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

Oddarrang: In Cinema

Read "In Cinema" reviewed by Anthony Shaw

by Anthony Shaw
November 28, 2013

The third album from this Finnish, drummer led quintet is something of a departure from its predecessors, not in its participants, its ethos nor its strong visual imagery, but in the balance between the components. With only occasional use of powerful rhythm, both earlier albums bore a sparse and principally acoustic feel on the long, even rambling, instrumental pieces. The development of guitarist Lasse Sakara's taste in electronics may help explain the current change, although the credits ...

Album Review

Craig Yaremko Organ Trio: CYO3

by Dan Bilawsky
November 27, 2013

When saxophonist Craig Yaremko was in college at the New School, one of his mentors--the esteemed Jane Ira Bloom--heard him playing with an organ group. Right then and there she said, “Craig, your sound was made to play with an organ trio." Now, more than a decade later, Yaremko is proving her right. Yaremko relates that story in the introductory passage of his self-penned liner notes for CYO3, the debut recording from his organ trio. In that ...

Record Label Profile

ArtistShare: A Record Label for the Digital Age

by Paul Naser
November 27, 2013

In the information age, as technology is transforming the way we share ideas, the creative artist seems to be in a dangerous situation. Peer-to-peer file sharing and free-streaming content are direct threats to an artists' livelihood. Combining this insight with a love for music and an appreciation for artists and the value of their work, Brian Camelio started his company, ArtistShare. After remarkable success with both its innovative model and its extraordinary roster of artists, it is celebrating its 10th ...

Live Review

Jonathan Rowden Group at Alvas Showroom

by Paul Naser
November 27, 2013

Jonathan Rowden Group Alvas Showroom San Pedro, CA November 15, 2013 On the intimate stage at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro, with warm, colorful lighting and a large, slanted mirror hanging overhead, the Jonathan Rowden Group gave a heartfelt performance to an appreciative audience. Rowden, a young Los Angeles based composer, showcased his own works alongside those of the group's pianist, and everyone in the band contributed inspired playing. The group consists of Jonathan Rowden ...

Album Review

Adam Lane Trio: Absolute Horizon

Read "Absolute Horizon" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
November 27, 2013

Not enough is heard from Brooklyn-born bassist Adam Lane. He boasts an impressive track record, illuminated by a series of outstanding recordings, mainly on the CIMP label, but culminating in the acclaimed Ashcan Rantings (Clean Feed, 2010). Nothing has surfaced under his own name since, so any new disc grabs attention. That's not to say he has been idle, notching up notable appearances on drummer William Hooker's excellent Bliss Suite (Not Two, 2010) which also featured rising star saxophonist Darius ...

Extended Analysis

Bengt Berger: Beches Brew BIG + BAG

by Eyal Hareuveni
November 27, 2013

Swedish master drummer and bandleader Bengt Berger calls his own label Country & Eastern, a title that suggests a fresh mix of new modes of expression and impulses from some of the great musical traditions of the world. Berger claims that this label provides the best Al Dente music, and when it comes to his nine-piece Beches Brew BIG, an obvious reference to Miles Davis' Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1970), he is absolutely right. The Beches Brew ...

Album Review

EC3: It's All About the Rhythm

Read "It's All About the Rhythm" reviewed by Jeffrey Uhrich

by Jeffrey Uhrich
November 27, 2013

Joy and exuberance are like prevailing winds throughout “It's All About the Rhythm", the third release by drummer/bandleader EC3 (aka Ernest Coleman). Vibrant and full of life, EC3 assembles a sound rhythmic foundation in his arrangements of popular and well-known songs mixed with newer, lesser known compositions. EC3 relates that in arranging the songs “[i]n musical styles from Afro-Cuban and Latin Jazz to straight-ahead swing, 'It's All About the Rhythm' describes the CD and my philosophy about life."

Album Review

Irene Schweizer - Pierre Favre: Live in Zurich

Read "Live in Zurich" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
November 27, 2013

Swiss pianist Irene Schweizer's celebrated duets with jazz drumming greats, Andrew Cyrille, Han Bennink and Gunter Baby" Sommer must have been impressive spectacles. This album denotes her third duo album with her infamous fellow countryman, drummer Pierre Favre. Needless to state, the artists' extraordinary interactions are in full force via these concise pieces that were not arranged or rehearsed prior to the live gigs, spanning March 22-24, 2013 at a venue in Zurich. Even though these works skirt the free-zone, ...

Album Review

Blake Meister: Septagon

Read "Septagon" reviewed by John Ephland

by John Ephland
November 26, 2013

Well-played, with an internal sense of melody that everyone gets. That's bassist Blake Meister's Septagon in a nutshell. And that “everyone" includes a crew worth paying attention to: pianist Marc Copland, drummer Ralph Peterson, guitarist Paul Bollenback and reed player Gary Thomas. They pretty much all get room to solo as they tackle the charts, the songs full of twists and turns. What Septagon doesn't have is a strong enough musical identity to keep you humming well after the music ...

Bailey's Bundles

Christmas III: Jazz Vocals - Tianna Hall/Chris Cortez, Nnenna Freelon, New York Voices and Albrecht Mayer/The King’s Singers

by C. Michael Bailey
November 26, 2013

The vocal holiday offerings are all over the map stylistically. Latin, big band, small ensemble singing and whatever the Albrecht Mayer/King's Singer's collaboration is, this a hopping creative season. For a seasonal subgenre of any musical subgenre usually reserved for money-making more than art, this year's releases are exceptional. “May your days be merry and bright" indeed. Tianna Hall & Chris Cortez Noel Blue Bamboo Music 2013