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

Yusef Lateef's Secret Garden

by Chris M. Slawecki
December 24, 2013

This interview was originally published in February 2000. Yusef Lateef will tell you--politely, firmly, insistently, frequently--that he does not play jazz. He was born Bill Evans in Chattanooga (TN), but grew up in Detroit a tenor saxophone student who in the 1940s worked and studied alongside the likes of Roy Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie and Hot Lips Page. In the 1950s, he studied composition and flute at Wayne State University; shortly thereafter he assumed the name Yusef ...

Album Review

Mark Edwards: In Deep

Read "In Deep" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
December 24, 2013

Pianist and composer Mark Edwards has spent over 25 years in the music business, working with a wide range of musicians and bands including Chris Rea, Terry Callier, Nina Simone, Daryl Hall and Aztec Camera. In Deep is his debut recording for Grammy-nominated producer James McMillan's Quiet Money label--an album which mixes a couple of original tunes with songs by writers as varied as James Taylor and Ennio Morricone. There's also a cover of Radiohead's “2+2=5" and a heartfelt version ...

Profile

Howard Riley: Live with Repertoire

by Duncan Heining
December 24, 2013

Pianist Howard Riley turned 70 in February and belatedly celebrates the event with the release of a new CD, Live with Repertoire (NoBusiness Records). It's a really strong live, solo set of standards and a few original tunes recorded last year in Leicester and one that emphasises one particular aspect of his playing. Riley remains one of the most gifted interpreters of the jazz repertoire in Britain or beyond. The last few years have not been easy for ...

Album Review

Norma Winstone: Edge of Time

Read "Edge of Time" reviewed by Roger Farbey

by Roger Farbey
December 24, 2013

This reissue features many of the most significant musicians in British jazz of the late 1960s and 70s. It also benefits from imaginative compositions and arrangements by John Taylor, John Warren, Neil Ardley, John Surman and Norma Winstone herself. The opening, title track written by Taylor and Winstone is a memorable exploration of both arrangement and improvisation in equal measure. A tentative beginning gives way to a dynamic brass arrangement accompanying a lyrical song, Winstone's voice ...

Bailey's Bundles

Notable & Nearly Missed in 2013

by C. Michael Bailey
December 24, 2013

More music is released each year than can be realistically followed by a given writer. I typically listen to much more music than I write about, not because this music is not worthy somehow but there is so little time. So, this year, I am going to write a “Notable & Nearly Missed" column to catch some of these releases before the year draws nigh. Chanticleer--Someone New (Chanticleer, 2013). Chanticleer got some attention for two recent holiday ...

Album Review

Laurenzi-Ernst-Green: Sightline

Read "Sightline" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
December 24, 2013

Chicago based trio Laurenzi-Ernst-Green's debut Sightline is an atmospheric album filled with intriguing patterns and exuberant and elegant spontaneity. An intimate mysticism imbues this collaborative effort of seven original compositions with a modal bent. Bassist Katie Ernst's wordless vocals hauntingly echo saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi's big toned tenor on the mesmerizing “Skoops," while her resonant strings match his vibrato filled sound to a dramatic effect. Drummer Andrew Green's thunderous, almost martial beats drive the passionate and electrifying tune that ...

Album Review

Abbey Rader: Reach For The Skies

Read "Reach For The Skies" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
December 24, 2013

Drummer Abbey Rader's compelling Reach for the Skies is a set of entirely improvised music that, nevertheless, follows an intricate and stimulating progression along certain unique motifs and ideas. The spontaneous orchestration flows freely and seamlessly thanks to the superlative musicianship of the quartet and the intuitive camaraderie among its members.Rader's haunting cymbal vibrations and gentle crashes together with chiming carillon create a dramatic ambience on “Firs Bell." His darkly hued drums mixed with silent pauses usher in ...

Album Review

Thad Jones: The Danish Radio Big Band & Eclipse

Read "The Danish Radio Big Band & Eclipse" reviewed by Chris Mosey

by Chris Mosey
December 24, 2013

US trumpeter, composer and arranger Thad Jones remains by and large unknown in his homeland but has had a street named after him in Copenhagen. Jones became a household name in the Danish capital as leader of the Danish Radio Big Band from 1976-85. Brother of pianist Hank and drummer Elvin, Thad Jones sought refuge in Denmark after the break-up of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra for whom he penned the monumental Suite for Pops (A&M ...

Year in Review

Ian Patterson's Best Live Shows of 2013

by Ian Patterson
December 24, 2013

After seven amazing years covering jazz/creative music throughout much of South East Asia I have relocated to Ireland. It's been a real pleasure to reconnect with the music scene in my home country after a long absence. The country boasts a vibrant music scene, particularly in Dublin, where a good number of innovative musicians are producing some excellent sounds. In addition, a number of progressive music agencies are doing tremendous work in attracting outstanding international acts to Ireland. The following ...

Year in Review

Jakob Baekgaard’s Best Releases of 2013

by Jakob Baekgaard
December 23, 2013

So much good music and so much to choose from. Every day provides the opportunity to hear something new or rediscover the magic in old tunes. The records on this list don't have much in common, except they all sound completely fresh and open and have their own take on what it means to create jazz today. Here are thoughtful nods to tradition, genre-bending experiments, soliloquies and group efforts. In the age of streaming and digitalization, it ...