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

Jaleel Shaw: Philly Soul

by George Colligan
December 17, 2013

[ Editor's Note: The following interview is reprinted from George Colligan's blog, Jazztruth ] Jaleel Shaw has been one of my favorite young alto players for about a decade. We first played together with the Charles Mingus Band, and we kept in touch over the years. I've worked a few times in his band and he's worked with me a number of times. You might know him from the Roy Haynes group, which he has been working ...

Opinion

What's Wrong With Today's Live Jazz

by Richard Lawn
December 17, 2013

What's wrong with today's live jazz scene? There has been a great deal of whining about the climate for live jazz these days. The complaints are sometimes accompanied by speculation about why jazz seems to have slipped off the radar, particularly in many major cities such as Philadelphia. The complaints, however, are often unaccompanied by suggestions about fixing the problems, or any specific theories about why and how things have disintegrated. Before I go any further ...

Album Review

Tim Daisy: A Fine Day In Berlin

Read "A Fine Day In Berlin" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
December 17, 2013

Blender drinks sometimes disguise their ingredients. A little peanut butter and banana tossed into your kale and spinach smoothie might provide just the right flavor camouflage. Likewise, adding drummer Tim Daisy (and his compositions) into a piano trio recording will produce results that are anything but standard trio fare. Daisy, one of Chicago's go-to drummers for the past decade can be heard in duo with Ken Vandermark and in his bands Made To Break, The Margots, and Topology ...

Year in Review

Mark Corroto's Best Releases Of 2013

by Mark Corroto
December 17, 2013

So many records, so little time. This sweet dilemma, I repeat again this year. Below are my top spins for 2013 (in no particular order). I've certainly missed a few gems, and I'll be trying to catch up on those during the cold of winter and probably through early spring... Matana Roberts COIN COIN Chapter Two: Mississippi Moonchile (Constellation Records) Petr Cancura Down Home ...

Take Five With...

Take Five With Shlomi Cohen

by AAJ Staff
December 17, 2013

Meet Shlomi Cohen: Grammy-nominated saxophonist Shlomi Cohen, born in Tel Aviv, Israel, has had a multicultural musical education, based in part on his surroundings both in Tel Aviv and New York City, and also from his Moroccan and Yemeni heritage. This mix of styles in his sound has made him a much sought-after saxophonist. Shlomi is based in New York City and regularly collaborates with various musical projects around the city and beyond. Instrument(s): Saxophone

Album Review

Journal Intime: Extension des feux

Read "Extension des feux" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
December 17, 2013

The trio's third album parallels its desire to generate music based on unorthodox group settings. Along with distinguished guest artists, avant-garde guitarist Marc Ducret and accordionist Vincent Peirani, the program is designed with numerous sound-shaping factors and incongruent angles. But these suite-like compositions are engineered on either complex or modest structural elements, tendering an abundance of fascinating musical perspectives. And Ducret's distortion-laced guitar voicings provide an additional dynamic amid many of these dense frameworks that equate to a succession of ...

Album Review

Angelica Sanchez/ Wadada Leo Smith: Twine Forest

Read "Twine Forest" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
December 17, 2013

Legendary trumpeter, educator Wadada Leo Smith is a very active neo- jazz iconoclast with appearances as a guest artist and co-leader or when producing critically acclaimed albums such as his resplendent civil rights opus Ten Freedom Summers (2012, Cuneiform Records). Partnering with nascent jazz pianist Angelica Sanchez--a member of Smith's Golden Quartet and Organic bands-- signals an intriguing proposition. With the trumpeter's bronze-toned proclamations and paramount sense of authority, Sanchez is at times nestled in a supporting role as she ...

Interview

Michael Pedicin: Compassion Joins Creativity

by R.J. DeLuke
December 16, 2013

Saxophonist Michael Pedicin, he of the rich tone and fertile imagination, is on a tear lately. His last three albums are remarkable, exhibiting both his catchy improvisational skill and simple beauty. His 2011 album, Ballads... Searching for Peace (Jazz Hut Records) is that beauty on display and one of the best ballad albums to come a long in a while. Now, Pedicin has crafted an album of varied music, named for his view of how the world should ...

Interview

Jim Hall: Live, Now and Then

by Bob Kenselaar
December 16, 2013

[ This interview was originally published on July 16, 2013. ] Widely acknowledged as one of the most influential guitarists in modern jazz, Jim Hall has had an extraordinary musical career that spans more than half a century. His style is marked not by soaring speed or virtuoso technique but by his explorative artistry in improvisation, his solos' beautiful melodic and harmonic construction and his warm and rich tone. His discography includes more than three dozen ...

Album Review

T.K. Blue: A Warm Embrace

Read "A Warm Embrace" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
December 16, 2013

What do you do after you've already toured the world with jazz legends, helmed a successful college jazz program and recorded everything from bluesy fare to world-meets-jazz music to Latin-ized takes on Charlie Parker? If you're saxophonist T.K. Blue, you turn to the soft(er) and the subtle, delivering an album that's texturally rich yet wholly transparent. Blue, best known as a longtime sideman and musical director for pianist Randy Weston, has done all of the above and ...