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

Frank Wess: Magic 201

Read "Magic 201" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
January 22, 2014

IPO Records has become the jazz destination for seasoned jazz veterans. Saxophonist James Moody (1925--2010) recorded his last two releases for the label: Moody 4A (2009) and Moody 4B (2010). Hard on Moody's heels is saxophonist Frank Wess (1922- -2013) who followed his Magic 101 (2013) with the predictable titled Magic 201. Pianist Kenny Barron and drummer Winard Harper hold over from the previous recording, augmented by bassist Rufus Reid and guitarist Russell Malone. Six standards and ...

Album Review

Frank Wess: Magic 201

Read "Magic 201" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
January 22, 2014

Despite a career that spanned more than half of a century, Frank Wess was not a household name. The flautist/saxophonist spent the 1950s and 60s playing with some of the best known big bands in the U.S. including those of Billy Eckstine, Count Basie and Clark Terry. During that period he was primarily recognized as a flute virtuoso though he played both alto and tenor saxophone at that time as well. Wess shifted his attention more toward the saxophone later ...

Album Review

Liberation Prophecy: Invisible House

Read "Invisible House" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
January 22, 2014

The Louisville, KY octet Liberation Prophecy doesn't record that often, but amid other duties, sessions, and educational activities the members realign for their second release Invisible House, following up the critically acclaimed Last Exit Angel (Self-Produced, 2006). Indeed, the band has crafted another winner here. Even though the artists coalesce several disparate genres under the hood, it sustains a distinguished methodology, adorned by Carly Johnson's velvety and at times, sultry vocalizations. Led by first-rate saxophonist and extraordinary improviser ...

Record Label Profile

Lyte Records: Dancing To Different Beats

by Ian Patterson
January 22, 2014

Since its inception in 2007, Lyte Records has earned a reputation as one of the very best labels in Ireland/Northern Ireland for independent jazz artists and creative musicians of various stripes. What started out as a very small, personal concern for Lyte Records founder David Lyttle has grown into something much bigger; international recognition came Lyte Records' way for a jazz/hip-hop crossover album and the attention of producer Quincy Jones has changed the life of one young musician on the ...

Interview

Jim Beard: Serving The Music

by George Colligan
January 21, 2014

[ Editor's Note: The following interview is reprinted from George Colligan's blog, Jazztruth ] Joe Zawinul said, “Jim Beard is my favorite keyboard player besides myself." I think that's a pretty high compliment, don't you? Jim Beard has been on the scene since the 1980s with a resume that reads like a sideman's dream: Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker, John McLaughlin, Steely Dan, and a host of other upper echelon artists. Beard is a virtuoso pianist and composer, yet ...

Album Review

Jason Kao Hwang / Ayman Fanous: Zilzal

Read "Zilzal" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
January 21, 2014

The duo release--Zilzal--further defines the evolution of two master musician/composers pursing the most imaginative alternatives to the status quo. In recent years, the inventive violinist/violist Jason Kao Hwang has been fully invested in exploring diverse compositional territories. His Burning Bridge octet is now firmly entrenched as a bellwether of genre-defying modern music with a distinct jazz accent. He has travelled the worlds of opera, classical and free jazz with equal passion, crossing traditional barriers and pushing against customary musical confines. ...

Album Review

Nicole Mitchell: Engraved In The Wind

Read "Engraved In The Wind" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
January 21, 2014

As a musician, flutist Nicole Mitchell brooks no constraints to her artistry. Not content with large scale orchestral works, such as Arc of O (Rogue Art, 2012), small group interaction with her Indigo Trio and mid-sized ensembles exemplified by her Black Earth Ensemble on Three Compositions (Rogue Art, 2013), she now takes on the ultimate challenge for the single line instrumentalist: the solo album. Of course, it's a misnomer to suggest that Mitchell can only follow one tack at once, ...

Album Review

Assaf Shatil: Pine

by Eyal Hareuveni
January 21, 2014

Assaf Shatil is a man of many talents. The Israeli musician is a pianist that studied modern improvisation in the New England Conservatory under the guidance of Ran Blake and Anthony Coleman. He leads a local jazz trio in Tel Aviv, he's a composer of contemporary music, singer-songwriter and occasionally also a visual artist. His skills are distilled into his debut album, Pine, a collection of 12 songs that he wrote. The songs are orchestrated for ...

Album Review

Pete Robbins: Pyramid

Read "Pyramid" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
January 21, 2014

New York-based saxophonist, composer Pete Robbins has been on a fast- track, surging to the upper echelon of global jazz talent. And Pyramid rekindles impressions of drummer, composer John Hollenbeck's early 2013 release Songs I Like A Lot, where specific pop and rock songs from yesteryear, inspire the artists to execute a personal reinterpretation or refresh via the essence of modern jazz frameworks. Moreover, Robbins reaps the positive benefits of a superstar-like supporting band, including the recent recipient of a ...

Multiple Reviews

Marcos Pin: Duology / Barbanza

by Chris Mosey
January 20, 2014

Marcos Pin is one of the most interesting jazz guitarists in Europe. On his latest album, Duology, the Spaniard teams up with pianist Yago Vazquez to explore the fast, fluid bebop tradition of such stellar axemen as Tal Farlow and Jimmy Raney. It follows hard on the heels of Barbanza, featuring a ten-piece band which showcases Pin's talents as writer, arranger and leader. That one in turn appeared shortly after a new album by ...