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

Bodurov Trio: Seven Stamps

Read "Seven Stamps" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
January 5, 2014

Bulgarian pianist Dimitar Bodurov may reside in Amsterdam but his love of his homeland's folk culture remains strong. On Seven Stamps, the fourth album from the Bodurov Trio since its formation in 2001, Bodurov continues his exploration of Bulgarian folk music and the “rhythm in 7" which gives the album its title. The exploration on this set of Bodurov's original compositions mixes jazz and Bulgarian folk together in a series of fascinating and enjoyable musical interactions. As a ...

Extended Analysis

The Rob Parton Big Band: Christmas Time Is Here

by Jack Bowers
January 5, 2014

The only plausible impetus for releasing an album of Christmas themes so close to the holiday itself is the inclusion of music that transcends the season and may be auditioned and appreciated throughout the year. Trombonist Chris McDonald accomplished that with his splendid album In the Mood for Christmas, and trumpeter Rob Parton has mirrored that success with the kaleidoscopic Christmas Time Is Here, a compilation he says was some twenty years in the making. The earliest tracks were recorded ...

Album Review

Iskra 1903: South on the Northern

Read "South on the Northern" reviewed by John Eyles

by John Eyles
January 5, 2014

Paul Rutherford's trio Iskra 1903 existed in two different editions, both including Rutherford on trombone and Barry Guy on bass. The first (in existence from 1970 to 1974) added Derek Bailey on guitar, the second (from 1977 to 1995) Philipp Wachsmann on violin. Thanks largely to the efforts of Emanem (with a contribution from Guy's own Maya label), both editions have been well represented on disc, excellent news given the importance of the group in the development of improvised music ...

Take Five With...

Take Five With Doug Robinson

by AAJ Staff
January 5, 2014

Meet Doug Robinson: Born in San Diego, multi-instrumentalist and composer Doug Robinson started playing drums in the Crawford High jazz ensemble in the '70s. Robinson studied with Frank Rehak and has recorded with notable artists like Mike Stern, Peter Erskine, John Patitucci, and many more. Instrument(s): Piano, organ, bass, drums, guitar, and vibes Teachers and/or influences? Dennis Foster, Frank Rehak, Al Bauman, and Jim Pappageorge from my high school days! I ...

Album Review

Matthias Schubert / Simon Nabatov Duo: Descriptions

Read "Descriptions" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
January 5, 2014

Descriptions marks the initial alliance of venerable European improvisers, tenor saxophonist Matthias Schubert and pianist Simon Nabatov. Recorded live at a venue in Cologne, Germany, the musicians plan their modalities on descriptive nouns, which is an interesting proposition that tenders food for thought on a per-track basis. They mold song forms based on ephemeral or lengthy interpretations of a descriptive word. Nonetheless, the program is a composite of penetrating and forward-looking dialogues complete with asymmetrical sensibilities framed on introspection, oscillating ...

Year in Review

Nenad Georgievski's Best Releases of 2013

by Nenad Georgievski
January 5, 2014

From jazz to disco/dance, from alternative rock to world music, 2013 proved to be a really fruitful one. It was a banner year for good and colorful music that showed that audiences really respond to good music and this year, unlike many in recent times, it overflowed with such. It was a great year for older acts and for new music as well. These are some of the releases that kind of marked the year 2013 for me.

Book Excerpts

How to Know: Spirit Music - Crazy Wisdom, Shamanism And Trips To The Black Sky

by Ken Hyder
January 4, 2014

The following is an excerpt from the “Instability as an Aid to Spirit Music" chapter of How to Know by Ken Hyder (Amazon Digital Services, 2013). There is a tension between precision and looseness. In jazz, the tension is minute, but it makes all the difference to whether the music swings or not. In the old days, jazz bands and dance bands often played the same tunes. In a dance band it was usually stiff. ...

Album Review

1032K: That Which Is Planted

Read "That Which Is Planted" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
January 4, 2014

When trumpeter/ trombonist Frank Lacy appeared with the Mingus Big Band this past summer at the Caramoor Jazz Festival, he stole the show in the company of fourteen top-shelf musicians. The live performance venue in which Lacy thrives isn't diminished in the smaller group setting as proven out in the 1032K trio debut That Which Is Planted. Avant-garde drummer Andrew Drury and bassist Kevin Ray round out a trio that has a deceptively big sound--and not by accident--as Lacy notes ...

Album Review

Edward Simon: Venezuelan Suite

Read "Venezuelan Suite" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
January 4, 2014

Venezuelan Suite is pianist Edward Simon's love letter to his homeland, but that's not all it is; it's the perfect confluence of Venezuelan ideals, jazz language and chamber-esque sophistication. In short, it's a masterpiece. While every country has its musical adherents in American jazz circles, some are sorely underrepresented. That's why it's so vitally important when somebody like saxophonist Miguel Zenon comes along and bridges the gap between jazz and the music of Puerto Rico, or when ...

Album Review

Antonio Bertoni: 1/2 H(our) Drama

Read "1/2 H(our) Drama" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
January 4, 2014

After several decades residing as a prominent UK-based jazz, avant-garde and improvisational record label, it's not a common occurrence for Leo Records proprietor, Leo Feigin to pen an artist or group's album notes. On this outing by Italian bassist Antonio Bertoni, he advises, “I could not help writing in the booklet that this is one of the most original, courageous and spectacular projects I have ever produced." With that, my curiosity spiked a few notches prior to the initial listen. ...