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

Steve Dalachinsky / Joelle Leandre: The Bill Has Been Paid

Read "The Bill Has Been Paid" reviewed by Eyal Hareuveni

by Eyal Hareuveni
July 2, 2013

The verbal-musical match between American beat poet Steve Dalachinsky, who describes himself as one that was born “right after the last big war and managed to survive lots of little wars," and French double master Joëlle Léandre is unique and untimely. Dalachinsky's poetry focuses on his musical experiences and meditations on musicians--as a spectator or collaborator, or as an active player in a musical scene (for example with Matthew Shipp or Charles Gayle)--ones that transform him into a more conscious, ...

Record Label Profile

Dot Time Records: Placing the Artist in the Center

by Jakob Baekgaard
July 2, 2013

One of the problems with the record industry is the potential distance between label owners and artists. This is especially the case with major labels, where there are many people involved in music production who care more about sales than the vision of the artist. Then there's a label like Dot Time Records whose entire identity is built on artistic freedom and trust. This becomes clear when reading the short manifest on the label's website:

Album Review

Bill Frisell: Big Sur

Read "Big Sur" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
July 2, 2013

Big Sur, the mountainous coastal region of California lends itself to various geographical definitions--it isn't easy to pin down definitively. So, it was an inspired idea by the Monterey Jazz Festival to put guitarist Bill Frisell in a cabin in the area and commission music, because with Frisell, musical borders are delightfully amorphous. The suite that Frisell premiered at the 2012 MJF provided the blueprint for this album, which inhabits a strangely alluring space somewhere between modern chamber and country ...

Interview

Ray Russell: Playing with Time

by Ian Patterson
July 1, 2013

Each time guitarist/composer Ray Russell releases a new album, it feels like a comeback. Now, More than Ever, Russell's debut on the Abstract Logix label, comes seven years after Goodbye Svengali (Cuneiform Records, 2006), his heartfelt tribute to composer Gil Evans. Although Russell may drop off the radar for periods of time, he's never really far away from our ears. For much of the past 30 years, Russell has composed award-winning music for a plethora of hugely popular TV shows ...

Album Review

Gary Peacock / Marilyn Crispell: Azure

by John Kelman
July 1, 2013

Who leads a project is often nothing more than a matter of optics. Bassist Gary Peacock's name may come first on the cover of Azure, but there's no doubt that this is a collaborative affair, with pianist Marilyn Crispell an equal participant; the two even co-produced the recording, with label head Manfred Eicher nowhere to be found. Peacock and Crispell have worked as a duo for years, in addition to delivering two sublime trio recordings for the label with the ...

Live Review

2013 TD Ottawa Jazz Festival: Ottawa, Canada, June 21-26, 2013

by John Kelman
July 1, 2013

TD Ottawa Jazz FestivalOttawa, CanadaJune 20-July 1, 2013Having made the decision, in 2012, to broaden its stylistic purview to include not only music on the periphery of jazz, but artists with no real connection to the founding raison d'être of the festival, the 2013 TD Ottawa Jazz Festival continued to bring extracurricular music to its main stage in Confederation Park, looking to both bolster its bottom line and bring a younger demographic to an event now in ...

Album Review

Joshua Redman: Walking Shadows

Read "Walking Shadows" reviewed by Nenad Georgievski

by Nenad Georgievski
July 1, 2013

Saxophonist Joshua Redman combines some really attractive virtues: deep jazz knowledge and formidable technique on his instrument. Combine this with a balanced but slightly assertive style that is a prime example of fluency and inventiveness, and you have a musician of such intelligence and energy, who is so adaptable, that he easily finds a way to make himself at home in any given musical surrounding. As such, Redman is perfectly suited to performing with large ensembles.The orchestrations on ...

Take Five With...

Take Five With Ryan Oliver

by AAJ Staff
July 1, 2013

Meet Ryan Oliver:Juno-nominated, Toronto-based saxophonist, Ryan Oliver honed his craft in Canada's west coast before moving to Amsterdam, Toronto, and then New York. Since returning to Toronto, he has maintained a busy schedule as one of Canada's most in-demand saxophonists. Oliver has toured in India, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Canada with the legendary eclectic jazz group the Shuffle Demons. He is also a member of Juno Award-winning blues/rock performer Derek Miller's group. The band has ...

Album Review

Pablo Ablanedo Octet(o): ReContraDoble

Read "ReContraDoble" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
July 1, 2013

Executed and stylized within the heart of Tango, Pablo Ablanedo's octet features distinguished jazz trumpeter Phil Grenadier and other prominent Boston-based musicians. The Argentinean composer/pianist incisive arrangements, charted with layered horns and contrapuntal theme-building exercises are contoured by breezy choruses, buoyant jazz improv and the inherent festivities often resident within the Latin jazz element. Ablanedo's compositions contain a broad dynamic scope in concert with the percussionist's driving cadences and multi-hued shadings; rays of sunshine intersect these alluring works.Ablanedo's ...

Extended Analysis

Phish: Ventura

by Doug Collette
June 30, 2013

Phish: Ventura follows its predecessor Chicago '94 (Jemp Records, 2012) by compiling shows performed at the same venue. While not such a superlative set of gigs--the comparative virtues of these 1997 and 1998 concerts are more erratic--they do illustrate how a particular venue can affect a band's performance, whether on successive nights or successive tours. The relative comfort level can inspire or relax a bit too much, and both dynamics are on display over the course of these six compact ...