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

Dagda Quartet: Dagda

by Bruce Lindsay
May 21, 2012

How to get a debut album noticed? It's not easy--big marketing campaigns, celebrity endorsement or major national television exposure are hard to achieve if, like most contemporary artists, the budget is somewhere between limited and non-existent. There's one key attribute that helps enormously though: great music. Welcome to an album full of great music: Dagda, the eponymous first release from this young UK-based quartet.Alto saxophonist and writer-in-chief Tom Harrison--studying at Trinity College of Music when this recording was ...

Take Five With...

Take Five With Ric Harris

by AAJ Staff
May 21, 2012

Meet Ric Harris: An article in Guitar Player magazine about the Old Town School of Folk Music caused me to leave North Carolina and move to Chicago. I caught Ira Sullivan and Joe Diorio at the Jazz Showcase one night and moved to Los Angeles to attend the Guitar Institute of Technology a few months later. I appeared in the Chicago area until 1991, at which time I retired and raised my children. Now that they are pursuing ...

Album Review

Andrew Lamb: Rhapsody In Black

Read "Rhapsody In Black" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
May 21, 2012

In spite of a more than three decades on the New York City front line, saxophonist Andrew Lamb remains something of an unknown quantity. Over that time he has amassed only eight leadership dates, the majority on small independent labels. To that total can be added Rhapsody In Black, a live blowing session from 2008 which feels as if it could have been recorded any time since the late '70s. Indeed, Lamb imbues his sound with the spirituality of late ...

Album Review

Annette Krebs, Anthea Caddy, Magda Mayas: Thread

by John Eyles
May 21, 2012

Thread features two contrasting tracks by the Berlin-based threesome of guitarist Annette Krebs, cellist Anthea Caddy and pianist Magda Mayas. “Sands"--the shorter of the two at under ten minutes--was studio-recorded in Berlin in 2008, while the 26-minute “Shore" was recorded live in concert in Boston in 2009. Despite their differences, the two tracks are similar enough to fit together well, giving a clear and consistent picture of the trio's music. Before the three came together, Mayas and Caddy played together ...

Album Review

Thollem / Parker / Cline: The Gowanus Sessions

Read "The Gowanus Sessions" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
May 21, 2012

Glaring expressionism coupled with rip-roaring layers of acoustic-electric sound-sculpting maneuvers yield the bountiful fruit on this manifold studio date. When guitarist Nels Cline isn't tearing it up with the popular alt-rock band Wilco, he's knee-deep in progressive-jazz, free-form experimental and jazz-rock formats. He's catapulted to the upper echelon of modern guitarists, paralleling the colossal faculties of bassist William Parker and pianist Thollem McDonas. Parker has been a perennial driving force behind the reshaping of jazz along with ...

Multiple Reviews

A Delightful Twofer from University of Arts in Philadelphia

by Hrayr Attarian
May 20, 2012

University of Arts in Philadelphia boasts a premier school of music that is devoted to educating the next generation of innovators in jazz and other modern musical styles. Its dual 2010 releases show that it is indeed succeeding at its mission. UARTS Z BandUniversity of the Arts Big BandSelf Produced2010Trumpeter and assistant professor Matt Gallagher directs the school's “Z" Big Band on the recording simply titled University of the ...

Album Review

Linda Oh: Initial Here

Read "Initial Here" reviewed by Mark F. Turner

by Mark F. Turner
May 20, 2012

President Theodore Roosevelt's famous quote, “Walk softly and carry a big stick," epitomizes Linda Oh, the soft-spoken bassist/composer who draws total respect with her intrepid musicianship. With her highly acclaimed self-released debut, Entry (2010), and increased visibility through recording dates and gigs like Dave Douglas' “Tea for 3" Tour, Oh is emerging as one of jazz's bright performers.Oh's sophomore release and first for Greenleaf, Initial Here, reveals even more of her savvy. Expanding from the debut's trio to ...

Extended Analysis

Various Artists: Fukushima!

by John Eyles
May 20, 2012

Various Artists Fukushima! Presqu'ile Records 2012 Okay, please sit up and pay close attention. This is an album that you really should not ignore. Fukushima! is a double CD consisting of ten tracks by renowned improvising musicians from across the globe--almost two hours of music altogether. All proceeds from its sales will go straight to non-profit organisations assisting victims of the 2011 Japanese earthquake and its aftermath. The ...

Album Review

SE-Quartet: Tears In The Rain

Read "Tears In The Rain" reviewed by Chris Mosey

by Chris Mosey
May 20, 2012

This album showcases the talents of two young, talented, Scandinavian jazzmen: Danish pianist Rasmus H. Thomsen and Swedish saxophonist David Ehrlin. It is flawed by lack of direction, occasional pretension, and the inclusion of strings on four numbers, but hints very strongly at greater things to come from both players.Tears In The Rain is more modern mood music than jazz. The exception is the most successful number, “Safe In Your Hands." Composed by Thomsen, it is funky and ...

Take Five With...

Take Five With Tanya Balakyrska

by AAJ Staff
May 20, 2012

Meet Tanya Balakyrska: A singer-songwriter, originating from the Ukraine and residing in Russia. Tanya's music style is quite difficult to distinguish: indie, minimalism, some bits of jazz, pop, lounge and sympho-fusion are mixed in it, depending on a particular lineup chosen. Tanya performs at various international jazz and contemporary music festivals in CIS and Europe, gets invitations to play at prestigious venues of Russia and the Ukraine. Her debut, Lviv Sessions CD became the subject of extended radio ...