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.

Interview

Jane Ira Bloom: Ballad Vistas

by Franz A. Matzner
February 24, 2014

Jane Ira Bloom's career has been defined by experiment, whether exploring the outer reaches of space with NASA, the inner world of Jackson Pollock, or the technological cutting edge of telematics and surround sound. Her recent release Sixteen Sunsets combined the subtle artistry of ballad performance with the latest in surround sound techniques, resulting in a critically acclaimed, sumptuous collection. All About Jazz: Your latest album Sixteen Sunsets has received a lot of attention. How did you decide ...

Multiple Reviews

Criss Cross Jazz Roundup

by C. Andrew Hovan
February 24, 2014

In the past several years there has been a marked change in the jazz landscape that has somehow managed to further spread the demarcation lines between those musicians who practice mainstream leanings and those with a hyper vigilance towards the new avant-garde. Oddly enough, leave it to Criss Cross Jazz, a label that has historically been a harbinger of straight ahead diligence, to somehow bridge a healthy gap between the two camps with its roster of new talent. Three recent ...

Album Review

Pete Mills: Sweet Shadow

Read "Sweet Shadow" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
February 24, 2014

A lot of words have clicked out of the keyboards concerning the possible demise of the compact disc. Maybe CDs will suffer the extinction, maybe not. But one thing is sure: saxophonist Pete Mills' Sweet Shadow is an excellent argument for the survival of the species. On his fourth release as a leader, Mills has gathered a crack quintet to navigate labyrinths of ten of his modern-bop compositions, along with the Ellington/Strayhorn tune, “The Star-Crossed Lovers," Rolland Kirk's ...

Live Review

Brubeck Brothers Quartet at Arizona Musicfest

by Patricia Myers
February 24, 2014

Brubeck Brothers Quartet Arizona Musicfest Highlands Church Scottsdale, Arizona February 7, 2014 Those Brubeck boys really nailed it at Arizona Musicfest, performing a concert-with-commentary tribute that traced their famed father's six-decade career. Dave Brubeck's musical and personal history was celebrated by trombonist-bassist Chris Brubeck and drummer Dan Brubeck, playing his hits and telling the tales behind them, with photos and videos shown on a pair of big screens. Brubeck's two biggest hits, ...

Album Review

Conference Call: Seven: Live @ Firehouse 12

Read "Seven: Live @ Firehouse 12" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
February 24, 2014

The collective quartet Conference Call performs music within the egalitarian principles of jazz as a democracy, confirming that a band can be both leaderless and led by different players without diminishing the quality and character of its music. A working band since 1998, the lineup of reed player Gebhard Ullmann, pianist Michael Jefry Stevens, and bassist Joe Fonda employed multiple drummers in its first three years, including Matt Wilson, Han Bennink, and Gerry Hemingway before inviting George Schuller ...

Album Review

Matthew Shipp Trio: Root Of Things

Read "Root Of Things" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
February 24, 2014

A mathematical equation can chart and explain everything in life, from the arc of a thrown baseball to the dynamical systems of chaos. The scientific study of deterministic chaos is a bit of an oxymoron, in that the mathematicians suggest everything can be graphed and explained by calculations. The theory being, the deeper you delve into any system, the clearer and more uncomplicated it becomes. The same can be said for the music of pianist Matthew Shipp. Like ...

Album Review

Mats Äleklint Quartet: Mats Äleklint Quartet

Read "Mats Äleklint Quartet" reviewed by Eyal Hareuveni

by Eyal Hareuveni
February 24, 2014

Prolific Swedish trombonist Mats Äleklint is the man of the hour. In recent years his powerful trombone sound has been an integral part of most of the forward-thinking Nordic outfits--Mats Gustafsson's Fire! Orchestra and The Thing XXL, Fredrik Ljungkvist's Yun Kan 10, Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit, Goran Kajfes Subtropic Arkestra and Je Suis!. His debut as a bandleader features Äleklint as a thoughtful composer who fuses organically 'in' and 'out' playing within tight quartet interplay. Äleklint ...

Extended Analysis

Misha Tsiganov: The Artistry Of The Standard

by Dan Bilawsky
February 23, 2014

Standards represent so many things. They can be a fallback for those short on ideas or a springboard for those willing to invest a bit of themselves into the music. They're a representative historical sampling of what jazz has been and done, reminding all of those on the bandstand of who and what came before, but they can be so much more. Considering all of that, it's hard to imagine why a segment of players often prefer not to address ...

Album Review

Trio Shalva: Breeza

by Dan Bilawsky
February 23, 2014

Trio Shalva's debut recording--Riding Alone (Self Produced, 2011)--captured a band at the dawn of its being. Yes, the group had formed in 2009, two calendar years before that album was released, but the music for that record was recorded in 2010, presenting a band that was basically just starting on its way. Now comes Breeza, the second leg of the trio's Judaica jazz journey. While Trio Shalva basically makes its art through the fusion of Middle Eastern ...

Album Review

The Fat Babies: 18th & Racine

Read "18th & Racine" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
February 23, 2014

Early jazz stylists The Fat Babies' second album 18th & Racine is bolder than their first in their choice of material and their delivery of the songs included. Encouraged by the successful execution of their debut Chicago Hot (Delmark 2012) the band presents 14 lesser-known gems and an original composition by their cornetist Andy Schumm. The relative obscurity of these delightful pieces and the deftness by which the dust of history is polished off them exposes their raw emotion and ...