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

Hiromi Kanda: Days of Yesterday

Read "Days of Yesterday" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
October 16, 2013

Japanese-born and now Honolulu-based vocalist Hiromi Kanda had some success in her homeland with the beginnings of a singing career. After winning a talent contest, plans were made to turn Kanda into a sexy pop idol. She demurred. What Kanda wanted was a career as a singer/songwriter. And she loved the Great American Songbook, and artists like Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. Class and elegance were in her plans. With her sophomore recording, Days of Yesterday, Kanda ...

Album Review

Tim Berne's Snakeoil: Shadow Man

Read "Shadow Man" reviewed by Troy Collins

by Troy Collins
October 16, 2013

New York-based alto saxophonist Tim Berne has long been regarded one of the Downtown scene's most forward-thinking bandleaders. Among his peers, no other artist has so often fostered the creative talent of subsequent generations; multi-instrumentalist Chris Speed, keyboardist Craig Taborn and drummer Jim Black all spent their formative years playing alongside the veteran saxophonist. Likewise, Berne recently recruited rising multi-instrumentalist Oscar Noriega, pianist Matt Mitchell and drummer Ches Smith as members of his latest project, Snakeoil.Shadow Man is ...

Multiple Reviews

Introducing Polish Trumpeter Tomasz Dabrowski

by Eyal Hareuveni
October 16, 2013

Polish trumpeter Tomasz Dąbrowski, now based in Denmark, is a rising and promising force in the European scene. He has a strong, instantly recognizable sound and expressive tone. His versatile musical language references the American fiery free jazz, Eastern European and Balkan folk music, the Scandinavian contemplative jazz and contemporary, avant-garde music. Dąbrowski already released eleven albums as a co-leader and a sideman. The next three albums were released during 2013, all debuts of different outfits. ...

Album Review

Formo Tre & Metall: Amor & Labor

Read "Amor & Labor" reviewed by Eyal Hareuveni

by Eyal Hareuveni
October 16, 2013

Norwegian keyboard player Daniel Formo continues to explore and expand the sonic qualities of the old, trusty Hammond B3 organ, and to emancipate this instrument from its traditional role in a jazz setting. Formo began this journey with the impressive Hammond Dialogues (Particular Recordings, 2013), on which he explored the role of the organ as a solo instrument and through improvised musical dialogues with a church organ and string trio. Formo Tre & Metall (Formo Wood ...

Album Review

Metamorphic: Coalescence

Read "Coalescence" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
October 15, 2013

Laura Cole, leader, pianist, arranger and songwriter of Metamorphic, dedicates Coalescence, the band's second album, to her great grandfathers Sidney Walker and Mervyn Clifford Cole. What would the two men, pictured in the album booklet's 1923 photo of the Irlam Co-operative Wholesale Orchestra, make of their great-granddaughter's approach to music? We'll never know, but the Orchestra's diverse musical line-up suggests that it might have fancied a chance at a few of these beautifully-crafted tunes. Metamorphic's core sextet remains ...

Interview

David Berkman: Anecdotes

by George Colligan
October 15, 2013

[ Editor's Note: The following interview is reprinted from George Colligan's blog, Jazztruth] David Berkman is a jazz pianist who in the past few decades has played with many of the major names in jazz, including Tom Harrell, Cecil McBee, and the Vanguard Orchestra. He has released a number of CDs on the Palmetto Label, although his latest, Live At Smoke, is on Challenge Records. Berkman has developed a great reputation as an educator; he recently joined the ...

Live Review

Bottom’s Up: John Clayton, Rodney Whitaker, Victor Wooten at the Mesa Arts Center

by Patricia Myers
October 15, 2013

Bottom's Up: John Clayton, Rodney Whitaker, Victor Wooten Mesa Arts Center Mesa, AZ September 27, 2013 West Coast bassist John Clayton created a trio called “Bottom's Up" with fellow bassists Rodney Whitaker and Victor Wooten for a 90-minute concert that showcased their collective and individual talent. An audience opting to attend a concert by just three bass players, with no horn, piano, guitar or drums, likely would bring a positive bias for that instrument. If ...

Album Review

Ralph Towner / Wolfgang Muthspiel / Slava Grigoryan: Travel Guide

Read "Travel Guide" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
October 15, 2013

Following an early series of ensemble releases for ECM (the label he's called home as a leader since 1973), Ralph Towner ushered in the new millennium by focusing on solo explorations with Anthem (2001) and Time Line (2006). Not that there's anything wrong with that, but after classic records like Solstice (1975) and Batik (1978), there are those who have long pined for the days when the guitarist/pianist collaborated more regularly with others beyond Oregon, the groundbreaking group shared with ...

Take Five With...

Take Five With Laurie Antonioli

by AAJ Staff
October 15, 2013

Meet Laurie Antonioli: Whether interpreting American songbook standards, reinventing traditional American songs, or introducing contemporary melodies made vivid with her original lyrics, Antonioli brings her inclusive musical intelligence to bear on every tune. The result is a gorgeous tapestry woven from the raw materials of jazz, folk, country music, Balkan melodies and harmonies, and a style that is entirely original. She's worked and recorded with George Cables, Richie Beirach, and numerous other well known jazz musicians. A singer's singer ...

Album Review

Christof Irniger Trio: Gowanus Canal

Read "Gowanus Canal" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
October 15, 2013

The trio recorded this studio date in nascent saxophonist Christoph Irniger's (Pilgrim and Cowboys from Hell, NoReduce) hometown of Zurich, Switzerland. However, the band was formed in New York as the respective artists are true jazz warriors, aligning their wares with various groups and sessions. Israeli drummer Ziv Ravitz and Los Angeles-based bassist Raffaele Bossard help elevate this outing into an atypical sphere by injecting unanticipated surprises that also equates to a highly democratic approach to the jazz trio concept. ...