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

Patricia Barber: Smash

Read "Smash" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
March 9, 2013

Vocalist/pianist Patricia Barber's 25-year career has been brilliantly marked by a complete unwillingness to compromise her approach to music. She exists in that uncharted creative realm where she successfully defies classification as a purveyor of any particular musical movement or genre. These characteristics spotlight Barber's role as an innovator and catalyst for musical evolution, a musician performing from the front edge rather than the middle of the creative muse. Barber readily shows her chops with standard and original material on ...

Extended Analysis

Arve Henriksen: Solidification

by Henning Bolte
March 9, 2013

Arve Henriksen is one of today's most innovative, creative and busiest musicians in improvised music and jazz. He has his very own signature--first as a highly characteristic trumpeter/singer, but on other instruments and vocals, too. Those who only know him from his Cartography (ECM, 2008) or through his numerous sideman appearances, do not really know him--at least, not well enough.Solidification is a wonderful remedy, a worthwhile dig. This limited edition, seven-LP box set contains the music from his ...

Album Review

Pat Thomas: Al-Khwarizmi Variations

Read "Al-Khwarizmi Variations" reviewed by John Eyles

by John Eyles
March 9, 2013

Al-Khwarizmi Variations is the most recent addition to a select group of albums--the solo recordings of pianist Pat Thomas. It is Thomas's fourth solo outing in twenty years, and follows Nur (Emanem, 2001) and Plays the Music of Derek Bailey & Thelonious Monk (FMR, 2008). Both of those are hard to follow, but Al-Khwarizmi Variations is a worthy successor to them.Thomas is known to be an adherent of Islam, which may be why the album title name-checks Al-Khwarizmi, ...

Live Review

The Who: Denver, Colorado, February 12, 2013

by Geoff Anderson
March 9, 2013

The WhoPepsi CenterDenver, ColoradoFebruary 12, 2013The Who Pepsi Center, Denver, CO February 12, 2013One of the greatest moments on record from the Classic Rock era is the stunning contrast between the first two songs on the Who's Quadrophenia (MCA, 1973). The first cut, “I Am the Sea" is dominated by sea sounds with some tinkling piano and a far-away horn here and there. Roger Daltrey introduces the album's four recurring themes at various ...

Album Review

Madeline Eastman + Randy Porter: A Quiet Thing

Read "A Quiet Thing" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello

by Nicholas F. Mondello
March 9, 2013

Recently one of the sports channels delivered a segment about a deep sea diver who plummets into and ascends from ocean depths unaided by air tanks. He does it all on his own breath. In that documentary, the diver speaks about the peak life experience he encounters with each daredevil dive. The metaphors of adventure, heightened experience and certainly depth and breath, of course--are quite apropos applied to Madeline Eastman as A Quiet Thing is a terrific recording and an ...

Meet the Staff

Meet Chris May

by AAJ Staff
March 9, 2013

I currently live in: LondonI joined All About Jazz in: 2004What made you decide to contribute to All About Jazz? Enthusiasm for the the music.How do you contribute to All About Jazz? As a Senior Editor, I edit. I also write for the site.What is your musical background? Briefly a professional saxophonist, I later edited the monthly magazine Black Music & Jazz Review, before joining Bill Laswell's Celluloid label. I've since contributed ...

Album Review

Yuhan Su: Flying Alone

Read "Flying Alone" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
March 8, 2013

The vibraphone has experienced a resurgence in recent years, with numerous talented musicians drawing the spotlight to the instrument. Taiwanese vibraphonist Yuhan Su is another notable exponent. Su moved to the United States in 2008 and studied at Berklee under vibraphone players Dave Samuels and Ed Saindon and marimba player Nancy Zeltsman. Her debut as leader impresses on a number of levels, not the least of which is because these sophisticated compositions command the attention throughout the generous 73 minutes.

Big Band Report

"Lone Wolf" Finds Plenty to Chew On

by Jack Bowers
March 8, 2013

With Betty sidelined by a bad cough, it was up to me to seek out local jazz events in February, and I managed to find a couple of pretty good ones, starting February 7 at the University of New Mexico's Keller Hall where SuperSax New Mexico performed for the third time in Albuquerque. As you may know, SuperSax NM is patterned after the highly popular West Coast group formed in the early '70s by Med Flory and Sonny Clark and ...

Album Review

Thomas Borgmann / Wilber Morris / Reggie Nicholson: Nasty & Sweet

Read "Nasty & Sweet" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
March 8, 2013

From the first few notes, it's apparent that something special is happening on Nasty & Sweet. Perhaps it's the way bassist Wilber Morris and drummer Reggie Nicholson sound so assured in their placement of the merest splashes of color. Completely unafraid to take their time, creating a powerful tension which isn't released even when German reedman Thomas Borgmann joins with his breathily majestic tenor saxophone smears. There is a story here.Borgmann's trio with the monster US rhythm team ...

Multiple Reviews

The Arrival of the Modern Guitarist: Marcos Pin and Hristo Vitchev

by Hrayr Attarian
March 8, 2013

The first months of 2013 saw the emergence of two fascinating and innovative guitar albums by two very different musicians who, nevertheless, share a strong European sensibility.Marcos Pin Factor E-ResetBarbanzaFree Code Jazz Records2013Galician guitarist and composer Marcos Pin has undertaken a daring project with Barbanza, his first recording leading a large ensemble. The spacious, dramatic and quite inventive set consists of six originals and a reading of saxophonist John Coltrane's ...