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

Ray Parker: Swingin' Never Hurt Nobody

Read "Swingin' Never Hurt Nobody" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
December 14, 2012

Legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt's legacy comes alive on Ray Parker's debut, Swingin' Never Hurt Nobody. A veritable double bass virtuoso, the freelancing Parker is much sought after as a bandleader and side musician in a variety of settings. This delightful foray into the musical world of string-jazz allows him to demonstrate his immense talents as an improviser and instrumentalist. His intricately built arco solo on “Guitar Sammich--Now's The Time" has a lilting cello quality in its tone ...

Extended Analysis

The Complete Arista Albums Collection

by John Kelman
December 14, 2012

When fusion first emerged in the late 1960s/early '70s with artists like trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Chick Corea and guitarist John McLaughlin, the emphasis was on guitar and keyboard heavy lineups like Return to Forever and Mahavishnu Orchestra, with an equally strong predilection for the intensity and volume of rock and a kind of thundering funk that was different than the kind of music coming from R&B and soul artists like Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind & Fire. Parallel to ...

Album Review

Ivar Grydeland: Bathymetric Modes

Read "Bathymetric Modes" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
December 13, 2012

A member of drone-improv band Huntsville and the more abstruse Dans les arbres who has given Ballrogg a facelift with Cabin Music (Hubro, 2012), Norwegian guitarist Ivar Grydeland has built a busy career as a performer and as co-head of the extremely left-of-center SOFA Music. In most live contexts, like his 2007 Punkt Festival appearances with Huntsville and Dans les arbres--and whether acoustic or electric, effected or not--Grydeland has always positioned himself on the outré side of things, often being ...

Catching Up With

Jorge Luis Pacheco: Where In The World Is Pacheco?

by Melanie Futorian
December 13, 2012

From a country hot in climate and culture, Jorge Luis Pacheco has emerged. The young, passionate Cuban pianist plays with versatility, agility and dynamism; though a mere 25 years old, he has already been invited by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis to guest with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in Havana.Pacheco has also shared the stage with many great musicians, ranging from members of The Buena Vista Social Club to bassist Stanley Clarke. In 2007, he received first prize ...

Live Review

Barry Guy New Orchestra: Krakow, Poland, November 20-23, 2012

by John Sharpe
December 13, 2012

Barry Guy New OrchestraAlchemiaKrakow, PolandNovember 20-23, 2012 Now in its seventh year, the annual autumn jazz extravaganza--Krakowska Jesien Jazzowa, in the beautiful Polish city of Krakow--has gone from strength to strength. It's impossible to see all the acts on the bill without spending several months in residence as they come in blocks from early October through to the start of December. Famed in recent years for its vibrant jazz scene, the festival attracts top notch ...

Album Review

Shingo Yuji: Introducing Shingo Yuji

Read "Introducing Shingo Yuji" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
December 13, 2012

Japanese-born guitarist/composer/shakuhachi player Shingo Yuji has made his home in Los Angeles. On Introducing Shingo Yuji, he draws deeply on his native, rich musical heritage as well as jazz and pop worlds to create an engaging mélange. Yuji 's “Laputa" features an undulating melody with western rhythms and eastern harmonies. Tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III has an ardent and languid sound that matches Yuji's thick, laidback and darkly simmering groove well. Yuji's father, an ...

Album Review

Metallic Taste of Blood: Metallic Taste of Blood

Read "Metallic Taste of Blood" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
December 13, 2012

The album title could automatically allude to an outing by a hardcore death-metal band, yet Metallic Taste of Blood's diverse lineup touches on this quotient of loudly intense fare to coincide with other voluminous, enterprising factors. Here, guitarist/producer Eraldo Bernocchi teams with Porcupine Tree bassist Colin Edwin, keyboardist Jamie Saft (John Zorn, Bad Brains, Black Shabbis) and drummer Balazs Pandi (Merzbow, Venetian Snares). Fabricated on art-punk rock, supercharged dub, fuzzed-out metal, ethereal sound-shaping, and components that span multiple genres, the ...

Live Review

Sonny Rollins: Barcelona Voll-Damm Jazz Festival, Spain, November 20, 2012

by Josep Pedro
December 13, 2012

Sonny RollinsPalau de la Música44 Barcelona Voll-Damm International Jazz FestivalNovember 20, 2012Traditionally marked in the calendar for being fascist dictator Franco's death anniversary, November 20--or 20-N, as referred to in Spain--has frequently been accompanied by some infamous demonstrations where the restrictive and attacking attitudes that would, by now, hopefully be a thing of the past still take the chance to make a shout in a public space. For an eager audience, this day in 2012 ...

Album Review

Jim McAuley: Gongfarmer 36

Read "Gongfarmer 36" reviewed by John Eyles

by John Eyles
December 12, 2012

As its title suggests, Gongfarmer 36 is the belated follow-up to guitarist Jim McAuley's Gongfarmer 18 (Nine Winds Records, 2005). But the seven-year delay is not surprising, as additions to McAuley's discography tend to arrive sporadically--the last being Vignes (Long Song, 2009), with the wonderful Acoustic Guitar Trio which brought him together with Nels Cline and the late Rod Poole. As well as two solo and two trio albums, The Ultimate Frog (Drip Audio, 2008) features a quintet worthy of ...

Album Review

Wave Mechanics Union: Further To Fly

Read "Further To Fly" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
December 12, 2012

Rock music has been mined to the nth degree by jazz prospectors. Trumpeter Miles Davis was doing Michael Jackson and Cyndi Lauper a quarter century back; pianist Brad Mehldau has made Radiohead his own; jazz legend Herbie Hancock spoke of new standards by Peter Gabriel and Nirvana; and organ guru Dr. Lonnie Smith has delivered a whole platter of pleasing Beck songs. All of this might lead to the assumption that every rock vein has been stripped clean, but with ...