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

Hafez Modirzadeh: In Convergence Liberation

Read "In Convergence Liberation" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
September 12, 2014

Is music truly a universal language? That's a question that's a bit complicated to answer. While music has the potential to be a universal language, and it remains a common platform of communication for so many, it hasn't really fulfilled that potential thus far. Regional accents and dialects still abound, isolating and separating listeners and performers into different cliques and communities. Every fully functioning human ear can certainly take everything in, regardless of what tunings, scales, and rhythmic structures are ...

Film Review

Charles Lloyd: Arrows Into Infinity

by Nenad Georgievski
September 12, 2014

Charles Lloyd Arrows Into Infinity ECM Records 2014 Undoubtedly deserving the title modern day saxophone titan Charles Lloyd has made one of the most important contributions to the art better known as contemporary or modern jazz. Widely recognized as one of the most timeless and significant musicians in the history of jazz, his melodic sensibilities, playing style and compositions have delighted listeners and have influenced generations of musicians. Easily one of the most ...

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Album Review

Stefano Leonardi / Stefano Pastor / Fridolin Blumer / Heinz Geisser: Conversations About Thomas Chapin

Read "Conversations About Thomas Chapin" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
September 12, 2014

This European quartet assembles to honor the late, New York City-based saxophonist Thomas Chapin who rose to prominence via numerous stints at the legendary Knitting Factory venue and a host of four and five star albums for Knitting Factory Records and other adventurous labels. Chapin's trio work with bassist Mario Pavone, drummer Michael Sarin and engagements with a cast of prominent denizens of Manhattan's downtown scene emanated in some of the most thrilling outside jazz during the 80s and 90s. ...

Film Review

Brownie Speaks: A Video Documentary: The Life, Music, and Legacy of Clifford Brown

by Victor L. Schermer
September 11, 2014

Brownie Speaks: A Video Documentary: The Life, Music, and Legacy of Clifford Brown Glanden Productions 2014 This thoroughly researched and fascinating documentary about legendary jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown reveals the full scope of the man and his music through extensive interviews, recordings, photos, and both new and archival film and video footage. It is the result of the labor and devotion of Don Glanden, pianist and Division Head of Graduate Jazz Studies at The University ...

Album Review

Peter Madsen: Elvis Never Left the Building

Read "Elvis Never Left the Building" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
September 11, 2014

The route through Graceland to a jazz concept album is a treacherous one. Popular music icons of varying styles--such as the Beatles and Joni Mitchell--have been transcribed with varying degrees of success. The more successful interpretations of The Crimson Jazz Trio benefited from their actual ties to King Crimson and outstanding musicianship. Now, pianist Peter Madsen's CIA Trio ventures into potentially contentious territory with Elvis Never Left the Building and pulls off a brilliantly executed coup. Madsen re-harmonizes ten Elvis ...

My Blue Note Obsession

Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers – Blue Note 1517

by Marc Davis
September 11, 2014

And now we reach the point in our program entitled, “What's The Point?" As in: You already know this album, you may already own this album, and yet here we are, discussing an album that's 59 years old and so widely synonymous with hard bop and Blue Note Records that it was featured on the promo page of All About Jazz's special magazine dedicated to All Things Blue Note. In other words, it's like trying to ...

Album Review

The Cookers: Time and Time Again

Read "Time and Time Again" reviewed by Troy Collins

by Troy Collins
September 11, 2014

Celebrating seven years together, Time and Time Again is the fourth release by The Cookers since the group's recording debut, Warriors (Jazz Legacy Productions, 2010). The band's all-star lineup, who first rose to prominence in the late '60s and early '70s, was initially formed by trumpet player David Weiss, who also serves as musical director. In addition to Weiss, the septet features the muscular frontline of trumpeter Eddie Henderson, tenor saxophonist Billy Harper and alto saxophonist Donald Harrison (replacing Craig ...

Album Review

Jason Adasiewicz's Sun Rooms: From the Region

Read "From the Region" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
September 11, 2014

An imagined overheard conversation in heaven between Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi goes something like this: “If only all music could swing this hard, there would be no need for war."Okay, maybe it wasn't MLK and Gandhi, but it could have been Horace Silver and Joey Ramone.In a trio format, Vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz picks up his mallets where Sonny Rollins set down his saxophone after recording the classic trio date A Night At The Village ...

Gnome Notes

Eric Zinman's Excellent European Adventures

by Chris Rich
September 11, 2014

Eric Zinman goes to Europe each year on his own dime for a varying array of shoe string gigs with people who mean a lot to him as colleagues. He usually works with Mario Rechtern and people from a community in Vienna that includes expatriate, Linda Sharrock. His most recent trip was especially gratifying as he is pleased to inform us. “For the first time Mario and I, with help from friends, were able to form ...

The Big Question

Can jazz become culturally relevant again? If so, how?

by Michael Ricci
September 10, 2014

Welcome to the debut of a provocative new column called “The Big Question," a regular feature that is designed to get you engaged and talking about the important issues facing jazz today. And we begin with a topic that has weighed on my mind for as long as this website has been in existence: “Can jazz become culturally relevant again? If so, how?" Please voice your personal thoughts on the subject by posting your comments below. All opinions ...