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

Christina Gustafsson: The Law Of The Lady

Read "The Law Of The Lady" reviewed by Chris Mosey

by Chris Mosey
December 5, 2012

This has nothing to do with the transition to democracy in Burma; instead, it's Swedish jazz singer Christina Gustafsson's third attempt at emerging from under the shadow cast by her much better-known sister, Rigmor. Sadly, it's unlikely to make much of a dent internationally. The principal fault lies in drummer Calle Rasmusson's production; there is far too much of it. Rasmusson has assembled some extremely talented musicians, including two gifted guitarists, Erik Söderlind and Max Schultz, award-winning ...

Album Review

Marcus Miller: Renaissance

Read "Renaissance" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
December 4, 2012

Some things change, other things stay the same. Marcus Miller--producer and performer with everyone from soul singer Luther Vandross and pianist Herbie Hancock to guitarist George Benson and Miles Davis, composing and producing the trumpeter's late period classic Tutu (Warner Bros., 1986)--has been releasing solo albums since 1983, but it was with The Sun Don't Lie (PRA, 1993) and Tales (PRA, 1994) that the bassist/bass clarinetist established a modus operandi that has served him well in the ensuing decades. Renaissance ...

Live Review

Orquesta Aragon: San Francisco, CA, November 4, 2012

by Harry S. Pariser
December 4, 2012

Orquesta Aragon Palace of Fine Arts San Francisco, CANovember 4, 2012Although the group is celebrating its 73rd anniversary this year, any performance by the legendary Cuban conjunto band Orquesta Aragon remains a very special occasion. For many decades of its existence the orchestra had been prohibited to tour in the United States; this ban was relaxed only in recent years, with the group performing at Zellerbach Auditorium at UC Berkeley two years ago. In November, 2012, ...

Album Review

Don Cherry: Organic Music Society

Read "Organic Music Society" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
December 4, 2012

Reissued in analog splendor on vinyl, from the original 1972 release, free jazz trumpeter and saxophonist Ornette Coleman sideman Don Cherry renders an early world-music vibe, recorded in Sweden. These days, inferences to “organic" allude to the green movement which has become quite trendy in scope; however, in the hippie culture, organic was often the buzzword for drugs and was frequently cited within the psychedelic vernacular. Here, Cherry and his large ensemble intertwine the east-meets-west vibe for a set that ...

Album Review

Fred Lonberg-Holm's Fast Citizens: Gather

by Jerry D'Souza
December 4, 2012

When a band gathers some very imaginative musicians into its fold, it can only lead to one thing: an amazing listening experience. Fast Citizens has proved that over the years from the time saxophonist Keefe Jackson formed the band in 2003 and released Ready Everyday (Delmark Records, 2006), through to to Two Cities (Delmark Records, 2009), with saxophonist Aram Shelton at the helm. The members of the band were democratic to the core and decided that they would take turns ...

Live Review

Frode Kjekstad Italian Job Trio: London, UK, November 19, 2012

by Ian Patterson
December 4, 2012

Frode Kjekstad Italian Job TrioRonnie Scott's Jazz ClubSoho, London, EnglandNovember 19, 2012The London Jazz Festival may have ended for another year the day before, after 10 exhilarating days, but jazz never rests at 47 Frith Street Soho, home to Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. Monday night was business as usual, as it has been pretty much every night--bar a three-month closure for refurbishment in 2006-- since 1959. Following singer Mario Biondi's sold-our early show, it fell ...

Album Review

The Ratchet Orchestra: Hemlock

by Ted Harms
December 4, 2012

Wikipedia defines a ratchet as a mechanical device that allows for motion in only one direction; it also could be a piss-take or deliberate mispronunciation of “rat shit." Certainly the former is more appropriate for The Ratchet Orchestra's Hemlock, from a very large ensemble led by bassist/composer Nicolas Caloia. This group of 30 players is primarily drawn from the huge pool of improvisers based in Montreal, Canada, and the sound, thankfully, isn't just everybody playing all at once-- though there ...

Profile

Marcus Miller: Renaissance Man

by Pheralyn Dove
December 4, 2012

[Editor's Note: On Sunday, November 25, 2012, All About Jazz learned that Marcus Miller sustained non-life-threatening injuries during a bus crash on the A2 highway in central Switzerland. Unfortunately, the driver was killed in the accident. Online sources report that the bus was carrying 13 people, including two drivers and the 11 members Miller's band. The cause of the crash was not immediately known. AAJ sends condolences to the victim's family and loved ones, as well as healing thoughts for ...

Album Review

Cortex: Göteborg

Read "Göteborg" reviewed by Eyal Hareuveni

by Eyal Hareuveni
December 3, 2012

Norway's Cortex released its highly promising debut, Resection (Bolage), in 2011. The members of this high-octane quartet met during jazz studies in Trondheim, and began working as a band in 2007. Cortex follows the free jazz legacy of Ornette Coleman quartet with trumpeter Don Cherry, spicing it with wise, original compositions and uncompromising performances inspired by fellow powerful Scandinavian outfits such as Atomic, The Core and The Thing. Cortex's sophomore recording, Göteborg--named after the Swedish city where ...

Mr. P.C.'s Guide to Jazz Etiquette and Bandstand Decorum

Best of 2012

by Mr. P.C.
December 3, 2012

Dear Mr. P.C.:I've noticed that when a lot of the younger groups rearrange a standard or pop song, they take out a beat here and there. It keeps me off guard and if I don't count I lose track of the downbeat. But that's fine. What I'm wondering is: Where do those beats go? Beats Are Missing

Dear BAM:It's horrible to say, but this is simply the thinning of the species; ...