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

Ornette Coleman / Bachir Attar / The Master Musicians of Jajouka: The Road to Jajouka

Read "The Road to Jajouka" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
September 3, 2013

Jazz has been mixing it up with traditional Moroccan music for almost fifty years. Pianist Randy Weston was a pioneer in the late 1960s, followed by saxophonist Ornette Coleman in the early 1970s. A modern successor to those early adventurers is Boston's Club D'Elf, which describes itself as a “Moroccan-dosed psychedelic dub and jazz collective." Club D'Elf's 2011 double set, Electric Moroccoland (Face Pelt), featuring keyboard player John Medeski and turntablist DJ Logic, convincingly channelled the intensity of Morrocan trance ...

Album Review

Nate Wooley Sextet: (Sit In) The Throne of Friendship

Read "(Sit In) The Throne of Friendship" reviewed by Troy Collins

by Troy Collins
September 3, 2013

Since arriving in New York City in 2001, Nate Wooley has established himself as one of the most inventive trumpet players of his generation. In addition to the admiration of his peers, including fellow trumpeters like Taylor Ho Bynum, Peter Evans and Kirk Knuffke, Wooley has earned the respect of esteemed scene veterans, such as Dave Douglas, who said “Nate Wooley is one of the most interesting and unusual trumpet players living today, and that is without hyperbole."Wooley's ...

Album Review

Ali Ryerson Jazz Flute Big Band: Game Changer

Read "Game Changer" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
September 3, 2013

Yes, the idea seems rather implausible: a big band comprised of sixteen flutes and rhythm. Flutist Ali Ryerson is the catalyst and guiding hand behind the Jazz Flute Big Band (JFBB), which was formed in 2005 and has been performing at various events across the country ever since. Before dismissing it out of hand, give the JFBB's debut album, Game Changer, a listen; you may be in for a pleasant surprise. It's remarkable what well-written charts can do for an ...

Extended Analysis

Various Brits: Just Not Cricket!

by Mark Corroto
September 3, 2013

In the 1972 Monty Python Flying Circus skit “Are You Embarrassed," the announcer reads the lines, “Are you embarrassed easily? I am. But it's nothing to worry about; it's all part of growing up and being British." The announcer goes on to describe embarrassing words like “Shoe" ..... “Megaphone" ..... “Grunties," to test the listener's discomfort level. Somehow, even though the words spoken (in English) by the troupe were in a common language, the humor was quite alien to American ...

Album Review

Elliott Sharp / Melvin Gibbs / Lucas Niggli: Crossing The Waters

Read "Crossing The Waters" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
September 3, 2013

The performer roster of Switzerland's progressive record label Intakt Records was showcased in 2012 at John Zorn's New York City venue, The Stone. Venerable Swiss drummer and longtime Intakt recording artist Lucas Niggli teamed with New York City-based guitarist Elliott Sharp and bassist Melvin Gibbs for a maiden trio concert, wasting no time at all capturing their synergistic output by cutting this album the following day. The results are gratifying, as the multifaceted drummer-- known for pushing the envelope--attains equal ...

Profile

George Duke: The Master of the Game

by Jeff Winbush
September 2, 2013

[Editor's Note: The following piece was first published at AAJ contributor Jeff Winbush's The Domino Theory blog, and is reprinted here in tribute to George Duke, who passed away on August 5, 2013]I never caught George Duke live in concert. I never met the man in person. However, he did give me two hours of his extremely busy time to talk to me for a career-spanning interview. What came of it was the longest interview I had ever ...

Album Review

Magnus Ostrom: Searching For Jupiter

Read "Searching For Jupiter" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
September 2, 2013

For fifteen years Magnus Öström was the drummer with the Esbjörn Svensson Trio, known to many as e.s.t. For much of that time e.s.t. was one of the most successful jazz bands in the world, an innovative yet accessible group that seemed poised for ever greater success. When Svensson died in a diving accident in June 2008 both Öström and bassist Dan Berglund took time out. Öström returned to recording in late 2010, releasing Thread Of Life (ACT Music) the ...

Mr. P.C.'s Guide to Jazz Etiquette and Bandstand Decorum

September 2013

by Mr. P.C.
September 2, 2013

Dear Mr. P.C.:Is playing ahead of your time the same thing as rushing? Gregg B.C.Dear Gregg:What a great brainteaser! Look, if you're someone who rushes, then rushing is “your time," right? You can try playing ahead of it, but you'll soon catch up with yourself. The only way you can play ahead of your time--and stay ahead of your time--is to be in a constant state of acceleration.I turned this over to ...

Album Review

Trio 3 + Jason Moran: Refraction - Breakin' Glass

$Read "Refraction - Breakin' Glass" reviewed by John Sharpe$

by John Sharpe
September 2, 2013

If ever there was a threesome that hankered after being a quartet, it's Trio 3. Though working as a self-contained unit since 1986, pianists have often supplemented the core triumvirate, and in fact one has augmented each of the group's previous three recordings. Now Jason Moran fills the piano stool on Refraction--Breakin' Glass, adding to an already heady brew. From bassist Reggie Workman's youthful stint with John Coltrane, to drummer Andrew Cyrille's 11-year tenure with piano iconoclast Cecil Taylor, via ...

Album Review

Made To Break: Provoke

Read "Provoke" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
September 2, 2013

Each of these three extended pieces is dedicated to great twentieth century innovators who specialize in distinct disciplines. Led by Chicago outside jazz luminary Ken Vandermark, the quartet derives inspiration from avant-garde composer John Cage, architect, author Buckminster Fuller and philosopher, media theorist Marshall McLuhan. And as expected, the compositions are not thin or one-dimensional by design, yet from a semi-structured and improvisational standpoint, offer much in the way of excitement and entertainment. Vandermark also imparts some of the funk ...