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

Max Johnson Trio: The Invisible Trio

Read "The Invisible Trio" reviewed by Eyal Hareuveni

by Eyal Hareuveni
March 8, 2014

The sophomore release of New York-based Max Johnson Trio, after Elevated Vegetation (FMR 2012), finds this highly versatile acoustic trio focusing more on written compositions and less on free improvisation. The trio--Johnson on double bass, prolific Kirk Knuffke on cornet and Ziv Ravitz on the drums--enjoys stretching Johnson's compositions in surprising ways. Knuffke expands, disintegrates and re- structures Johnson's harmonic ideas in an expressive and imaginative manner, adapting himself to the shifting pulse of resourceful Ravitz ...

Album Review

Daan Kleijn: Trio

by David Bittinger
March 8, 2014

If in the past you'd asked me about jazz guitar, a few words might have been offered about Wes Montgomery, and a few more about a beloved Jazz 'Round Midnight reissue of one of the great records that Django Reinhardt cut with violinist Stéphane Grappelli. A vague opinion might then have been tossed off that is admittedly weak: that jazz as a musical form is about as problematic for guitar (even well-played) as it is for electric organ.

Album Review

Chicago Underground Duo: Locus

by Troy Collins
March 7, 2014

For over 17 years Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor have collaborated as the Chicago Underground Duo, a long-running partnership that has served as the core foundation for larger configurations of the group, including Trio, Quartet and Orchestra. The expansive nature of the ensemble's fluctuating personnel and the subsequent diversity of music produced has been a direct reflection of the founding members' varied interests and ensuing career paths.Mazurek's reputation as a bold electro-acoustic sound sculptor is well established, but ...

Album Review

Frank Wess: Magic 201

Read "Magic 201" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
March 7, 2014

The cover of the late Frank Wess' final album, Magic 201, closely resembles that of its predecessor, Magic 101--so much so that a reviewer who didn't look closely enough might assume he'd been sent a second copy of the earlier album by mistake. (Oops!) Wess recorded Magic 201 in September 2011, two months after Magic 101 and less than four months before his ninetieth birthday. The format is roughly the same--emphasis on ballads and medium-tempo blues, Wess relying heavily on ...

Extended Analysis

Dontae Winslow & Winslow Dynasty: Enter The Dynasty

by Dave Wayne
March 7, 2014

It seems that one need only bat an eyelash to miss out on some of the heavy young musicians that are coming down the pike, let alone the ones who've become pretty well-established. A case in point is a young trumpeter / producer / rapper / educator Dontae Winslow. Though he appeared on recordings by Hugh Ragin's Trumpet Ensemble (Fanfare and Fiesta, Justin Time, 2001) and Roy Hargrove & the RH Factor (Hard Groove, Verve Records, 2003) over a decade ...

Extended Analysis

Ikarus: Through birds, through fire, but not through glass

by Geannine Reid
March 7, 2014

Film music without a film is the theme for the Swiss quintet calling themselves Ikarus. Their debut EP is entitled Through birds, through fire, but not through glass, named after Yves Tanguy's painting. In Tanguy's surreal otherworldly landscape, with an ultra- realistic depiction of the unreal by employing a deliberate, precise method of painting, the painter evokes a scene from a dream state to compel the viewer to search for a deeper meaning or truth in the artwork and furthermore, ...

Album Review

Samo Salamon & The Slovene Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra: Free Strings: Orchestrology

Read "Free Strings: Orchestrology" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
March 7, 2014

Slovenian guitarist Samo Salamon is not content to rest on his laurels or enviable chops. His two-CD set, Stretching Out (Sazas, 2013), was a fierce progressive jazz and improvisational implosion featuring his work with US and European quartets. Free Strings: Orchestrology signifies a 360-degree turnaround with a core trio and collaboration with the Slovene Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra, highlighting Janez Podlesek's solo violin passages. Salamon's thirst for exploring variable forms of artistic expression is a multifaceted exposition, combining third stream ...

Album Review

Scott Feiner & Pandeiro Jazz: A View From Below

Read "A View From Below" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
March 7, 2014

New York City-based jazz musician Scott Feiner's fourth recording as a leader draws attention to his unique artistry as a pandeiro player, which is a hand drum he discovered during his first trip to Brazil in 1999. As an educator, he's spread the good word with presentations and workshops across the globe. Interestingly enough, Feiner's percussive aplomb is almost beyond belief, especially when considering what he accomplishes on one relatively small drum. You can almost hear the fusion of a ...

Album Review

Ich Bin N!ntendo: Look

by Eyal Hareuveni
March 7, 2014

A year has passed since Norwegian punk-jazz trio Ich Bin N!ntendo released its debut release with Swedish sax titan Mats Gustafsson and fortunately little has changed in its uncompromising, raw approach. The worries that the Nintendo corporation might sue the trio evaporated and its members gathered experience in less tougher and noisier outfits--guitarist Christian Skår Winther as a solo improviser; him and electric bassist Magnus Nergaard in the experimental-art rock outfit Karokh and the improvising trio Monkey Plot; and drummer ...

Opinion

Beatles, Oscars, Grammys & Overachieving: The Best Cliché Ever, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

by Carl L. Hager
March 7, 2014

So... the awards season is over. From the Golden Globes to the Grammys, the Winter Olympics to the Oscars, it's been a long and winding road. Among people competing for the various honors and annual awards, one of the more popular topics of conversation was: OK, let's say I am the winner--what then? Good question. Of those who believed they deserve the recognition (which is all of them) only those who had previously received one of ...