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

Mika Stoltzman: If You Believe

Read "If You Believe" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
November 9, 2013

In jazz, the marimba tends to be dwarfed by its sustain-friendly metallic cousin, the vibraphone. Many fine vibes players, like Bobby Hutcherson and Stefon Harris to name just two, double on marimba, but that instrument always comes second for them--and for most jazz mallet players--and it almost never dominates a program; almost is the key word, as there are exceptions to that statement. A select few are willing to put the marimba first and Mika Stoltzman is one such individual. ...

Extended Analysis

Humble Pie: Performance - Rockin' the Fillmore

by Doug Collette
November 9, 2013

Humble Pie's Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore: The Complete Recordings will only solidify the British quartet's position as the point of convergence for the major strains of British rock of the Sixties and Seventies. The four- disc box set documenting their two night four-show run at the late Bill Graham's historic New York venue confirms The Pie as the nexus of the British beat group movement initiated by the Beatles, the English blues campaign that evolved from that movement and the ...

Album Review

Philip Glass: Visitors

Read "Visitors" reviewed by Nenad Georgievski

by Nenad Georgievski
November 9, 2013

One of the most important, interesting and intriguing relationships in the world of film is the one shared by a director and composer. As is known, music is an important component of cinematic identity where many film makers that are considered to be “authors" would have lost their recognizability and allure if they didn't work with the same composers time and again. One of the most celebrated working relationships between a director and a film composer is that of director ...

Album Review

University of North Texas One O'Clock Lab Band: Lab 2013

by Jack Bowers
November 9, 2013

The University of North Texas is situated in Denton, a city of roughly 120,000 less than an hour's drive northwest from Dallas / Fort Worth. To students at UNT as well as its year-round residents, Denton is home, even if in the former case a home away from home. And speaking of home, the university is home to the country's oldest and most celebrated Jazz Studies program, anchored by the superlative One O'Clock Lab Band whose members are special and ...

Take Five With...

Take Five With Ben Scholz

by AAJ Staff
November 9, 2013

Meet Ben Scholz: Ben Scholz is a drummer and percussionist who lives and works in Chicago, Illinois. A native of Portland, Oregon, Ben began playing classical piano at eight years of age and continued his studies through college. When he was in middle school his grandparents found his dad's snare drum, a gift William Ludwig Sr. had given his grandfather back in the early '60s. Ben joined the school band and continued with various percussion and mallet instruments.

Album Review

The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Miami Pop Festival

Read "Miami Pop Festival" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
November 9, 2013

An adjunct to the DVD release of Hear My Train A Comin', an installment of the PBS 'American Masters' series, Miami Pop Festival captures the original Jimi Hendrix Experience flush with success and the rightful expectation of more to come. At the time of this May 1968 appearance, the threesome was recording Electric Ladyland (Reprise, 1968) free of the ennui and creative/personal conflict that subsequently fractured the solid bond so evident in their musicianship here. (Or perhaps the nascent creative ...

Album Review

Jay Geils: Toe Tappin' Jazz

Read "Toe Tappin' Jazz" reviewed by Charlie Ricci

by Charlie Ricci
November 9, 2013

Toe Tappin' Jazz, released near the end of 2009, is the most outstanding new jazz CD I've heard in many years. The band leader is guitarist Jay Geils, formerly known as J. Geils, founder of Boston's famous party band of the 70s and 80s whose biggest hits were “Lookin' For a Love," “Give It To Me," “Must of Got Lost," “Centerfold," and “Love Stinks." Who knew the hard-rocking Geils had this much love for jazz in his heart?

Album Review

Gerry Gibbs: Thrasher Dream Trio

Read "Thrasher Dream Trio" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
November 8, 2013

A trio that clings together and swings together. Drummer Gerry Gibbs calls this a “dream trio," a description that seems as appropriate as any. Surely, having pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Ron Carter as teammates must seem like a dream come true for any timekeeper. To summarize the point clearly, Barron and Carter are quite simply two of the best at what they do. And as for Gibbs, the new kid on the block, he's more than happy to be ...

Album Review

Harold Lopez-Nussa: New Day

Read "New Day" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
November 8, 2013

Havana-native pianist/composer Harold López-Nussa is not an unknown entity. He has released five recordings previous to the present New Day and all before 30 years of age. His is a an assertive Latin Jazz infused with the essence of Western Europe. His training includes the Manuel Saumell and Amadeo Roldán Conservatories, graduating with a specialty in Classic Piano from the Higher Institute of Arts. His attention eventually turned toward jazz, an area he has continued to expand and expound upon ...

Live Review

The Ginger Baker Jazz Confusion at the Musical Instrument Museum

by Patricia Myers
November 8, 2013

The Ginger Baker Jazz Confusion Musical Instrument Museum Phoenix, AZ October 18, 2013 The Ginger Baker Jazz Confusion was promoted as a tribute to jazz icons Wayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk. When just two of those artists were musically referenced and Monk was not, it likely was noticed only by the scattering of jazz fans in the 300-seat house that had sold out weeks in advance. Baker basically delivered rock-drumming techniques ...