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.

169

Album Review

Chick Corea / Stefano Bollani: Orvieto

Read "Orvieto" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
November 14, 2011

Though Chick Corea and Stefano Bollani hail from opposite sides of the Atlantic they're kindred spirits in many ways. Two of jazz's more prolific musicians, both have explored music in any number of settings. Both embrace the roots and traditions of jazz yet refuse to be shackled. A love of Latin melodies is also common ground, but perhaps what binds them most are their boundless curiosity and an inherent desire to be at play. Corea recorded Play (Blue Note, 1992) ...

142

Live Review

Enjoy Jazz, 13th Edition: Heidelberg/Mannheim/Ludwigshafen, Germany, October 27-November 1, 2011

by John Kelman
November 14, 2011

Enjoy Jazz FestivalMannheim/Heidelberg/Ludwigshafen, GermanyOctober 27--November 1, 2011 It's always great to return somewhere that has become an annual port of call, but it's particularly nice to return to Germany's Enjoy Jazz, that atypical jazz festival which--rather than running for a week and concentrating a whack of shows in that short time frame--runs over the course of seven or eight weeks, giving jazz fans an opportunity to experience a wide variety of performers, but at a more ...

310

Record Label Profile

Cuneiform Records: Growing Progressive Music for 27 Years

by Mark Redlefsen
November 14, 2011

Twenty seven years is a long time for a niche progressive music label such as Cuneiform Records not just to survive, but to remain inventive and, in the best sense, ambitious. Steve Feigenbaum founded Cuneiform back in 1984, and with his wife, Joyce, runs it from Silver Springs, Maryland. Hosting bands such as Universe Zero, digging up and releasing archival material from groups such as Soft Machine, releasing consecutive double CDs from avant-garde jazz heroes such as trumpeter Wadada Leo ...

131

Album Review

Simin Tander: Wagma

by Ian Patterson
November 13, 2011

Vocal improvisation rarely strays far from scat, so it's something worth celebrating when a voice emerges with a distinct vocabulary. Afghan/German singer/composer Simin Tander is such a voice, and her debut is an intriguing offering of compositions sung in English, Spanish and her own, striking improvisations. Backed by a piano-led jazz trio which is both sympathetically supportive and subtly dynamic, Tander's instantly appealing voice, and uncommon approach to vocal jazz--within a modern jazz quartet setting--makes for compelling listening.

225

Big Band Caravan

Westchester Jazz Orchestra / Sandvika Storband / Band of Bones

by Jack Bowers
November 13, 2011

Westchester Jazz OrchestraMaiden Voyage Suite WJO2010 The heavy-hitting Westchester Jazz Orchestra, one of whose ambitions under artistic director Mike Holober is to broaden its musical horizons, devotes its second album to renovating for a sixteen-member ensemble the music of pianist Herbie Hancock's classic recording Maiden Voyage (Blue Note, 1964). The resulting nine-part suite, with arrangements by Holober, Pete McGuinness and WJO stalwarts Jay Brandford and Tony Kadleck, gives Hancock's themes their due ...

164

Live Review

Maria Schneider: Voll-Damm International Jazz Festival, Barcelona, Spain, October 20, 2011

by Enrique Turpin
November 13, 2011

Maria Schneider Orchestra 43rd Voll-Damm International Jazz Festival Barcelona, Spain October 20, 2011 Legend has it that a girl from Windom, in the agrarian depths of Minnesota, conquered territories banned to her human nature. They claimed that Maria Schneider, the name by which that little girl still goes by, had the ability to fly and make everyone in her domains do so. Many say that it is from above, where they were shown the truths ...

180

Album Review

Neil Yates: Five Countries

Read "Five Countries" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
November 13, 2011

Trumpeter Neil Yates has an extensive discography, covering an impressive range of musical styles, but Five Countries is only his second album as leader, and his debut for Wales' Edition Records. Joined by guitarist Zsolt Bende and percussionist Cormac Byrne, Yates has produced a melodic and atmospheric collection of tunes which fuses jazz and folk music. The title of Five Countries apparently refers to the three musicians' countries of birth, migration and residence. The album takes its ...

180

Album Review

Duduka Da Fonseca Trio: Plays Toninho Horta

Read "Plays Toninho Horta" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
November 13, 2011

A disproportionate number of Brazilian-focused albums centered on one composer's work have been devoted to exploring the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, but he's hardly the only composer from that locale deserving of the tribute treatment. Countless others have become ambassadors who spread the wonders of Brazil through their music, and nobody is more qualified to pay tribute to any of them than the man who has become the very embodiment of Brazilian drumming. While Duduka Da ...

150

Album Review

Robert Kusiolek / Anton Sjarov / Ksawery Wojcinski / Klaus Kugel: Nuntium

Read "Nuntium" reviewed by Eyal Hareuveni

by Eyal Hareuveni
November 13, 2011

Polish-born/German-resident , composer/accordionist Robert Kusiolek has created an arresting concept of sounds, themes and patterns for his debut as a leader. Nuntium features minimal improvisation that draws from modern contemporary and avant-garde aesthetics, as well as jazz and folk and ethnic traditions. All seven cinematic improvisations feature a clear architecture and stress intimate and receptive interplay without sacrificing individual articulation. “Chapter 1" begins with Klaus Kugel' spare, soothing, resonant percussive sounds, but soon violinist Anton Sjarov's playing ...

301

Album Review

Steven Wilson: Grace for Drowning

Read "Grace for Drowning" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
November 12, 2011

Not that he wasn't already busy when, amidst being a driving force behind No-Man, Incredible Expanding Mindfuck and Porcupine Tree, singer/multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson released his first proper solo recording, Insurgentes (Kscope, 2009), but the past two years have been even more hectic. His outstanding work bringing the King Crimson catalogue into the 21st century with revealing new Panegyric/DGM Live stereo and surround mixes of albums including 1971's Lizard and 1981's Discipline, has led to becoming the “go-to" mix/remix guy for ...