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.

Live Review

Otis Brown III + Revive Big Band at Central Park Summerstage

by Ernest Barteldes
August 11, 2014

Otis Brown III + Revive Big Band Blue Note Records 75th Anniversary at Central Park Summerstage August 3, 2014 New York, NY On an evening dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Blue Note Records (now a subsidiary of Universal Music), drummer Otis Brown III began the proceedings by leading his quintet through hard-bopping original material, opening with “The Way to the Light," a rumba-based tune with a simple structure that became fodder ...

Album Review

Stefano Bollani: Joy in Spite of Everything

Read "Joy in Spite of Everything" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
August 11, 2014

Largely unacquainted as a unit, the quintet that formed around Italian pianist Stefano Bollani for Joy in Spite of Everything connects with the empathetic familiarity of a long-standing group. The leader--a professional pianist since the age of fifteen--has crossed over most every genre from classical to avant-garde and with equal proficiency. While his early encounters with fellow Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava set him a course for jazz, he has sharpened those skills in the diverse company of saxophonists Gato Barbieri ...

Album Review

Bugge Wesseltoft: OK World

by John Kelman
August 11, 2014

There are artists who find their niche and then spend the rest of their careers carefully honing that one thing--often to great effect and, in some lucky cases, great success. Then there's Bugge Wesseltoft. Since emerging in the mid-'90s with his techno/house/electronica-driven New Conception of Jazz series--which didn't just establish him in his native Norway but, with guest appearances from artists like John Scofield and Dhafer Youssef, abroad as well--the keyboardist/producer/Jazzland Recordings label head has shaped a career defined by ...

Album Review

Gato Libre: DuDu

by John Sharpe
August 11, 2014

The fifth album by Gato Libre, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura's acoustic quartet, is the first since the sudden death of bassist Norikatsu Koreyasu in 2011. Having thought long and hard about whether to continue, Tamura recruited trombonist Yasuko Kaneko as a replacement. While the European folk music inspiration of previous outings like Shiro (Libra Records, 2009) and Forever (Libra Records, 2012) remains intact, the change has engendered more the feel of a chamber outfit, albeit one at times crossed with a ...

Album Review

Diane Monroe/Tony Miceli: Alone Together

Read "Alone Together" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
August 11, 2014

Violinist Diane Monroe and vibraphonist Tony Miceli have been working together in various contexts for about three decades, but that doesn't mean they had instant comfort with the idea of working as a duo. When they first visited the idea in 2009, both Monroe and Miceli were a bit apprehensive. Regardless, they decided to move past their fears and move forward with the partnership. They spent time honing their sound together, finally presenting that sound to the public via live ...

Album Review

Jamie Dubberly & Orquesta Dharma: La Clave Del Gumbo

Read "La Clave Del Gumbo" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
August 10, 2014

Many performances come and go without fanfare for the musician(s), but a rare few are transformative, reshaping the artist's perspective and direction. California-based trombonist Jamie Dubberly had one such experience when his Latin jazz group shared a bill with a New Orleans-style brass band. Dubberly decided to bring both ensembles together to close the show, putting together an arrangement of his own “Soul Provider" that married the sounds of Cuba and NOLA. The concept for this album was born right ...

Album Review

Matt Lavelle and John Pietaro: Harmolodic Monk

Read "Harmolodic Monk" reviewed by Florence Wetzel

by Florence Wetzel
August 10, 2014

In multi-instrumentalist Matt Lavelle's insightful blog, “That Fat Eb Feels Mahogany to Me," he discusses a challenge shared by many jazz musicians: “With people doing more and more repertoire projects to get work and for sheer love of that artist, I have been thinking about ways to explore the relationships between the kings without doing a straight cop. Playing obscure tunes is one thing, but there must be a way to look at their work from a new perspective."

Live Review

Copenhagen Jazz Festival 2014

by Henning Bolte
August 10, 2014

Copenhagen Jazz Festival Copenhagen July, 8-10, 2014 The ten-day Copenhagen Jazz Festival, with its 1,200 concerts, is maybe the largest of its kind in Europe. This number of concerts is the consequence of a unique concept. The core of the festival, with some international headliners, is a relatively small scale affair but there is a huge, still growing amount of associated venues (this year, 14 more) doing their own programming. All are coordinated and ...

Extended Analysis

Margie Baker Sings with So Many Stars

by Chris M. Slawecki
August 10, 2014

Margie Baker didn't begin her career as a jazz and blues vocalist in the San Francisco area until she was nearly 40, but she made up for this delayed entry with endurance: She was often featured at the Monterey Jazz Festival and as in Festival road shows led by Richie Cole and the legendary James Moody (for whom Baker penned “Mood for Mr. Moody"). Baker also became one of Dizzy Gillespie's favorite vocalists and sat in with his band whenever ...

Album Review

Dylan Ryan / Sand: Circa

by Robert Bush
August 10, 2014

Circa is the second effort from drummer Dylan Ryan's trio Sand, featuring guitarist Timothy Young and bassist Devin Hoff, extending the concepts established on the 2012 release, Bleached Sky. If you've ever pondered what Crazy Horse or Robin Trower might sound like with an acoustic bassist and a dynamically sensitive drummer, Circa provides an answer. The Nels Cline Singers are another obvious reference, although Young is a much different guitarist. Young comes ...