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

Joelle Leandre / Serge Teyssot-Gay: Trans

by Eyal Hareuveni
August 19, 2012

The first collaboration between prolific French double bass and free-improvisation master Joëlle Léandre and fellow countryman, guitarist Serge Teyssot-Gay--founder of French progressive bands Noir Désir and Interzone, and affiliated with the experimental and more arty side rock--may not seem a natural fit. But this live recording from a benefit concert for the Point Ephémère magazine demonstrates that the two share a lot in common. Léandre and Teyssot-Gay weave patiently, carefully built and multilayered textures. Often these textures ...

Live Review

Yvonne Gage: Chicago, IL, July 24, 2012

by Don Howze
August 19, 2012

Yvonne GageTuesdays On The TerraceMuseum Of Contemporary Art ChicagoChicago, ILJuly 24, 2012The weather on Tuesday evening was perfect in downtown Chicago, in contrast to the previous two weeks, when the city was ablaze with 90 degrees-plus temperatures. Thankfully, the weekly outdoor concert series, Tuesdays On The Terrace, presented by the Museum Of Contemporary Art Chicago, enjoyed a cooler and more pleasant ambiance.The summer weekly event that showcases live music performances, outdoor ...

Album Review

Greg Lewis / Organ Monk: Uwo in the Black

Read "Uwo in the Black" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
August 19, 2012

Many a jazz musician visits the territory of pianist Thelonious Monk for a short spell, but organist Greg Lewis seems to have signed up for an extended stay. His Organ Monk (Self Produced, 2010) proved to be a completely original and exciting take on the music of the man affectionately and reverently called the High Priest of Bop, but Lewis didn't linger on this success. He buckled down and put together a sequel that is every bit as enjoyable, though ...

Extended Analysis

Rory Gallagher: Stage Struck

by Doug Collette
August 19, 2012

Rory GallagherStage StruckEagle Records2011At their peak, Rory Gallagher's live performances burned with a jaw- dropping intensity, none of which he frittered away with histrionics of any kind. Rather, the late Irish bluesman channeled his energy into his music, which is why the concert albums he released are among the best in his discography. In keeping with its dramatic title, Stage Struck is among that number.Opening with a frenzied rendition of ...

Album Review

Phil Grenadier / Bruno Raberg: Plunge

Read "Plunge" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
August 19, 2012

There are conspicuously few trumpet and bass duo recordings in the archives of jazz, though the rationale is not obvious. The sonic characteristics of the two instruments work surprisingly well in the hands of disciplined artists who emphasize the creative process over fireworks. Trumpeter Phil Grenadier, brother of bassist Larry Grenadier, is teamed with bassist Bruno Råberg on the very inventive and gratifying Plunge. The collection features eighteen original and completely improvised pieces, broken into several segments, and a cover ...

Album Review

Phish: Chicago '94

Read "Chicago '94" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
August 18, 2012

With the exception of the deservedly lavish package of The Clifford Ball (Rhino/Jemp, 2009), Phish has allowed its music to speak for itself on virtually all the group's archive releases. Chicago '94 follows suit, as this six-CD set--like the similarly conceived Hampton/Winston-Salem '97 (Jemp, 2011)--makes its statement through the largely brilliant musicianship contained therein, with virtually no accompanying content to place it in a historical perspective.Chicago '94 evinces a continuity in the content with its sound check filler ...

From Far and Wide

Final Call to See "Pops" Making Records

by Fradley Garner
August 18, 2012

Final Call to See “Pops" Making Records September, 2012 is final call to catch Genius at Work: Louis Armstrong in the Recording Studio, the currently featured exhibit at the Louis Armstrong House and Museum in Corona, Queens, New York. “Records as well as photographs, scores and other artifacts reveal Armstrong hard at work recording his masterpieces," Jen Walden, a museum spokesperson tells me. “These treasures give you an inside look into what went on at the sessions, allowing ...

Album Review

The South Florida Jazz Orchestra: Trumpet Summit

Read "Trumpet Summit" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
August 18, 2012

Following its self-titled South Florida Jazz Orchestra (MAMA Records, 2008) debut, this Miami-based big band now presents a power-infused second effort. The highly anticipated Trumpet Summit showcases several wonderful jazz trumpeters. Renowned bassist, and founder and director of the band, Chuck Bergeron was inspired to feature sounds of the trumpet after remembering all of the great trumpeters that have performed with the band over the last several years. Bergeron calls on a host of trumpeters including: Grammy ...

Film Review

Peter Gabriel: What a Difference Two Decades Make

by John Kelman
August 18, 2012

What do you do when you're an aging pop/rock star and the mind may be willing but the body is, more and more, simply not up to the task? For some, it seems the answer is: either make a jazz record, or collaborate with an orchestra. In the past decade, Rod Stewart has decimated the Great American Songbook not once, not twice but five times, beginning with It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook (J-Records, 2002), while Sting ...

Album Review

Anat Cohen: Claroscuro

Read "Claroscuro" reviewed by Ernest Barteldes

by Ernest Barteldes
August 18, 2012

Reed multi-instrumentalist Anat Cohen seems equally comfortable performing Brazilian jazz with Duduka Da Fonseca's quintet, contemporary jazz with her two brothers in the Three Cohens, or Afro-Cuban and more straight-ahead material with the countless ensembles with which she has worked over the years. Claroscuro reflects Cohen's unique ability to tackle multiple genres with the same dexterity. This is immediately evident with pianist Jason Lindner's “Anat's Dance," a contemporary tune with a Latin-esque feel that allows Cohen to stretch ...