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.

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Extended Analysis

Dave Stapleton: Flight

by Chris May
May 1, 2012

Dave StapletonFlightEdition2012Dave Stapleton is a multi-tasker of Olympian energy and talent. That is not a new observation, but as the pianist and record company director's outputs increase, it bears repeating. As well as operating the Edition label, which has released 30 albums of immaculately-recorded British and European jazz since he founded it in 2008, Stapleton has maintained his own career as a musician. Flight is his seventh album for the label as ...

Album Review

Dan Cray: Meridies

Read "Meridies" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
May 1, 2012

There is nothing iconoclastic about pianist Dan Cray. He derives his piano style more from Tommy Flanagan and Hank Jones than Matthew Shipp or Ran Blake. He has been driving a trio through four previous recordings: Who Cares (Cray Sounds, 2001); No One (Blujazz productions, 2003); Save Us! (Blujazz productions, 2005); and Over Here Over Heard (Crawdad, 2008). Cray has also provided movie music for actor Michael Keaton's The Merry Gentleman (2009) and appeared on the television show Gossip Girls.

Album Review

The 4: One

Read "One" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello

by Nicholas F. Mondello
May 1, 2012

One is a stimulating, thought-provoking recording from The 4, a quartet of talented Italian jazz artists. It presents a variety of hip, original selections offered at tempos from slower and serene to red-line light-speed. Combined with diverse melodic and harmonic textures, One certainly offers an engaging listen.Established from the opening cut--and reinforced throughout--One is a high voltage, rhythmically diverse and highly-focused collaboration. There is intriguing musical and creative interplay between the performers across a variety of grooves. Almost ...

107

Talkin' Blues

Talkin' Blues with Chuck Leavell

by Alan Bryson
May 1, 2012

Receiving a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; recording a new CD with guest stars John Mayer and Keith Richards trading guitar solos; successfully launching his Mother Nature Network, with ten million page views per month; publishing his fourth book, Growing a Better America: Smart, Strong and Sustainable (Evergreen Arts, 2011); being named an honorary forest ranger by the U.S. Forest Service, for his commitment to conservation; and working on John Mayer's much-anticipated Born And Raised (Columbia, to be released May 22, ...

Album Review

Kenny Garrett: Seeds From The Underground

Read "Seeds From The Underground" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
April 30, 2012

Kenny Garrett is one of the most respected and frequently imitated saxophonists in the jazz world, but he might not have reached his full potential if not for those who guided him and showed him the way. While some musicians try to rewrite history when they make it big, turning their backs on the nurturing forces and influential individuals that kept them on the righteous path, Garrett doesn't fall into that category. He gives credit where credit is due, and ...

Live Review

Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland 2012: Days 1-5

by Matt Marshall
April 30, 2012

Days 1-5 | Days 6-12 33rd Annual Tri-C JazzFest ClevelandCleveland, OhioApril 16-April 29, 2012 In the weeks leading up to the 33rd Annual Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland, the town was abuzz with rock 'n roll. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies were back in Cleveland--as they are now every third year--with the grand ceremony scheduled for the weekend before JazzFest. So with all the excited handwringing over a possible Guns N' Roses ...

Album Review

Jerome Sabbagh featuring Jozef Dumoulin: Plugged In

Read "Plugged In" reviewed by Jeff Dayton-Johnson

by Jeff Dayton-Johnson
April 30, 2012

Plugged In is an immensely appealing record and an artistic success. The source of that success is the revelatory combination of the highly individual--and at first blush, not necessarily compatible--sounds of saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh and keyboardist Jozef Dumoulin.Sabbagh has had a string of critically-acclaimed albums, notably including North (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2005) and Pogo (Sunnyside, 2007), both of which featured guitarist Ben Monder. On these and other records, Sabbagh comes across as a poster child for the ...

Album Review

Lynne Arriale: Solo

by Dave Sumner
April 30, 2012

Following up on her strong quartet album Convergence (Motema, 2011), pianist Lynne Arriale returns with a solo recording--a risky venture for any artist. In an ensemble setting, a musician has collaborators with whom to work and exchange ideas before the record button is punched, and more importantly, while the session is on the move. In ensemble play, a musician's unformed ideas or sound can be made whole by the other musicians in the ensemble; this is a big reason why ...

103

Album Review

Jazz Soul Seven: Impressions of Curtis Mayfield

Read "Impressions of Curtis Mayfield" reviewed by Mark F. Turner

by Mark F. Turner
April 30, 2012

While he may not be as recognized as Stevie Wonder or James Brown, Curtis Lee Mayfield left an indelible mark on American popular music as a pioneering instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and R&B producer. His compositions--including the score for the iconic blaxploitation film Super Fly (1972)--are compelling, incorporating the heritage of urban soul and gospel music and providing socially conscious messages--commentaries on the Vietnam War, inner city poverty, drug abuse and the tumultuous struggles of the Civil Rights Movement in the ...

111

Interview

Joe McPhee: Artistic Sacrifice from a Musical Prophet

by Lloyd N. Peterson Jr.
April 30, 2012

He could have easily chosen a different path: a more successful one or, perhaps we should say, a more commercial one. But that has never been the style or the character of multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee. His saint-like humility reflects a gentle and wise creative spirit; his music and poetry are a mirror into the human condition. He has never catered to the shortsighted vision of industry trends, and he expresses himself with a language that is in tune within his ...