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

Berserk!: Berserk!

Read "Berserk!" reviewed by Jeff Dayton-Johnson

by Jeff Dayton-Johnson
June 16, 2013

Bassist Lorenzo Feliciati is the driving force behind Naked Truth, whose Ouroboros (RareNoise, 2012), featuring trumpeter Graham Haynes, is an invigorating sonic slab of post-Miles Davis post-jazz-rock. Feliciati and vocalist Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari here convene a coterie of like-minded post-everything musicians to go Berserk!The hybrid music they make takes Naked Truth as a starting point and stretches in some new directions, notably that of various forms of heavy metal. Their ecumenical enthusiasm obviates the need to define what ...

Multiple Reviews

Confusion Bleue Live and in the Studio

by Hrayr Attarian
June 16, 2013

The collaborative combo Confusion Bleue is a rare a phenomenon on the contemporary jazz scene. Neither that the group utilizes sound snippets, nor that all their music is entirely improvised. confers on them a singularity. It is, however, the collective ability of its members to create intricate, highly orchestrated and profoundly moving pieces on the spot that makes the ensemble unique. The results are colorful tapestries of various influences which, far from difficult listening, are in fact quite melodic, atmospheric ...

Album Review

Evan Parker/Barry Guy/ Paul Lytton: Live At Maya Recordings Festival

Read "Live At Maya Recordings Festival" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
June 16, 2013

After twenty one recordings there may not be too much more to say about the superlative English threesome of saxophonist Evan Parker, bassist Barry Guy and drummer Paul Lytton. Some 30 years on since their debut Tracks (Incus, 1983), they converse in a language entirely of their own making, which relies on a staggering density of ideas, chops to burn and a preternatural responsiveness. Live At Maya Recordings Festival, captured at Winterthur, Switzerland in 2011 forms another top notch entry ...

Album Review

Gianni Bardaro / Pierluigi Villani: Unfolding Routes

Read "Unfolding Routes" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello

by Nicholas F. Mondello
June 16, 2013

The monochromatic cover of Unfolding Routes depicts an iconic--and stark--image of a deserted highway leading to an infinite horizon. It's perspective: an integral component of art. This collaboration of two outstanding Italian musicians is no dimensional illusion but, rather, an intelligent and involving artistic journey.Bardaro, Italian-born but now residing in Copenhagen, is a highly gifted alto saxophonist. He possesses both a beautifully haunting, poetic voice ("Unfolding Hearts") as well as fine technical chops, leveraging both heavily throughout. Choosing ...

Extended Analysis

Dave Koz and Friends: Summer Horns

by Jeff Winbush
June 15, 2013

The idea of a quartet of top smooth jazz saxophonists gathering for a super-session must have seemed like a great idea to Dave Koz. Why not invite Gerald Albright, Mindi Abair and Richard Elliot to join him for a sax summit? Hang out, play some together, have some laughs. It'll be fun. What could possibly go wrong?Quite a bit actually. The main problem with Summer Horns is it suffers from the assumption that if some is good, then ...

Album Review

Jon Irabagon/ Hernani Faustino/ Gabriel Ferrandini: Absolut Zero

Read "Absolut Zero" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
June 15, 2013

If you are as extraordinarily talented as saxophonist Jon Irabagon, probably best known from his tenure in the gloriously irreverent Mostly Other People Do The Killing, then you might occasionally need to set yourself challenges. He's done it before, on Foxy (Hot Cup, 2010), where he undertakes a relentless examination of a theme from every conceivable angle over 78 uninterrupted minutes. In this instance the gauntlet he has thrown down for himself seems to be to construct something meaningful via ...

New York Beat

Big Band Retrospective at The Allen Room

by Nick Catalano
June 15, 2013

Emceed by scholar/ vocalist Michael Feinstein, Jazz at Lincoln Center continued its 25th anniversary season in a celebration of the big band era. With music supplied by Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, an ideal orchestra for such a program, Feinstein succeeded in deepening an understanding of the relationship between the bands, their vocalists, and the songwriter/arrangers of the era. Dubbed Swinging with the Big Bands, the evening of June 13, 2013 showcased vocalists Nellie McKay,Connie Evingson and Sachal Vasandani, with ...

Album Review

François Carrier/ Michel Lambert/ John Edwards/ Steve Beresford: Overground To The Vortex

Read "Overground To The Vortex" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
June 15, 2013

The adventures of François Carrier continue with Overground To The Vortex. The well-traveled Canadian saxophonist has recorded in Nepal--KATHMANDU (FMR, 2008), St. Petersburg, Russia with All Out (FMR, 2011) and In Motion (Leo, 2011), of course Canada Entrance 3 (Ayler, 2011), and this release in Great Britain, where he made his Shores and Ditches (FMR Records,2012).His improvisational voice lends itself to collaborating with others, as he is an astute listener and a master of teamwork. He has recorded ...

Album Review

Jeff Berlin: Low Standards

Read "Low Standards" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
June 15, 2013

Indeed, bassist and educator Jeff Berlin is a modern era pioneer amid accolades that have piled high, spanning several decades via his astounding technique and contributions to progressive-rock, jazz fusion and modern mainstream jazz. Following up his jazz trio outing High Standards (2010, M.A.J. Records) also featuring bassist, pianist Richard Drexler, the core differentiator on Low Standards is that renowned drummer Mike Clark takes over the drum chair from Danny Gottlieb. Yet Berlin's game-plan is similar as Drexler uses the ...

Take Five With...

Take Five With Joseph David Howell

by AAJ Staff
June 15, 2013

Meet Joseph David Howell: Dr. Joseph D. Howell has gone from being a mostly self-taught musician from a poor small-town family to earning a Doctor of Musical Arts from a prestigious conservatory. Today he professionally performs, composes, and teaches music of many styles and instruments while maintaining an artistic focus on jazz clarinet and sax. Instrument(s): Clarinet, tenor sax, and others. Teachers and/or influences? Jazz Teachers: Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, ...