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.

Multiple Reviews

Introducing the Polish Label For Tune

by Eyal Hareuveni
June 22, 2014

The polish For Tune label was founded in 2013 and has already managed to release 30 albums that feature some of the lesser known yet intriguing Polish outfits. The three outfits presented below all feature a fresh, unconventional perspective on the jazz idiom, its legacy and its inclusive current and future sonic language. The label succeeded in attracting acclaimed musicians from the other side of the Atlantic who released live albums, including double bassist William Parker Quartet, Mary Halvorson Trio ...

Live Review

Nils Petter Molvaer in Benrath Forest

by Adriana Carcu
June 22, 2014

Nils Petter Molvær: Lucid DreamBenrath Forest Duesseldorf, GermanyMay 31, 2014 Nils Petter Molvær's ambient sound and light installation, Lucid Dream, was performed in Germany on the last night of May, 2014. The floating dreaminess of the music was enhanced by sound designer Jørgen Larsson and lighting/video artist Pekka Stokke. Molvær has elaborated the concept of the performance together with Beate Schüler, who was also the curator of the event. The performance, sounding the elusive territory ...

Extended Analysis

Mehmet Sanlikol: What's Next?

by Jack Bowers
June 22, 2014

After listing the personnel (which varies on every track) for Turkish-born composer Mehmet Ali Sanlikol's new CD, What's Next?, there's scarcely room for a review. Well, perhaps a small one, starting with the fact that Sanlikol, a graduate of the Berklee School of Music and New England Conservatory, first studied classical piano with his mother, Fethiye Sanlikol, and by age five was presenting public recitals in his homeland. After further studies, with Turkish composer / jazz pianist Aydin Esen (to ...

Album Review

Dexter Gordon: Soy Califa: Live From Magleaas Højskole 1967

Read "Soy Califa: Live From Magleaas Højskole 1967" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
June 21, 2014

Tenor saxophone legend Dexter Gordon lived for much of the '60s and '70s in Copenhagen. Popular with the media as well as with the fans, Gordon was a regular on radio and TV. On the afternoon of August 5, 1967, he played a special concert at the Magleaas Højskole, a college for aspiring musicians. Danish TV recorded the event and a mere 47 years later three of the tunes are available on high-quality vinyl (plus a download code), courtesy of ...

Album Review

Ketil Bjornstad: Ketil Bjornstad: Sunrise (A cantata on texts by Edvard Munch)

Read "Ketil Bjornstad: Sunrise (A cantata on texts by Edvard Munch)" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
June 21, 2014

For a country with such a small population, Norway has much to be proud of when it comes to the arts...and not just music, though it remains a country whose support has certainly resulted in a disproportionate number of creative musicians across the broadest musical spectrum. Looking at the violin and its variants alone, there is the traditional Hardanger fiddle work of Nils Okland, already known to fans of the ECM label for albums including Lysoen: Hommage a Ole Bull ...

Live Review

Peter Murphy at Irving Plaza in New York City

by Christine Connallon
June 21, 2014

Peter Murphy Irving Plaza New York City June 9, 2014 The first night of a world tour in support of a new release carries with it electricity in the air that is palpable to the audience, crackling like feedback pouring out of speakers. This was certainly the case at the iconic Irving Plaza in New York City on a late spring night as fans spilled over the sidewalk, waiting for the doors to open. The ...

Album Review

Joe Sullivan: Whisky Jack Waltz

Read "Whisky Jack Waltz" reviewed by Geannine Reid

by Geannine Reid
June 21, 2014

Trumpeter, composer, arranger and educator Joe Sullivan grew up in a large Franco-Ontarian family in the Northern Ontario town of Timmins. As a youth, music was a part of daily life. Sullivan began his formal training on piano and at the age of fifteen he also started playing the trumpet. In his formative years, Sullivan led an active musical life that included performances in classical piano competitions, rock bands and high school concert and stage bands. Sullivan received a Bachelor ...

Album Review

Darryl Way: Children Of The Cosmos

Read "Children Of The Cosmos" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
June 21, 2014

Curved Air was a pivotal progressive rock band during its launch in the late 60s and is still going strong, featuring the inimitable vocals of original member, Sonja Kristina. While not part of the current lineup of Curved Air, classically trained founding member, violinist and multi-instrumentalist Darryl Way became a guiding light and pacesetter, as Children of the Cosmos offers a modern uplift to the days of yore. Accordingly, he fuses majestic storylines and hummable melodies with electronics-centric soundscapes via ...

Live Review

Burlington Discover Jazz Festival 2014

by Doug Collette
June 21, 2014

Burlington Vermont Discover Jazz Festival 2014Burlington, Vermont May 30-June 8, 2014 During Burlington Vermont's Discover Jazz Festival, Vermont's Queen City teems with a level of excitement and activity unusual even for its ceaselessly vibrant environs. And while the Mainstage of the Flynn Performing Arts Center functions as the center of that universe, it is often the case that those performances at the intimate FlynnSpace downstairs, as well as other venues around the city, imbed the most ...

The Doorman's Diary

Being Avant Garde: How to Pull Off the Creative Life

by Jeff Winke
June 21, 2014

Some appear to live the creative life effortlessly. Everything appears to contribute and help define an aesthetic that reflects a life lived as art. Everything is simple, beautiful, and just right for the moment. The cover from an unwanted fashion catalog gets absentmindedly folded into a square before being tossed into the recycling bin. But the folded square becomes a coaster for a freshly mixed mojito randomly poured into a Mason jar topped by a fresh sprig of ...