional balancing act between the raw and refined, the focused and the untamed, and the grand and rowdy. Nothing ever goes off the rails and nothing is ever too sedate or bland, as the members of SPOKE continually switch gears and change hats. There's also enough stylistic diversity at play--pop, bop, spicy ...

Album Review

Eyeshutight: Resonance

Read "Resonance" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
October 25, 2014

Eyeshutight is a piano trio, formed in 2010 in the UK city of Leeds. Resonance is the trio's third release, an album that impresses even in the crowded and competitive world of the jazz piano trio, with a mix of lyrical sweetness, hard grooves and catchy rhythms.Officially, the band name is pronounced Eyes Shut Tight--Isha Tite seems more appropriate, but apparently the band did originally call itself Eyes Shut Tight before conflating the words into something more concise, ...

Live Review

The Kooks At the Paramount

by Mike Perciaccante
October 25, 2014

The Kooks The Paramount Huntington, NY October 9, 2014 Formed in 2004 in Brighton, East Sussex, in 2004, the Kooks are: Luke Pritchard on vocals and guitar, guitarist Hugh Harris, bassist Pete Denton and drummer Alexis Nunez. Its swirling jangle-pop music is very much influenced by the bands of the British Invasion as well as by the music of the Clash, Madness, David Bowie, Beck, the Strokes and the Libertines. Following yeoman-like sets ...

Live Review

Metropolitan Gospel Big Band at Restoration Temple

by Ernest Barteldes
October 25, 2014

Metropolitan Gospel Big Band Temple of Restoration October 18, 2014 Brooklyn, NY On the CD release event for their debut album Leaning On The Everlasting Arms (Self-Produced, 2014), the sixteen-piece band led by tenor saxophonist Duke Guillaume kicked off the set with George Bennard's classic hymn “The Old Rugged Cross," played with a blues-inflected, mid-tempo feel. The bandleader was the first to take a solo, improvising fluently with long notes. The ensemble ...

Album Review

Fabian Almazan: Rhizome

Read "Rhizome" reviewed by Mark F. Turner

by Mark F. Turner
October 25, 2014

Pianist Fabian Almazan may have initially been recognized for his prodigious skills as a member of Terence Blanchard's ensemble but his debut Personalities(Biophilia Records, 2011) unveiled not only the depth he possesses as a musician but also something Blanchard realized in many of his own recordings--Almazan's forte as a composer. This should not come as a surprise since the young New York based rising star is involved not only in jazz but also filming scoring projects which included a Sundance ...