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

The Clayton Brothers: The Gathering

Read "The Gathering" reviewed by Larry Taylor

by Larry Taylor
January 18, 2013

The Clayton Brothers--John on bass and Jeff on reeds--have been playing together for over 30 years, either in their small groups or in the large Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, formed in 1985 in partnership with drummer Jeff Hamilton. In small contexts, they have specialized in post-bop swing with a touch of funk, while the critically acclaimed big band is known for its crisp, intricate arrangements. The brothers have recorded many CDs in both configurations and traveled worldwide. In ...

Take Five With...

Take Five With Fado em Si Bemol

by AAJ Staff
January 18, 2013

Meet Fado em Si Bemol:Fado em Si Bemol formed in 2003. It started out as a project between good friends Paulo Gonçalves, Miguel Silva and Pedro Matos to explore the nontraditional sounds of the music throughout the world using the Portuguese guitar. We played a single show using sounds of Fado and Stevie Wonder. To our surprise, there was a full house and people loved the sounds. We continue our journey fusing different sounds of the world together ...

Album Review

Rudresh Mahanthappa: Gamak

by Mark F. Turner
January 18, 2013

Alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa continues to avoid stereotypes, whether pushing the envelope with his acoustic ensembles or including electronic colorations in 2011's Samdhi (ACT). With Gamak, his unique blend of progressive jazz and Indian music is still evolving. The added twist here is not only a reunion with the magnificent rhythm section of bassist Francois Moutin and tabla/drum guru Dan Weiss who performed on the saxophonist's Codebook (Pi, 2006), but also the addition of guitarist Dave Fuze" Fiuczynski. whose own ...

Album Review

Francesca Han: Illusion

Read "Illusion" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
January 18, 2013

Pianist Francesca Han's music contains a certain duality. She's a classical and improvising jazz pianist with one foot in the jazz tradition and the other wedged firmly in the door of contemporary jazz. An established jazz musician in South Korea, Han acquired new vocabulary studying and playing in New York, where she also collaborated with composer Jeff Fairbank's experiment in fusing Korean traditional music with jazz. Though jazz clearly dominates Han's playing, a ghostly classical vein is felt, as is ...

Extended Analysis

The Joe Locke Quartet with Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra: Wish Upon a Star

by John Kelman
January 17, 2013

When Joe Locke signed with Motéma Records in 2012, the vibraphonist was finally allowed an opportunity to more freely explore a broader range of interests, bolstered by the comfort of his affiliation with a label known for its strong artist support. His first release for the label, Signing (2012), was the long overdue follow-up to The Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group's tremendous debut, Live in Seattle (Origin, 2006), and despite being unjustly overlooked in some quarters was, without a ...

Album Review

Rez Abbasi Trio: Continuous Beat

Read "Continuous Beat" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
January 17, 2013

In the 17 years since Rez Abbasi released Third Ear (Cathexis, 1995), the Pakistan-born, American-raised guitarist hasn't just covered a lot of ground, he's gone from an undoubtedly talented but somewhat vanilla player to one with a distinct voice and approach. Starting with Snake Charmer (Earth Sounds, 2005) and Bazaar (Zoho, 2006), Abbasi began to find his voice, in a meeting place between the linear nature of his eastern roots and the broader harmonies of his western studies.For ...

Bailey's Bundles

Dena DeRose and Elizabeth Shepherd: Singin' Piano Players

by C. Michael Bailey
January 17, 2013

Pianists/vocalists Dena DeRose and Elizabeth Shepherd illustrate different sides of the same coin with Travelin' Light--Live in Antwerp, Belgium and Rewind. The former is a sturdy statement of standards presented solo live in the cozy and organic confines of a European venue. The latter is a studio marvel by an inventive risk-taker walking on a jazz high wire. Together, the two guarantee the viability and fertility of jazz vocals. Dena DeRoseTravelin' Light--Live in Antwerp, Belgium

Album Review

Manhattan Vibes: Blue November

Read "Blue November" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
January 17, 2013

Manhattan Vibes is a spot-on double entendre, referencing the vibraphone focal point that is Christos Rafalides and the hustle and bustle of the world's busiest city, which manifests itself in the group's music. Rafalides, who hails from Kozani, Greece and adopted New York as his new home, waited more than a decade to make a follow-up to the band's self titled debut, but it was worth the wait. The personnel line-up on Blue November is completely different ...

Take Five With...

Take Five With C Grant Maledy

by AAJ Staff
January 17, 2013

Meet C Grant Maledy:Raised In Salem, MO where he started playing, Grant attended Missouri State University in Springfield, MO, earning a Bachelors of Music Education and most of a Masters of Music in Conducting (here's hoping for August). Grant has taught at public schools in Branson, Eldorado Springs and Odessa, MO and is currently in his first year as the Director of Instrumental Music in Sedalia, MO. Instrument(s):Tenor and soprano saxophones.I ...

Album Review

Jim Pearce: You Are An Edgy Visionary Seer

Read "You Are An Edgy Visionary Seer" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
January 17, 2013

Pianist/singer Jim Pearce's records inevitably draw comparisons to those of fellow ivory tickling wordsmith Mose Allison. The fact that both are genre-bending virtuosi with dry as champagne humor, who play the same instrument is where all similarities end. The whimsically titled You Are An Edgy Visionary Seer is quintessential Pearce, replete with his characteristic mixture of levity and thoughtfulness. While Allison's trademark is his blues-drenched and folksy raconteurstyle, Pearce's is more urbane, and his lyrics refreshingly absurdist ...