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.

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Catching Up With

Ron Aprea's Tribute to John Lennon

by Nicholas F. Mondello
August 19, 2014

We recently caught up with saxophonist, composer/arranger and educator/clinician, Ron Aprea and spoke with him about recent activities and his current recording project--his personal John Lennon/Beatles tribute. All About Jazz: The last half of 2013 and the time so far in 2014 have been quite positive for you. Let me ask you first about Remembering Blakey. It received excellent reviews and media attention. Ron Aprea: We got off to a great start with that ...

Extended Analysis

Stefano Bollani: Joy in Spite of Everything

by John Kelman
August 19, 2014

Anyone who's had the pleasure of watching pianist Stefano Bollani in concert--whether it's in duo with fellow Italian, trumpter Enrico Rava, at the 2009 TD Ottawa Jazz Festival; in the trumpeter's New York Days quintet at the ECM 40th Anniversary celebration, part of the 2010 Enjoy Jazz Festival; or in one of his own various contexts (solo, trio, large ensemble)--knows that, above all, joy is fundamental to the music he makes. Sometimes it's blatantly obvious, as on his 2013 duo ...

Album Review

Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey: Millions: Live in Denver

Read "Millions: Live in Denver" reviewed by Dave Wayne

by Dave Wayne
August 19, 2014

Long associated, for better or worse, with the so-called jam band phenomenon of the mid-to-late 1990s, the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey continues to generate intelligent, daring, genre-defying music. JFJO's first live recording in a decade or so, Millions: Live In Denver, is part celebration of their 20th year of existence and part revelry in their new sound: a pared-down lineup of keys, drums and guitar. The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based brainchild of keyboardist and composer Brian Haas, JFJO has gone through a ...

Album Review

Gianni Mimmo & Alison Blunt: Lasting Ephemerals

Read "Lasting Ephemerals" reviewed by Dave Wayne

by Dave Wayne
August 19, 2014

To say that someone is a virtuoso on their instrument isn't a statement just about playing ability. Virtuosity implies a deep level of understanding and insight into the way an instrument works, its history, and its sonic capabilities. This knowledge extends to an understanding of the physics of sound production: the minute details of how the sound is generated, how it is altered tonally, timbrally, and otherwise, where the overtones lie and how they can be manipulated, how environmental factors ...

Album Review

Hafez Modirzadeh: In Convergence Liberation

Read "In Convergence Liberation" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
August 19, 2014

Multi-instrumentalist, composer and ethnomusicologist Hafez Modirzadeh's In Convergence Liberation on the intrepid Pi Recordings label is an ambitious work, and one at which he admirably succeeds. The album is a single, unified entity made up of five distinct but interlaced suites that explore a primal spirituality and express it in timeless poetry. Deftly merging Iberian song, eastern (primarily Persian) and western classical heritages and a hefty dose of improvisation Modirzadeh creates a contemplative transcultural musical epic. As he ...

Album Review

The Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman: Fountain of Youth

Read "Fountain of Youth" reviewed by Jeff Winbush

by Jeff Winbush
August 19, 2014

If Fountain of Youth isn't the zenith of The Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman it is difficult to imagine what would be. You can't get much more Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman than a Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman album featuring only Russ Freeman. It's a Russ Freeman solo album brilliantly disguised as a Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman album. There is no one with the surname of “Rippington" in The Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman and there never has been. That's the ...

Interview

Jason Lindner: Beyond the Solo

by Franz A. Matzner
August 18, 2014

Jason Linder has been at the center of modern jazz's evolution for nearly two decades. His distinctive and flexible piano and synthesizer sound have placed him in a bewildering array of musical contexts and whether it's accompanying Anat Cohen, collaborating with Dafnis Prieto, or challenging the very edges of contemporary jazz--edges he has helped carve--Lindner consistently presents incisive musical forays that manipulate rhythm and sonic texture as much as they do melody and harmony. Equally articulate away from ...

My Blue Note Obsession

Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk Quintet

by Marc Davis
August 18, 2014

And now, a crossroads: At what price do I pass? It's the dilemma all collectors face eventually. At first, you buy the commons. A used CD at $4 is a no-brainer. A new CD at $10 or $12, easy to justify. But what do you do when the easies are gone and the price makes you think twice? I've reached that point. My mission is to collect all the Blue Note CDs in the classic 1500 ...

Album Review

Steve Lehman Octet: Mise en Abîme

Read "Mise en Abîme" reviewed by Martin Longley

by Martin Longley
August 18, 2014

It's been five years since Steve Lehman's last Octet album, so we're now voracious for more expanded material. Right at the start, his alto saxophone is briefly alone, and then the entire ensemble weighs in, earthy yet finely controlled. Chris Dingman's customised vibraphone is absolutely central to the sound of these Lehman originals, most of which are notably brief and pointed in their attack. At a mere 40 minutes, this is a very succinct jazz album, in the old-time way. ...

Album Review

Wil Blades: Field Notes

Read "Field Notes" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
August 18, 2014

Keyboardist Wil Blades earned his pedigree playing with guitarist Will Bernard and percussionist Billy Martin and now ratchets up his leadership skills fronting a trio including guitarist Jeff Parker and drummer Simon Lott. Concentrating on Hammond B3 organ (using clavinet to leaven the textured sound of the group), Blades proves he has absorbed the lessons from masters of the hallowed instrument such as Jimmy Smith and happily carries them into the future. He the alternately fluid but funky ...