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.
Sign in to customize your My Articles page —or— Filter Article Results
Gretchen Parlato, Oliver Lake, JAUBI and more
by David Brown
This week on the Jazz Continuum we have two featured artists. First, a set showcasing the liquid phrasing of acclaimed vocalist Gretchen Parlato. From there, a deep dive into works featuring master saxophonist, composer, painter, and poet Oliver Lake--known to many as the co-founder of the World Saxophone Quartet. We'll also take a look at Duke Ellington's “Paris Blues" Soundtrack, while wrapping up with new music from Pakistan's JAUBI quartet. Playlist Thelonious Monk “Esistrophy (Theme)" from Live at ...
Continue ReadingSwing Bands
by Monk Rowe
For pure swing, the bands led by Count Basie will never be equaled. Harry “Sweets" Edison, Ed Shaughnessy, Snooky Young, Gerald Wilson and Joe Williams offer personal anecdotes and insights that help us understand the man who personified big band swing. ...
Continue ReadingMetro, Karizma, Matt Garrison, Marcus Miller and Allan Holdsworth
by Len Davis
This show includes music from Mitchel Forman and Chuck Loeb with Metro, Chroma with Mike Stern and Dennis Chambers. David Garfield. Bassist's Matt Garrison and Marcus Miller. Also, Italian drummer Andrea Marcelli, Allan Holdsworth and bassist Alain Caron. Playlist Metro “Earthpluck" from Metro (Lipstick) 00:00 Chroma “Upside Downside" from Music On The Edge (CTI)09:41 Karizma “Heavy Resin" from Document (Creatchy) 19:22 Matt Garrison “Dark Matter" from Matt Garrison-Live (Garrison Jazz)29:03 Marcus Miller “Burning Down The House" from M2 ...
Continue ReadingSeun Kuti & Egypt 80: Heavier Yet Lays The Crownless Head
by Chris May
Seun Kuti is a chip off the old block: inheriting his father Fela Kuti's band Egypt 80, pushing at the edges of but staying more or less within Afrobeat's classic instrumental paradigm, unconditionally championing all oppressed and marginalized people, and, not least, enjoying blunts the size of baseball bats. One place where Seun has pushed at the edges is in his choice of co-producers. From Africa With Fury: Rise (Knitting Factory, 2011), for instance, was co-produced with ...
Continue ReadingThe 20th Anniversary DC JazzFest
by Jerome Wilson
2024 DC JazzFest Potomac Riverfront Washington, DC August 31 to September 1, 2024 Being the birthplace of Duke Ellington among other things, Washington, DC has had a long tradition as a hotbed for jazz, and been the site of several ambitious jazz festivals over the years. The most prominent one currently is the DC JazzFest which held its 20th anniversary edition over Labor Day weekend. The entire festival ran from August 28th thru ...
Continue ReadingMike Stern: Echoes and Other Songs
by Neil Duggan
Echoes and Other Songs is guitarist Mike Stern's first release since the loss of pianist, friend and confidante, Jim Beard in March, 2024. Beard, perhaps best known for his association with Steely Dan, appears here as pianist, keyboardist and producer. Stern is still on the long road to recovery following a fall in 2016 that broke both his arms and left him with nerve damage. He has adapted his technique and now uses a homegrown solution to hold his pick ...
Continue ReadingMy Summer with Sonny: The Podcast
by Patrick Burnette
Summer's winding down. How'd you spend yours? Pat spent his immersed in the music and life of Sonny Rollins, one of the greatest improvisers to grace the story of jazz. In this podcast, which is kind of an upcoming article in summary (and audio) form, Pat looks at the massive new biography of Sonny as well as four recent reissues of some of his best loved music, most of which involve trios.Playlist Discussion of Aidan Levy's book Saxophone ...
Continue ReadingDawn Clement / Steve Kovalcheck / Jon Hamar: Dawn Clement / Steve Kovalcheck / Jon Hamar
by Dan Bilawsky
A trio sans drums offers the opportunity for a capacious clarity that you can't find anywhere else. And this particular collective with pianist Dawn Clement, guitarist Steve Kovalcheck and bassist Jon Hamar embraces that possibility while highlighting an inviting style all its own. Splitting compositional duties and showcasing an empathetic sixth sense that involves baton-passing bonhomie, dovetailing joints, melodic volleying, conversational chemistry, steady support and sympathy, these three demonstrate what egoless creativity is all about. There is ...
Continue ReadingMeet Joseph Bowie and Oliver Lake
by Cheryl K.
In this hour, an interview with trombonist Joseph Bowie and saxophonist, composer, painter, and poet Oliver Lake, two members of the interdisciplinary arts ensemble BAG--Black Artist Group. The reissue label, WeWantSounds, is set to release its long-lost concert recording “For Peace and Liberty--In Paris, Dec. 1972." BAG was founded in St. Louis, MO in 1968 and included the core members of Bowie, Lake, trumpeters Baikida Carroll and Floyd LeFlore, and drummer Charles “Bobo" Shaw . Playlist Black Artist ...
Continue ReadingPeter DiCarlo: The Other Side
by Richard J Salvucci
On “The Other Side," Peter di Carlo plays a repeated figure that reminds one of John Coltrane trying to find “Giant Steps." Nonetheless, DiCarlo is an alto player, and more in the vein of Marc Russo or someone out of Tower of Power than a typical post-bop alto player. The figure, the shape and pacing of which reappears in “Fluffy Cloud," brings the entire weight of DiCarlo's band, which just happens to be Turkish, and based in Istanbul. ...
Continue Reading
