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.

Live Review

Umberto Petrin / Pheeroan akLaaf Duo: Clusone, Italy, July 21, 2012

by Garrison Fewell
August 3, 2012

Umberto Petrin / Pheeroan akLaff DuoClusone Jazz FestivalMons TheaterClusone, ItalyJuly 21, 2012A premier performance by the piano-drum duo of Umberto Petrin and Pheeroan akLaff opened the first set on Saturday night at the 32nd annual Clusone Jazz Festival near Bergamo, Italy. Their music provided much more than the stereotypical first meeting of two musicians from different countries. The two demonstrated a high level of creative spontaneity, a genuine ability to listen and respond ...

Album Review

Bill Cantrall & Axiom: Live at the Kitano

Read "Live at the Kitano" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
August 3, 2012

The Kitano New York Hotel, in midtown Manhattan, offers one of the city's most intimate jazz lounge settings, and it is in this boutique hotel that trombonist Bill Cantrall follows up his critically acclaimed debut, Axiom (Up Swing, 2008), with an audacious second effort simply titled Live at the Kitano. Enlisting a core quintet group as he did on his first album, Cantrall's Axiom band contains many of the same players and includes alto saxophonist Mike DiRubbo and trumpeter Freddie ...

Album Review

Chemical Clock: Chemical Clock

Read "Chemical Clock" reviewed by Dave Wayne

by Dave Wayne
August 2, 2012

Yet another band arising from Seattle's embarrassment of avant-jazz riches, Chemical Clock is an aggressive and determined young band with a lot of good ideas and more than enough chops to pull them off. Led by keyboardist and composer Cameron Sharif, the quartet's self-titled debut CD EP is a brief and refreshing blast of post- everything avant fusion. Keep in mind that the word “fusion" is a bit loaded. Fusion, to Sharif and his colleagues, means something very different than ...

Live Review

Rigas Ritmi Festival, Riga, Latvia, July 4-7, 2012

by Bruce Lindsay
August 2, 2012

Rigas Ritmi FestivalRiga, LatviaJuly 4-7, 2012As city-based jazz festivals go these days Rigas Ritmi (it means Riga Rhythms) is a pretty small affair. But small is beautiful, as they say, and a combination of inventive programming and the lovely city of Riga, the capital of Latvia, made for a very pleasurable few days. The festival was established in 2001 and takes place each year in early July--which, in 2012, turned out to be an exceptionally warm and ...

Live Review

Jakob Bro / Thomas Morgan / Jon Christensen: Copenhagen, Denmark, July 8, 2012

by Henning Bolte
August 2, 2012

Jakob Bro / Thomas Morgan / Jon ChristensenHofteatretCopenhagen, DenmarkJuly 8, 2012The Copenhagen Jazz Festival, with its more than 1,000 concerts in 10 days spread over more than 100 venues and stages in all parts of the Danish capital is like a musical monsoon cloudburst. The concerts range from big international stars to up-and-coming Danish artists and the avant-garde, reaching beyond common perceptions of jazz music. The festival also offers a wide range of admission-free concerts ...

Album Review

Phil Grenadier / Bruno Raberg Duo: Plunge

Read "Plunge" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
August 2, 2012

Swedish-born and now Boston-based bassist Bruno Råberg explores meditative soundscapes with a flexible free improvisation approach in a variety of ensemble sizes. On Presence (Orbis Records, 2000) he featured a trio lineup. Chrysalis (Orbis Records, 2004) showcased an all-star nonet; and on his sprawling two disc Lifelines (Orbis Records, 2008) he employed a quartet. With Plunge though, he pares things down to an intimate duo setting, teaming with trumpeter Phil Grenadier for the most modern sounding outing in his discography.

Album Review

Story City: Times and Materials

Read "Times and Materials" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
August 2, 2012

Named after a town in Iowa, where drummer Steve Jennings' grandparents used to live, Story City is an octet of likeminded musicians exploring the interface between jazz and more pop-oriented styles. Jennings not only founded the group, but also co-leads it with bassist Terry Burns on Story City's debut, Time and Materials. The emphasis is on pleasant harmonies and complex arrangements rather than individual improvisations, as the group stays safely close to the melodies. The title track, ...

Live Review

Victor Wooten Band, Denver, CO, July 14, 2012

by Geoff Anderson
August 2, 2012

Victor Wooten BandCervantes Masterpiece BallroomDenverJuly 14, 2012How low can you go? You can't go any lower than the Victor Wooten Band. The band is deep, it's low, it's almost all bottom. This is a band where five members play bass. That is to say, five bass players. In one band. They didn't all play at the same time. Saturday night, the most bassists we heard at one time were only four. That is to say, ...

Album Review

Taurey Butler: Taurey Butler

Read "Taurey Butler" reviewed by Larry Taylor

by Larry Taylor
August 2, 2012

Having first heard pianist Taurey Butler while vacationing in Montreal, Canada at the House of Jazz, suffice it say that it was a great night of jazz from a trio also including bassist Eric Lagacé and drummer Wali Muhammad. Butler's self-titled debut features the same trio, playing six familiar tunes and five originals from the pianist.In his youth, a friend gave Butler a recording by pianist Oscar Peterson. And, in Butler's words, “I knew right away that's what ...

Album Review

Avi Granite's Verse: Snow Umbrellas

Read "Snow Umbrellas" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
August 1, 2012

Snow Umbrellas is guitarist/composer Avi Granite's third album as leader, as well as the debut from his New York quartet, Verse. Released on Granite's own Pet Mantis Records, the album features trumpeter Ralph Alessi, bassist Jerry DeVore and drummer Owen Howard on a set of Granite's original compositions that range from the free, improvised feel of “Four for 4" and “Tricycle Dreams" to more danceable tunes, via one or two gentle and romantic numbers.“Y Not" gets into its ...