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

Toma Gouband: Courant des Vents

Read "Courant des Vents" reviewed by John Eyles

by John Eyles
May 13, 2012

A lithophone is a musical instrument consisting of a rock or pieces of rock which are struck to produce musical notes, either in combination, producing harmony, or in succession, producing melodies. In May, 2011, French percussionist Toma Gouband visited London to play at the annual Freedom of the City festival, solo and in an Evan Parker octet including Matt Wright and Lawrence Casserley on electronics. Gouband played a lithophone and other assorted means of percussion, including a bunch of tree ...

Album Review

Jan Klare's 1000: (Shoe)

by Jerry D'Souza
May 13, 2012

Inspiration can come from unexpected sources. For reed player Jan Klare, it sprung from the words of a musician who churned in him the desire to create music that was as palpable as an object made of leather or wood. Palpability can be physical as well as organic and if Klare was looking for the latter, he has accomplished it splendidly on this recording.In keeping with his desire and his vision, Klare moulds a tangible portrait of a ...

Album Review

AYCH / Jim Hobbs / Mary Halvorson / Taylor Ho Bynum: As The Crow Flies

Read "As The Crow Flies" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
May 13, 2012

Three prominent modern-era improvisers offer a lesson in stark contrasts on this session, containing semi-structured and composed works. The artists construct off-center balladry, angst, and playful, cartoon-like soundscapes, amid a few doomsday scenarios dispersed throughout the jaggedly moving parts. Alto saxophonist Jim Hobbs' “Over Yonder" stands out, because it would have seemed highly unlikely that the trio would flirt with traditional, New Orleans jazz frameworks within the set's largely freely organized and vastly expressive agenda. Sparking remembrances of ...

Album Review

Tony Monaco: Celebration

Read "Celebration" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

by Hrayr Attarian
May 13, 2012

If organists Shirley Scott and Jimmy Smith had formed some sort of a musical union, the offspring would no doubt have been Tony Monaco. Manifesting the melodicism of the former, the orchestral sensibilities of the latter and virtuosity of both, Monaco has become one of the most versatile and dazzling performers on the Hammond B3. The limited edition two-CD Celebration, on Monaco's own Chicken Coop label finds The organist in the company of various collaborators and in ...

Extended Analysis

The Wine of Silence (with Andrew Keeling and David Singleton)

by John Kelman
May 12, 2012

It's strange how things sometimes come around full circle...well, almost. After helping to define symphonic prog with King Crimson and the seminal In the Court of the Crimson King (DGM Live, 1969)--mellotrons screaming instead of a real orchestras swirling--the rigors of the road, and keeping a band together, caused co-founder/guitarist Robert Fripp to desert such problems entirely by 1975. He began touring with fellow sonic explorer Brian Eno in support of their groundbreakers No Pussyfooting (DGM Live, 1973) and Evening ...

Album Review

Brandon Wright: Journeyman

Read "Journeyman" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
May 12, 2012

Saxophonist Brandon Wright sells himself a little short with the title he selected for his sophomore release. While he has been honing his skills while working in the employ of artists like trombonist John Fedchock, E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg and trumpet legend Doc Severinsen, he's hardly an apprentice at this point. Wright's debut--Boiling Point (Posi-Tone, 2010)--gave notice that a new and exciting saxophone slinger had entered the picture and Journeyman helps to confirm his status as one of ...

Live Review

Tower Of Power With Special Guests War: Westbury, NY, April 18, 2012

by Mike Perciaccante
May 12, 2012

Tower of Power with Special Guests War NYCB Theatre at Westbury Westbury, New York April 18, 2012 The Funk and Soul were flowing freely as Tower of Power and War both performed virtuoso sets at the NYCB Theater in Westbury, NY on this slightly chilly and overcast April evening.At precisely 8pm, War took the stage to a smattering of claps and a few whistles. It wasn't very long after the band had played a ...

Album Review

Purnell Steen and Le Jazz Machine: This Little Light

Read "This Little Light" reviewed by Florence Wetzel

by Florence Wetzel
May 12, 2012

Denver has always had a thriving jazz community, and between the 1920s and 1950s, the Five Points neighborhood was the heart of the scene. Known as the “Harlem of the West," at its peak Five Points had over fifty bars and clubs, and played host to all the greats: pianist and bandleader Duke Ellington, singers Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, saxophonist Charlie Parker, and trumpeter Miles Davis, just to name a few. Local players also kept things cooking, and soon ...

Album Review

Ro Sham Beaux: Ro Sham Beaux

Read "Ro Sham Beaux" reviewed by Jeff Dayton-Johnson

by Jeff Dayton-Johnson
May 12, 2012

The four New England Conservatory students who make up Ro Sham Beaux would have you believe that their sound is some kind of convoluted indie-rock/jazz hybrid. That pretense is present in the rock 'n' roll production values of the record and in the album artwork; it's even there in the press release.That's all well and good, but only serves to confuse the issue. This quartet is a cookin' little jazz combo, hard working and fun, with every indication ...

Album Review

Ohne 4 gespielt drei: Time Trial

Read "Time Trial" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza

by Jerry D'Souza
May 12, 2012

Ohne 4 gespielt drei is a trio of improvisers active on the improvised jazz scene in Köln and Berlin. All three lived in the Ruhr area before saxophonists Katrin Scherer and Sven Decker moved to Köln, while drummer Bernd Oezsevim took up residence in Berlin. They make for perfect cohorts through an intuitive understanding that processes the inner workings of a composition for a satisfying resolution.Scherer and Decker complement each other as they kindle a composition through a ...