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.

131

Album Review

Darius Jones Trio: Big Gurl (Smell My Dream)

Read "Big Gurl (Smell My Dream)" reviewed by Nic Jones

by Nic Jones
October 4, 2011

As of right now, alto sax man Darius Jones is one of the more distinctive voices; his vocabulary informed as much by the street as it is the academy, but his reach ensuring that this amounts to more than a fine balance between heart and head. He takes risks, too, considering that the trio lineup of sax, bass and drums is historically well-represented on record. But this band has its own things going on, despite its precedents. ...

164

Album Review

Jason Kao Hwang / EDGE: Crossroads Unseen

Read "Crossroads Unseen" reviewed by Troy Collins

by Troy Collins
October 4, 2011

Crossroads Unseen is violinist Jason Kao Hwang's third release with his all-star ensemble, EDGE, following Stories Before Within (Innova, 2007) and its 2006 self-titled debut (Asian Improv). Exploring uncharted territory between chamber music, jazz improvisation and traditional East Asian forms, EDGE boasts some of New York City's finest improvisers, including stalwart contrabassist Ken Filiano, rising cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum and undersung percussionist Andrew Drury.For many Asian-American artists, incorporating traditions from cultures outside the Afro-European Diaspora has become one ...

152

Album Review

Ryan Cohan: Another Look

Read "Another Look" reviewed by Alex Marianyi

by Alex Marianyi
October 4, 2011

Unlike many of his past releases, Ryan Cohan's Another Look focuses heavily on group interaction and improvisation. Penning all but two of the tunes on the album, the pianist's arrangements allow his musicians maximum flexibility. That the CD's main quartet has been playing together since 2003, and was on the road for six straight weeks before this session, further adds to the group identity found on this recording. The main quartet does, indeed, make this album come ...

186

Live Review

Hong Kong International Jazz Festival, Days 1-3, September 25-27, 2011

by Ian Patterson
October 4, 2011

Days 1-3 | Days 4-6 | Days 7-8 Hong Kong International Jazz FestivalHong KongSeptember 25-October 2, 2011 Jazz Festivals in Hong Kong have, until recently, had a checkered history. The very first Hong Kong Jazz Festival was held in 1987 and was an import of the Japanese-sponsored Live Under the Sky series of concerts which, on any given night, would throw up trumpeter Miles Davis and the Sun Ra Arkestra on the ...

168

Album Review

Jason Kao Hwang / EDGE: Crossroads Unseen

Read "Crossroads Unseen" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
October 3, 2011

Composer/violinist, Jason Kao Hwang has been firmly establishing his credentials in free jazz since his quartet, EDGE, released its self-titled debut (Asian Improv, 2006). His résumé includes work with genre luminaries William Parker, Anthony Braxton, and Henry Threadgill. There are inevitable comparisons to Billy Bang, with whom Hwang has also played, but the two masters typically utilize a different line of development. Crossroads Unseen features the original EDGE personnel, a stellar line up of free jazz veterans, in outstanding performances ...

177

Album Review

Uri Caine Trio: Siren

by Troy Collins
October 3, 2011

Siren is the first studio recording to feature pianist Uri Caine leading a traditional acoustic trio since 1998's Blue Wail (Winter & Winter). Since then, most of Caine's albums have alternated between radical reinterpretations of the work of revered classical composers like Beethoven, Mozart and Schummann, and the heavily amplified funk excursions of his Bedrock trio with bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Zach Danziger. Stripped down to their basic foundations however, most of Caine's efforts typically revolve around the classic ...

185

Album Review

Ivan Ivanov Quartet: Wild Flower

Read "Wild Flower" reviewed by Nenad Georgievski

by Nenad Georgievski
October 3, 2011

Saxophonist Ivan Ivanov makes his maiden voyage as a leader on Wild Flower, a marvelous recording that is steeped in the modern post bop sound. A member of a younger generation of jazz artists in Macedonia that have gained musical education outside the country, Ivanov brings a breath of fresh air with his debut. The leader's deft compositions are what make this CD a rewarding experience. From the start, there is much excitement in the band's playing, ...

190

Album Review

Jessy J: Hot Sauce

Read "Hot Sauce" reviewed by Jeff Winbush

by Jeff Winbush
October 3, 2011

The third major album by saxophonist Jessica Spinella (a.k.a. Jessy J) reflects both a reliance on a proven formula and the stirrings of venturing into unexplored territory. Jessy's got a problem. She can attribute much of her success to veteran producer Paul Brown, whose other clients include Euge Groove, Rick Braun and Boney James. Brown is a master of the catchy hook, which makes him more commercial than cutting edge. That's not a bad thing, but it doesn't ...

149

Album Review

Gösta Berlings Saga: Glue Works

Read "Glue Works" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
October 3, 2011

With its third release, Sweden's Gosta Berlings Saga articulates a story or two, correlating to the band moniker that is derived from a famous Swedish book, written by Selma Lagerlof, in 1891. It's the band's striking lyricism that rides above the power, grace and fluency and a profoundly balanced set, gushing with climactic theme-building episodes and mutable currents. The ensemble possesses a vast playbook. With a steady stream of cunning arrangements and layered sound-shaping mechanisms, the compositions sustain ...

132

Mix Tape

The Majesty of King Tubby

by Lawrence Peryer
October 3, 2011

King Tubby did not invent dub, but with hundreds—if not thousands—of sides standing witness to his wizardry—he elevated the form to an exalted level. Jamaican dub of the roots reggae era is the direct antecedent of modern remix culture, which today spans music, the visual arts, and even high technology. It is the immediate effect on the brain that is most impressive, though... TrackNameTimeArtistAlbum1Gorgon Version2:23Cornell Campbell & The AggravatorsKing Tubby's in Fine Style2Shooter Dub3:1King TubbyDown Santic Way: ...