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 Paul Dunlea Group: bi-polAr

Read "bi-polAr" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
January 16, 2013

Bipolar disorder is, at its core, about extreme changes in personality and mood. When somebody is diagnosed with said ailment, it's a serious problem, but it can be a positive attribute when an album carries this affliction. Trombonist Paul Dunlea's two polar opposites deal with grooving funk versus staid scenarios, but nobody need worry about these severe mood swings; they're all part of the plan for bi-polAr. Dunlea is but one musician in a growing crew that's ...

Live Review

Donald Harrison, Ron Carter & Billy Cobham Trio: New York, NY, January 8, 2013

by Dan Bilawsky
January 16, 2013

Donald Harrison, Ron Carter & Billy Cobham TrioBlue NoteNew York, NYJanuary 8, 2013All-Star groupings are often dreamed up by promoters looking to capitalize on one-off, big name combinations that never really have the opportunity to gel; that's not the case with saxophonist Donald Harrison, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Billy Cobham's trio. A New Orleans modernist who comes from the university of drummer Art Blakey, jazz's preeminent acoustic bassist and a fusion kingpin may seem ...

Album Review

Frank Gratkowski Quartet: Le Vent et la Gorge

Read "Le Vent et la Gorge" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
January 16, 2013

Multi-reedman Frank Gratkowski is a shrewd operator from almost all conceivable angles. And on Le Vent et la Gorge, the stylizations of drummer Gerry Hemingway's fabled quartet weave in and out of the full spectrum. Of course, this component is factored in by the drummer's appearance along with Hemingway's longtime band-mate, Dutch trombonist Wolter Wierbos, lending his wares as well. Ultimately, it's Gratkowski's hyper-inventive mindset that elevates this program towards its zenith, especially considering similar 2012 releases by others.

Take Five With...

Take Five With Scott Healy

by AAJ Staff
January 16, 2013

Meet Scott Healy:Scott Healy is a classically-trained pianist and composer who in the past three decades has performed and recorded many jazz, blues and rock artists, from Tony Bennett and B.B. King, to Bruce Springsteen, Levon Helm and Christina Aguilera. In addition, Scott has written concert music for symphony orchestra, chamber groups, film scores, and for a wide variety of original jazz and modern music projects. He is perhaps best-known for his longtime role in the house band ...

Album Review

Zoe Schwarz: Slow Burn

Read "Slow Burn" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
January 16, 2013

British singer Zoe Schwarz is a blues singer in the same way that the late Gene Harris was a blues pianist. Harris often referred to himself as a “blues player with jazz chops." Even his jazziest performances are steeped in the vernacular. For an example, see his famous performance from Ray Brown's Bam Bam Bam (Concord, 1988). Schwarz can belt the blues out with the best of them, but she is also a more than competent jazz singer, one who ...

Record Label Profile

Diatribe Records: Heart and Soul of the Music

by Ian Patterson
January 16, 2013

Whilst Ireland has long produced music of world renown, this tiny, most Westerly European nation has never been quite so famous for producing cutting edge jazz. However, as European jazz has gradually let slip the American accent--an evolution that perhaps gathered its greatest momentum with the birth of the ECM label--so, too, in Ireland, a new generation of musicians are venturing into increasingly more fertile grounds. One independent label that is cutting a fearless swathe through the ...

Album Review

Heather Masse & Dick Hyman: Lock My Heart

Read "Lock My Heart" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
January 15, 2013

Vocalist/songwriter Heather Masse received her didactic training at the New England Conservatory of Music and her practicum on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion. Her academy training was in jazz vocals, but her practical experience reflects more folk- flavored fare. Her previous recording, Bird Song (Red House, 2009), was a well- received collections of folk originals, solidifying Masse's folk bona fides established with the wildly popular Wailin' Jennys. Her voice is user friendly, neither over-practiced nor hyper-informed by her education. ...

Profile

Greg Abate: The World Can Sleep Better

by Rob Mariani
January 15, 2013

Only about 10 minutes late for a lunchtime interview with saxophonist Greg Abate, driving up to the restaurant he's clearly visible, standing by the door looking at his watch and scanning the parking lot with a slightly anxious expression on his face. Unlike some of the other famous and infamous players of bebop and jazz, Abate is very punctual. It's a habit he's picked up through the years of playing the music he loves and managing an often dauntingly complicated ...

Album Review

Arbouretum: Coming Out Of The Fog

Read "Coming Out Of The Fog" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
January 15, 2013

Hailing from Baltimore, MD, Arbouretum purportedly enjoys a hefty fan base overseas, but for those unfamiliar with the band, Coming Out of the Fog is most assuredly a good place to start. Framed by a sense of ominous regality amid lead guitarist Dave Heumann's nervy, prophetic, and authoritative vocal delivery, the plan of attack is partially mounted on glimpses of vintage hard rock and psychedelic propensities. The band also intersperses ethereal overtones into the mix, yielding a sonic craze that ...

Album Review

Yuhan Su: Flying Alone

Read "Flying Alone" reviewed by John Eyles

by John Eyles
January 15, 2013

Flying Alone is Taiwanese vibraphonist Yuhan Su's debut, a 2011 Berklee College of Music graduate who put together an international band to record the album in March 2012. As well as vibraphone, Su plays malletkat, and sings on two tracks. The personnel have been well chosen; although not long together at the time of recording, they are highly compatible, sounding both relaxed and comfortable playing together. The ten tracks are all original compositions by Su, written in the ...