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

Jose James: No Begining No End

Read "No Begining No End" reviewed by Mark F. Turner

by Mark F. Turner
February 10, 2013

With the panache of Marvin Gaye and the smoothness of neo-soul artist D'Angelo, singer José James has been dubbed the “Smokey Robinson for the new generation." That's some heavy but deserving press as James' previous releases- -2010's Blackmagic and 2008's The Dreamer (both on Brownswood Records)--bear witness. With his Blue Note debut, No Beginning No End's decidedly marketed project eschews the limitations of James being labeled just a “jazz singer" with a recording that swirls together jazz, hip hop, R&B, ...

Album Review

Sean Conly / Alex Harding / Darius Jones / Chad Taylor: Grass Roots

Read "Grass Roots" reviewed by Mark F. Turner

by Mark F. Turner
February 10, 2013

From the start of the track “Hotttness" the organized chaos is at first unsettling, yet gives way to a tight hook in the exceptional debut Grass Roots by a newly formed collective who sound like they've been playing together for decades. The two lead voices consist of alto saxophonist wunderkind Darius Jones ( Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing) (Aum Fidelity, 2009) and his equally gifted reed partner-in-crime, Alex Harding who masters the unforgiving baritone saxophone. But equally formidable ...

Live Review

David Hidalgo and Marc Ribot: Burlington, VT, January 26, 2013

by Doug Collette
February 9, 2013

David Hidalgo and Marc RibotThe Flynn Center for the Performing ArtsBurlington, VTJanuary 26, 2013It was indicative of the engagement of the near sold-out audience at The Flynn on January 26, 2013 that, with one word of encouragement from guitarist/vocalist David Hidalgo, its handclapping kept a (fairly) steady rhythm going for the duration of his and fellow guitarist Marc Ribot's spunky take on Los Lobos' “The Neighborhood."And it was Hidalgo's tease of the lyrics ...

Album Review

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble: Texas Flood: 30th Anniversary Legacy Edition

Read "Texas Flood: 30th Anniversary Legacy Edition" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
February 9, 2013

Guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn's ascendancy into the mainstream in 1983 via his debut album launched more than a blues revival. The release of Texas Flood, now available in a 2CD edition, signaled a paradigm shift where coexisting demographics (such as the MTV ephemera of the time) fought for audiences.As noted in the extremely informative, yet passionately composed liner notes by historian Ashley Kahn, Vaughan's first release with Double Trouble was a lightning rod for attention beyond just purists ...

Live Review

Jennifer Leitham-Judy Roberts Duo: Phoenix, Arizona, January 21, 2013

by Patricia Myers
February 9, 2013

Jennifer Leitham and Judy RobertsThe Nash, Jazz in AZ CenterPhoenix, AZJanuary 21, 2013The first-ever duo concert of bassist Jennifer Leitham and pianist Judy Roberts delivered dynamic musical invention that showcased their remarkable talent and synergism.Leitham's quicksilver agility and forceful skill reached far beyond the identity of acoustic bass as a support rhythm instrument. She combined percussive strumming style with glistening bass slides and resonant bowed work, all of which meshed perfectly with Roberts' ...

Album Review

Kat Gang: Kat Gang

Read "Kat Gang" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
February 9, 2013

Vocalist Kat Gang must have been thinking of the old show business adage, “always leave them wanting more," when she conceived of and recorded this four-song EP; this sub-sixteen-minute musical appetizer whets the appetite, as Gang inhabits each song with a world-wise voice and delivery, and certainly leaves room for a larger portion to fill the void. The Boston-born, New York-based Gang lives a double life as actress and singer, but both of those worlds converge here. ...

Live Review

Shemekia Copeland: New York, NY, January 18, 2013

by Mike Perciaccante
February 9, 2013

Shemekia Copeland The Iridium New York, NY January 18, 2013 Shemekia Copeland has a big voice. She sings with a passion and can fill a room with her beautiful tones without the benefit of amplification. Touring behind 33 1/3 (Telarc, 2012), Copeland did just that during her early show at New York's sold-out Iridium nightclub by strolling between the tables while singing an impassioned version of her father's (the late blues guitarist Johnny “Clyde" Copeland) ...

Album Review

The Discordian Trio: Hazlos Manzanos

Read "Hazlos Manzanos" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
February 9, 2013

The Discordian Trio formed in Edinburgh in 2008. releasing its eponymous debut on Fabrikant Records the same year. Hazlos Manzanos is the band's third album, a varied and fascinating collection with an eccentric edge. The album title refers to recording engineer Manzano Linares: a well-deserved accolade, for Linares has done a fine job in capturing the band's sound.The band refers to its instrumentation as “the power-trio format" but this particular guitar, bass and drums trio shows little tendency ...

Album Review

Cave Women: Cave Women

Read "Cave Women" reviewed by Chris Mosey

by Chris Mosey
February 9, 2013

Scarcely the most appropriate name. There's nothing primitive or brutal about this five-woman outfit from Sacramento, California. Cave Women's debut is a gentle, dreamy mix of original compositions influenced primarily by bossa nova and Celtic folk. Antonio Carlos Jobim meets Loreena McKennit? There are even--thanks to Emily Messick's accordion--occasional echoes of French chanson. It's sunny and optimistic. Well, they are from California. Perhaps not jazz but certainly jazzy and easy on the ear, with some nice four-part ...

Live From New York

Ivo Perelman, ESG, Frank London & The Pharcyde

by Martin Longley
February 8, 2013

The Ivo Perelman Quartet The Stone January 30, 2013 The leader of this quartet is actually its least-known member, outside of the hardcore free jazz zone. This gig arrived towards the conclusion of a fortnight's curation at The Stone by Joe Morris, who played upright bass for Brazilian tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman. The other members were pianist Matthew Shipp and drummer Gerald Cleaver. An impressive combination of players, even before their first notes ...