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.
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Marysia Osu: Harp, Beats & Dreams
by Chris May
Who knows how the jazz harp paradigm might have evolved had the instrument's most adventurous twentieth-century player, Detroit-born Dorothy Ashby, lived beyond her premature passing in 1986. Since then, most American jazz harpists have stuck pretty closely to the neo-classical glissandos and block chords-based style established by Alice Coltrane. New York's Brandee Younger is among the few who have shown a more than passing interest in Ashby's work and its emphasis on horn-like single-notes runs. In Britain, ...
Continue ReadingSam Wilkes: When I Can Read My Titles Clear
by Scott Lichtman
Bassist Sam Wilkes is known in jazz inner circles for the beauty of his instrumental sound. Immersing yourself in the flow of his ambient compositions, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that his electric bass is the bedrock of the harmony as well as the melody and rhythm in these songs. Wilkes also possesses a keen set of funky and improvisational chops. The bassist, dare one suggest, comes across like Jaco Pastorius chilled out by 40%. Share ...
Continue ReadingJihye Lee Orchestra: Infinite Connections
by Jack Bowers
Some eighty-odd years ago a handful of trailblazers led by saxophonist Charlie Parker and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie changed the vocabulary of jazz, introducing bebop as a successor to trad jazz and swing and radically transforming the music's landscape and perspective. Their terminology remained pretty much intact for a number of years, with partisans choosing a path between the diverse genres, until at last the very definition of jazz began to move in new directions with newcomers such as cool jazz, ...
Continue ReadingNew Albums From Stern, Shepik, Brady, Eldritch Priest, Bernstein And More
by Bob Osborne
This week's batch of new releases includes a more than usual amount of guitar lead music. With new albums from Mike Stern, Brad Shepik, Tim Brady, Eldritch Priest, and Peter Bernstein, plus two new singles from Ari Joshua, there are more than enough examples of guitar music to keep six-string fans engaged. In addition there is an excellent range of new releases featuring a variety of musical combinations and a previously unheard recording of the legendary Charlie Parker.Playlist ...
Continue ReadingJohn Fedchock: Justifiably J.J.
by Pierre Giroux
The accomplished trombonist John Fedchock has released Justifiably J.J., a heartfelt tribute to one of the most innovative figures in jazz, trombonist J.J. Johnson on the occasion of his centennial. Recorded live at The Jazz Kitchen, Indianapolis, Indiana, on March 3, 2024 (Johnson's hometown), Fedchock was accompanied by three top players: pianist Steve Allee, bassist Jeremy Allen and drummer Sean Dobbins. The session features eight swinging compositions written by or associated with Johnson, but instead of attempting to reinvent or ...
Continue ReadingThe Boys Are Back! (On the Same Continent)
by Patrick Burnette
Never mind what your podcast feed may seem to imply--the bastards haven't recorded a podcast together in two months, and this one got completed by the skin of their teeth. In this episode we look at two alto sax players from two very different generations (and degrees of reverence for the “tradition") and a pianist few have heard of and fewer still can understand. Pop matters covers the gamut from Dylan to the Blue Man Group with a few hobbits ...
Continue ReadingCathy Segal-Garcia: Social Anthems - Volume 2
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Los Angeles-based Renaissance woman Cathy Segal-Garcia is well-known as an innovator, trailblazer and an artist who sets her own artistic paths. As a vocalist, composer/arranger, broadcaster, educator and more, she has never shied away from risk. Social Anthems, Vol. 2 follows the first volume which also was a production with socially conscious themed material. With this effort she sends up eight tracks comprised of well-known selections and originals, all with that same orientation. “In Your Eyes" leaves ...
Continue ReadingWorth the Wait!
by Troy Hoffman
Many historical, live jazz performances have graced the past and thankfully were caught on recording; being released shortly after. For example, Art Blakey Quintet's A Night at Birdland, which is regarded as one of the best live jazz shows ever recorded. The performance is from the winter of 1954, and it was soon released on record that coming fall. That seemed to be the average turnaround time for a live jazz record in those transformative years. Certain live recordings, however, ...
Continue ReadingIn the Brewing Luminous: The Life & Music of Cecil Taylor
by Jack Kenny
In the Brewing Luminous: The Life & Music of Cecil TaylorPhilip Freeman 344 Pages ISBN: # ISBN 978-3-9553-261-9 Wolke Verlag 2024 The sign over the nightclub says it all: Cecil Taylor starts where Thelonious Monk leaves off. Jazz has never really come to terms with Cecil Taylor. Comparisons with Bartok, Messiaen, Stravinsky, Berg are misleading. Does Taylor have a direct line to earlier pianists in the jazz tradition? To earlier composers? Is he ...
Continue ReadingDhruv: Voyage 2
by Ian Patterson
Nine years after the genre-busting Voyage (Wah Wah Records, 2015), Indian guitar/composer Dhruv Ghanekar returns with the second leg of his ongoing journey of musical discovery. Not that Ghanekar has been idle in the interim, with compositional credits to soundtracks for a host of films and documentaries. Still, it feels like too long a wait between solo outings. Indian folk music is at the root of both albums, but whereas Voyage saw Ghanekar revel in an Indo-jazz fusion colored by ...
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