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

Erena Terakubo: New York Attitude

Read "New York Attitude" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
July 26, 2012

Erena Terakubo is the next emerging star in a long list of young and gifted musicians hailing from the land of “The Rising Sun" who, may have thankfully, chosen jazz music as a possible career choice. Barely 20 years old and from Sapporo, Japan, this alto saxophonist caught the ear of jazz luminaries like renowned saxophonist Sadao Watanabe and Grammy award-winning bassist Eddie Gomez among others, then later signed with King Records, a major Japanese jazz label, for her first ...

Live Review

Ljubljana Jazz Festival: Ljubljana, Slovenia, June 20–29, 2012

by Henning Bolte
July 26, 2012

Ljubljana Jazz FestivalLjubljana, SloveniaJune 20-29, 2012Ljubljana, with its 53rd edition, truly hosts the oldest jazz festival in Europe. Norway's Molde, also a candidate, started one year later, in 1960. The capital of the now-independent Republic of Slovenia, neighbored by Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Italy, Ljubljana is situated one hour from Trieste, two hours from Venice and three hours from Vienna, and is a city with high appreciation of the arts. With about 300,000 inhabitants the city has ...

Album Review

Amina Figarova: Twelve

by Dan Bilawsky
July 26, 2012

Change is in the air that pianist/composer Amina Figarova is breathing. While the personnel from her previous outing is still intact, and her personal aesthetic remains largely unaltered, she comes to this album with a different worldview and a new place to call home. The Azerbaijan-born Figarova and husband/band mate/flautist Bart Platteau had been based in Rotterdam for quite some time, but decided to move stateside in 2010. This change of scenery served as the inspiration for the twelve-song suite ...

Album Review

Michael Pedicin: Live @ The Loft

Read "Live @ The Loft" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
July 25, 2012

The tenor saxophone has earned a reputation over the years as the wrecking ball of the reed family, but Michael Pedicin doesn't seem to buy into that line of thinking. While Pedicin can knock down walls and wreak havoc with his tenor if he so chooses, he rarely goes to town in this fashion. He'd rather play the role of the musical soul stirrer than the storming brute and it makes perfect sense, since beauty becomes him. ...

Live Review

All About Jazz Presents at Kongsberg Jazzfestival: Kongsberg, Norway, July 5-6, 2012

by Henning Bolte
July 25, 2012

Kongsberg Jazz FestivalAll About Jazz Presents: Doing It NorwayKongsberg, NorwayJuly 5-6, 2012 Kongsberg is a small town in Buskerud with about 24,000 inhabitant, situated s 55 miles west of Oslo, the nation's capital. Founded in 1624, after silver was discovered in the hills, the Danish-Norwegian king recruited German miners from the Harz Mountains (migration was common in those times). At that time, Kongsberg was the second largest town in Norway, rivaled only by Bergen. Also ...

Live Review

Ruben Blades: Valencia, Spain, July 15, 2012

by Josep Pedro
July 25, 2012

Rubén BladesViveros ParkValencia, SpainJuly 15, 2012Year after year, the iconic Viveros Park hosts a series of varied shows that combine international stars with successful national bands of different styles. The prices remain high, even as the socioeconomic and political situation in Spain becomes increasingly dramatic. Along with guitarist George Benson, Rubén Blades has been the main attraction of the 2012 edition for jazz fans--especially those willing immerse in the orchestral Latin sound that has influenced ...

Album Review

ZBT: Out of This Town

Read "Out of This Town" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
July 25, 2012

There are many fine selling points for the city of Tampa, but being a “jazz Mecca" probably isn't at the top of the list. With its aspirational title, Out of This Town may be the vehicle that takes the Zach Bartholomew Trio (ZBT) from their native Florida to some greater exposure. The group's debut recording is an exercise in democratic creativity with its namesake leader, bassist Brandon Robertson and drummer Miles Bozeman each contributing original compositions.Like many burgeoning ...

Live Review

Los Autenticos Decadentes: New York, NY, July 14, 2012

by Ernest Barteldes
July 25, 2012

Los Autenticos Decadentes and 3ballMTYCentral Park SummerstageNew York, NYJuly 14, 2012On the last day of the 2012 Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC), hundreds of fans, dressed in Argentinean national soccer team jerseys, descended on Central Park for one-hour set by Los Autenticos Decadentes, preceded by Mexico's 3ballMty, a trio of young DJs who mixed up Latin sounds with electronics and live percussion. The three MCs had great energy, jumping and dancing around while ...

Album Review

Carol Robbins: Moraga

Read "Moraga" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
July 25, 2012

The harp is certainly rare in jazz and so its role in a traditional combo is not well defined. Alice Coltrane, for example used it as a supplement to her keyboards, while Adele Girard, played it like a boogie woogie piano. Others like Janet Putnam and Betty Glamann were relegated to a rhythm guitar role in bands--very few approached it as a frontline instrument. Of those few, perhaps, the most preeminent representative is Dorothy Ashby who revolutionized the harp, taking ...

Album Review

The Soul Rebels: Unlock Your Mind

Read "Unlock Your Mind" reviewed by Wade Luquet

by Wade Luquet
July 24, 2012

The evolution of the New Orleans brass band continues with each generation and its latest transformation can be heard in Unlock Your Mind by The Soul Rebels. The work of these eight young Crescent City natives is progressive, rhythmic and addictive. It is also highly reflective of their early exposure to New Orleans beats heard in their neighborhoods and high school marching bands with dance rhythms backing powerful horns. The syncopated beat is held down by the rhythm section that ...