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

Billy Bang: Da Bang!

Read "Da Bang!" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
July 24, 2013

On April 10, 2011, the music world lost one of the foremost innovators of the violin, Billy Bang. In addition to boldly pushing the instrument's boundaries, he is one of the rare jazz players who left an indelible mark on it. The Finnish TUM label posthumously released Bang's swan song, recorded a mere two months before his untimely death from lung cancer.Da Bang! is a sublime album of rich harmonies, multifaceted emotions, and tight, intellectually stimulating spontaneity. The ...

Album Review

Kairos 4tet: Everything We Hold

Read "Everything We Hold" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
July 23, 2013

With the release of Statement Of Intent (Edition Records, 2011) everything seemed to be coming together for Kairos 4tet. That abum, the band's second, was critically acclaimed; the band won the 2011 MOBO Award for Best Jazz Act. Then a trapped nerve in bandleader Adam Waldmann's elbow necessitated surgery shortly after the MOBO success and the saxophonist was unable to play for some months.Fortunately, by the sound of his performance here, Waldmann's recovery is complete. Everything We Hold ...

Catching Up With

Alexi Tuomarila: From Helsinki to Timbuktu

by Bruce Lindsay
July 23, 2013

Sometimes a person can be in the right place, just not quite at the right time. So it was for Finnish pianist Alexi Tuomarila. After his debut album with his quartet, Voices of Pohjola (Igloo Records, 2001), he signed to Warner Jazz in the early '00s, while he was still in his 20s. The second quartet album, 02 (Warner Jazz), appeared in 2003. Tuomarila seemed poised for great things. Then a sudden decision by the label to cut its jazz ...

Album Review

Mark Dresser Quintet: Nourishments

Read "Nourishments" reviewed by Robert Bush

by Robert Bush
July 23, 2013

Mark Dresser has risen to the very upper echelon of the double-bass world in the most impressive fashion: by choosing the road less traveled. His path of virtuosity has eschewed the conventional metrics of velocity over changes in favor of the development of a highly personal improvising language that includes timbre gradients, two-handed tapping, use of hammered bi-tones, and the amplification of subtle overtones of striking aural properties.He returns to explore ensemble music under his own leadership with ...

Bailey's Bundles

Mort Weiss: In Twilight... Not!

by C. Michael Bailey
July 23, 2013

If we, citizens, do not support our artists, then we sacrifice our imagination on the altar of crude reality and we end up believing in nothing and having worthless dreams... --Yann Martel, The Life of Pi The Internet has done a bang-up job of bringing everything and everybody closer together. An immediate effect of this “closeness" is that I have become acquaintances and even friends with many of the jazz artists and other industry professionals appearing in ...

Album Review

Photon Band: Pure Photonic Matter Volume 1

Read "Pure Photonic Matter Volume 1" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
July 23, 2013

The Philadelphia-based Photon Band conspicuously unites Indie rock with an amalgamation of psychedelics and spacey overtures amid occasional nods to the British punk rock movement and hard-driving proto-punk ensembles such as MC5. This limited edition vinyl release was largely created by the band's leader, guitarist/bassist/vocalist Art di Furia. Some of the rewarding elements can be attributed to the diverse track mix. With stinging psychedelic guitar licks and fuzzed-out chord voicings, di Furia's rather polite vocal delivery institutes a palpable asset ...

Album Review

Brandon Bernstein Trio: But Beautiful

Read "But Beautiful" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
July 23, 2013

Sensitive, serious and sincere are the adjectives that bass veteran Putter Smith uses to describe guitarist Brandon Bernstein, and those simple words prove to be descriptive bull's eyes. Bernstein started on guitar at fourteen, scored a scholarship from the Berklee School of Music at eighteen, and proceeded to wrack up a series of degrees--culminating in a doctorate in Jazz Performance from the University of Southern California. These days, he's working his way through the Los Angeles jazz scene and sharing ...

Album Review

Sandviken Big Band: In the Name of Freedom

Read "In the Name of Freedom" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
July 22, 2013

This admirably performed two-CD set by Sweden's celebrated Sandviken Big Band, recorded live in 2009 and comprised for the most part of music composed by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, isn't without its ambiguous aspects. First, there's the title: while anyone who produces an album is free to assign any name that seems appropriate, In the Name of Freedom is indeed puzzling, as it appears to have little if anything to do with what is being presented (and no explanation ...

Interview

Bill Mays: Inventions, Conventions and Dimensions

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
July 22, 2013

This title is more than a rhyme: it's an attempt to capture some of the legendary versatility of pianist Bill Mays. “Inventions" refers to his unprecedented, working jazz trio of piano, trumpet, and cello. “Conventions" is a nod to his invaluable contribution to the annual meeting of the International Society of Bassists (in 2013, he played 21 rehearsals and 24 concerts during the week). Finally, “dimensions" reflects his multifaceted musical accomplishments, which include soundtracks for TV and movies--for example, his ...

Album Review

Frank Wess: Magic 101

Read "Magic 101" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
July 22, 2013

Most musicians can't escape the ravages of time, but a select few seem to have taken a sip from the musical fountain of youth. The late Hank Jones, for example, played with brilliance and class until the day he died at the age of 91, and octogenarian drummer Roy Haynes continues to snap and crackle in all the right places, demonstrating unmatched originality and agility as he approaches the big nine-o. Saxophonist/flautist Frank Wess is another such figure. Wess, who ...