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.

100

Extended Analysis

Al Kindi: Parfums Ottomans

by Chris May
January 4, 2012

Al KindiParfums OttomansLe Chant du Monde2012 (2007) Pianist Dave Brubeck and his quartet's exploration of “exotic" time signatures on the 1959 album Time Out (Columbia) was, for its era, strikingly adventurous. The disc's opening track, “Blue Rondo A La Turk," was in 9/8, and “Take Five" was in 5/4. More crazy than adventurous, thought Columbia's executives. They believed the jazz public would be baffled by the time signatures and, for almost ...

101

Album Review

Graham Collier: The Day of the Dead

Read "The Day of the Dead" reviewed by Nic Jones

by Nic Jones
January 4, 2012

Graham Collier's death, in 2011, lends this release a sad air--at least until the gravity of the music is considered, because truly the composer/arranger has gained some measure of immortality through it. Recorded over the years 1976 to 1978, the albums collected here mark a period of transition from Collier the bassist and small band leader to Collier the composer for large ensembles who grasped the implications of the tonal palette such groups could offer. In his ...

100

Live From New York

Dave Douglas, Wadada Leo Smith & Taylor Ho Bynum

by Martin Longley
January 4, 2012

The Dave Douglas/Donny McCaslin Key Motion Quintet Jazz Standard December 8, 2011 This was the first of four Dave Douglas nights at the Jazz Standard, each of them highlighting a different performance perspective. The unexpected has become the expected where this high-wire trumpeter is concerned. Douglas is perpetually scouting for fresh settings, new musical concepts and unfamiliar terrain where he's able to stretch his abilities, to heighten an already fearsome virtuosity and communicative ...

160

Album Review

Jeff Williams: Another Time

Read "Another Time" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
January 4, 2012

Drummer Jeff Williams' affiliation with New York City's fabled loft scene, amid stints with saxophonist Dave Liebman's revered 1970s band Lookout Farm, is but one highlight of a sprawling career positioned in numerous jazz-based platforms. On this quartet date, featuring an impressive supporting lineup, Williams draws a paradox of sorts via subtle complexities often filtered through modern mainstream and off-kilter thematic ventures. His crafty use of space decrees a purer concentration on soloing activities; unhurried, but deterministic, the artist's uncanny ...

109

Album Review

Mikko Innanen & Innkvisitio: Clustrophy

Read "Clustrophy" reviewed by Eyal Hareuveni

by Eyal Hareuveni
January 4, 2012

This is modern European jazz at its finest. Bold and inventive, smart and informative, ironic, funny but also sad and melancholic, the highly engaging Clustrophy addresses the rich jazz legacy on both sides of the Atlantic, without being bound to any specific style or genre. Finnish reed player Mikko Innanen has gained experience as a charismatic and articulate composer, improviser and leader with musicians from the Nordic arena, as well as from New York's downtown scene. Innkvistio ...

190

Year in Review

John Sharpe's Best Releases of 2011

by John Sharpe
January 4, 2012

Here are ten new releases and three reissues which stood out from those heard this year: Wadada Leo Smith's OrganicHeart's ReflectionsCuneiform String ensembles and fusion don't usually go together, but in AACM trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith's universe anything is possible. His Organic ensemble made its first appearance on the second disc of his acclaimed Spiritual Dimensions (Cuneiform, 2009), and here it returns, with only slight changes to the lineup, for ...

137

Album Review

3 Cohens: Family

Read "Family" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
January 4, 2012

It's a family affair that provides a luminous glimpse into the 3 Cohen's' broad jazz vernacular and notable technical expertise. With a formidable supporting lineup, the artists communicate an appealing mix of standards and originals, positioned on a It's a family affair that provides a luminous glimpse into the 3 Cohens' broad jazz vernacular and notable technical expertise. With a formidable supporting lineup, these siblings communicate an appealing mix of standards and originals, positioned on a rather festive modern mainstream ...

Album Review

Keith Jarrett: Rio

by Karl Ackermann
January 4, 2012

On occasion, Keith Jarrett's persona has overshadowed his creative contributions to music. Köln Concert (ECM, 1975) represented a defining benchmark for the legions who discovered jazz through it almost forty years ago. But while that seminal work was brilliant, it was not the virtuoso pianist best solo work. The live, spontaneously improvised Rio may not only be his personal best, but is also a flawless documentation of Jarrett's scope and understanding of composition and presentation. With fifteen compact pieces, the ...

113

Album Review

Noah Kaplan Quartet: Descendants

Read "Descendants" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
January 3, 2012

Schooled at the knee of microtonal innovator Joe Maneri and supported by Maneri collaborator Joe Morris on his first release as a leader, saxophonist Noah Kaplan's Descendants is quite the auspicious debut.Kaplan's music is an archeological dig that unearths the remains of mummified blues and early jazz--at least a well-preserved jazz sound once rediscovered by Ornette Coleman in 1959. Like the legendary saxophonist/composer's music, Kaplan writes unbalanced music that, thanks to Maneri, shifts through varied pitches, microtones, and ...

208

Interview

Jeff Gauthier: Open

by Ian Patterson
January 3, 2012

Violinist Jeff Gauthier has been a leading figure in cutting-edge jazz on the West Coast since the mid-'70s. As a leader, he's produced half a dozen compelling works with his band of 20 years, The Jeff Gauthier Goatette. Open Source (Cryptogramophone, 2011) finds the quartet grown to a quintet, with trumpeter John Fumo bringing added fire to what was already one of the most exciting combos in modern jazz. Open Source blends folkish, pastoral airs with a very modern jazz ...