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

Brad Mehldau Trio: Denver, CO, May 11, 2012

by Geoff Anderson
May 26, 2012

Brad Mehldau TrioNewman CenterDenver, COMay 11, 2012Pianist Brad Mehldau takes jazz seriously. He named his second album as a leader The Art of the Trio (Warner Bros., 1997). But wait, he didn't use that name for just one album; he released five albums, as a series, under that name. Those albums came out from 1997 to 2001 and have recently been reissued in a box set, Art of the Trio Recordings: 1996-2001 (Nonesuch, 2011).

Album Review

Wet Willie: Miles of Smiles Live

Read "Miles of Smiles Live" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
May 26, 2012

On Miles of Smiles, the reconstituted Wet Willie displays all the effervescent vigor of its previous concert discs Drippin' Wet (Capricorn, 1973) and Left Coast Live (Capricorn, 1977). In fact, the group sounds more authentic than ever, based on the maturity of musicianship displayed here.Recorded with a current lineup including original members vocalist/saxophonist/harpist Jimmy Hall, brother bassist/co-producer Jack Hall and vocalist Donna Hall Foster, Wet Willie wastes no time digging into a groove for itself on “One Track ...

Live Review

Jim McCarty and John Hawken: New York, NY, May 2, 2012

by Mike Perciaccante
May 26, 2012

Jim McCarty and John Hawken with special guest Jann Klose Iridium New York, NY May 2, 2012 Former Yardbirds drummer McCarty and his cohort from Renaissance, keyboardist John Hawken--along with special guest, German singer/songwriter Jann Klose--delivered a spirited first set performance at New York City's Iridium jazz club on a cool spring evening.The festivities began with a stunning acoustic set by the Grammy-nominated Klose. Very capably accompanying himself on guitar, Klose's short ...

Album Review

Various Artists: Putamayo Presents: Brazilian Beat

Read "Putamayo Presents: Brazilian Beat" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki

by Chris M. Slawecki
May 26, 2012

"One of the exciting things we at Putamayo do is introduce artists to people who don't know them," says Putamayo Records head Dan Storper. Brazilian Beat surveys the roots and fruits of Brazil's contemporary music, selected from Putamayo's archive of tens of thousands of global/world music pieces. “You can really hear the intersection between past and present in the music of Brazilian artists," Storper continues. “We didn't make an effort to seek it out; this is what musicians are doing. ...

Profile

Celebrating Miles Davis with Quotes

by Michael Ricci
May 26, 2012

We're celebrating Miles Davis's birthday (May 26, 1926) with quotes about him and by him. All About Jazz senior writer R.J. DeLuke also compiled several from his past interviews with various ex-band members--and we included a salty one by Miles for good measure. If you know of a quote about Miles or one that can be attributed to him, please post it in the comments section below. I'll get us started. “He was ...

From the Inside Out

Missives from Distant Fronts

by Chris M. Slawecki
May 25, 2012

Bio RitmoLa Verdad Electric Cowbell Records2011 In September 2011, Bio Ritmo, the ten-piece salsa band from Richmond (Virginia), celebrated twenty years together, no small accomplishment for a band originally formed (says its official company bio) “as a percussion ensemble brought together by two misplaced Puerto Ricans who met at art school, combined with a local punk rock drummer."Communally led by Tobias Whitaker (trombone and composer), Marlysse Simmons (pianist and composer), ...

Album Review

Ergo: If Not Inertia

Read "If Not Inertia" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
May 25, 2012

A few decades ago, it wasn't evident that computers could become an integral component to music, other than some experimental persuasions set forth by the likes of eminent modern jazz trombonist George Lewis, who helped pioneer live electronics. But trombonist Brett Sroka carries the torch, yet in a different or, perhaps, more subtle light. With first-call avant-garde guitarist Mary Halvorson injecting her sinewy, odd-tuned phrasings, and acoustic guitarist Sebastian Kruger appearing on one track of If Not Inertia, the band's ...

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Opinion

Jazz on the Bosphorus: Troubled Waters

by Francesco Martinelli
May 25, 2012

For seven years now the rather laboriously named Istanbul Jazz Center (confusingly the logo includes the letters “JC's," I don't know why) has been one of the major clubs of the Turkish city. Situated in the posh neighborhood of Ortakoy, in the shadow of the first Bosphorus Bridge, its schedule has featured major international jazz stars besides local talent; resolutely mainstream-oriented, it provided local audiences the chance to listen to high caliber musicians, from guitarist Mike Stern to pianist Kenny ...

Album Review

Scott Dubois: Landscape Scripture

Read "Landscape Scripture" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
May 25, 2012

Guitarist, Scott DuBois has taken a masterly turn with Landscape Scripture, an extended piece that carries aural impressions of one of Claude Monet's famous series of paintings, “Haystacks." The renowned French master had conceived of his pastoral exhibit in a series of 25 canvases that looked at the iconic sculptures of hay at different times of day, and at different times of the year. DuBois has created his suite around aspects of the paintings depicted by the four seasons and ...

Album Review

Greg Diamond: Conduit

Read "Conduit" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
May 25, 2012

New York guitarist Greg Diamond follows up his well-received debut, Dancando Com Ale (Self Produced, 2008), with the equally impressive Conduit--a session of contemporary modern jazz infused with Latin rhythms and elements of jazz-rock fusion, funk, bebop and a touch of the blues. The music is a hodgepodge of different influences, melding nicely into one superb package performed by a first-rate group of players. A fixture in the city's vibrant jazz scene, Diamond has particular affinity for the Latin side ...