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

Shirazette Tinnin: Humility: Purity of My Soul

Read "Humility: Purity of My Soul" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
February 11, 2014

Drummer Shirazette Tinnin's debut album Humility: Purity of My Soul is a solid and inventive soul-jazz date that showcases several facets of her talent. In addition to Tinnin's passionate yet subtle and sophisticated handling of her kit the disc demonstrates her compositional creativity and her deft leadership. Tinnin's boldly visceral beats create the stimulating background on saxophonist Eddie Harris' “Freedom Jazz Dance." Tenorist Camille Thurman's thrilling improvisation brings a darkly hued mysticism to the piece while pianist Rachel ...

The Art and Science of Jazz

The Healing Power of Music: Can Jazz Repair a Damaged Brain? The case of trumpeter Louis Smith

by Hrayr Attarian
February 11, 2014

The title above is not an abstract statement or a philosophical question. Hence, what follows is not a speculative or metaphysical piece. It is an evaluation of the concrete, experimental data on the merits of music therapy in the treatment of brain injury, particularly one due to a stroke. A stroke or a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) is a sudden event, much like a heart attack, due to either an obstruction in the blood flow or hemorrhage in a specific region ...

Album Review

Matt Renzi: Rise And Shine

Read "Rise And Shine" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
February 10, 2014

Continuity and freshness, while theoretically at odds with one another, are the two things that tend to fuel group development in the arts. Only time can create bonds of trust and help to crystallize concepts and language shared between artists, but consistency can breed predictability. So how can an artist balance the scales, allowing their work to benefit from both? The answer--or secret--lies in multi-reedist Matt Renzi's Rise And Shine. For his eighth album as a leader, ...

Interview

Victor Lewis: The Drummer's Spirit

by Victor L. Schermer
February 10, 2014

For several decades, Victor Lewis has been one of the most in-demand drummers of the post-bop era and beyond. He has performed with Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, J.J. Johnson, Chet Baker, George Cables, Woody Shaw, Kenny Barron, Bobby Watson, and others of similar stature. On account of his exceptional ability to push the envelope of musical grace in a variety of contexts, he often becomes their drummer of choice for extended tours and engagements. Other drummers consider him a role ...

Live Review

John Daversa Small Band at the CAP

by Paul Naser
February 10, 2014

John Daversa Small Band CAP Studio Sherman Oaks, CA January 22, 2014 Fans of John Daversa's music range in age from young people still in school to people who have been avid fans of jazz music for decades. Seeing the wide variety of people in the room was testament to how appealing Daversa's composing is, and the happy, excited chatter in the room was evidence of just how good this band is. ...

Album Review

Beata Pater: Golden Lady

Read "Golden Lady" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
February 10, 2014

Beata Pater's vocal expertise is about shape, texture and the nuance informing both. Pater's B&B Records color-inspired trilogy, Black (2006), Blue> (2011) and Red (2013) was a critically well-received series that demonstrated the singers mastery of wordless singing in a large band format, pushing the creative envelope to the edge of its capacity. Pater's self-claimed influences include Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Shirley Horn. But the spirit of Betty Carter permeates this disc in the durable elasticity that supports Pater's ...

Multiple Reviews

Latest from Danish Barefoot Records

by Eyal Hareuveni
February 10, 2014

The 2012 edition of the Copenhagen Jazz festival offered a musical snapshot of the vibrant and varied Danish improvisational scene and its strong ties with other European improv scenes. The festival hosted 18 concerts, organized by the music collective and record label Barefoot Records. Half of those concerts were recorded, enjoying the presence of many guests and ad-hoc outfits. The following albums feature a few of the highlights from that festival, with prominent members of this collective and two similar ...

Album Review

MoFrancesco Quintetto: Maloca

by Edward Blanco
February 10, 2014

Having appeared as a sideman on countless albums for over a decade, Italian bassist Francesco Valente finally unveils his first effort as leader with the modern jazz and fusion-like Maloca fronting his MoFrancesco Quintetto as they perform a session of fresh new originals exemplifying some of the styles and sounds of the Mediterranean area. Valente honed his skills as a musician while living in Lisbon, Portugal for sixteen years, performing in local venues and at various international festivals all while ...

Album Review

Glennis Houston: I'll Reminisce You

Read "I'll Reminisce You" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
February 10, 2014

Calgary vocalist Glennis Houston follows up her debut album Lies of Handsome Men (2004, Self-Produced) with a warm session of light contemporary vocal jazz on I'll Reminisce You. Unlike the first disc--comprised entirely of standards--Houston designs a repertoire of primarily originals with the incorporation of a handful of cover songs touching on bebop, blues and ballads. This second effort actually began in early 2006 but, life got in the way with family, work, education, pursuing a PhD and other such ...

Album Review

Carol Fredette: No Sad Songs For Me

Read "No Sad Songs For Me" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
February 10, 2014

We last heard from vocalist Carol Fredette on her first Soundbrush recording, Everything in Time (2009). Her repertoire was replete with, “Light latin jazz, humid islands, and secure mainstream treatments." Fredette remains fairly true to this mix of styles on No Sad Songs For Me, specifically addressing all songs of upbeat content, if not tempo. The singer calls upon much the same band as on the previous recording, specifically pianists Helio Alves, Dario Eskenazi and Andy Ezrin.It is ...