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.

232

Album Review

Chris Dingman: Waking Dreams

Read "Waking Dreams" reviewed by David Rickert

by David Rickert
August 16, 2011

Judging by Waking Dreams, Chris Dingman has spent a lot of time listening to Bobby Hutcherson's classic Blue Note albums. Given that his instrument of choice is the vibes, it should come as no surprise, but it's uncanny how much Dingman's debut resembles classics like Oblique (1967) and Patterns (1968) in sound and feel. Heck, there's even a Joe Chambers tune on it. This is not to take anything away from Waking Dreams, which is quite good in ...

256

Album Review

Nobuki Takamen: Live at the Iridium

Read "Live at the Iridium" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
August 16, 2011

Born in Hiroshima, Japan, guitarist Nobuki Takamen resides in New York City where he remains active in the local jazz scene amid gigs at major out-of-state festivals. Recorded at New York City's Iridium jazz venue, the guitarist steers his quartet through a progression of lyrically resplendent bop and swing works, complemented by interweaving plots and brief nods to non-jazz genres. Takamen's medium-toned lines, via his semi-hollow body guitar, parallel what is often heard in standard jazz guitar quartets. ...

219

Album Review

Chris Potter: Transatlantic

Read "Transatlantic" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
August 15, 2011

He's not exactly been quiet, performing with drummer Paul Motian's trio on Lost in a Dream (ECM, 2010), and continuing his ongoing relationship with Dave Holland, recently heard on tour with the bassist's flagship quintet at the 2011 Montreal Jazz Festival, but it's been two years since Chris Potter released Ultrahang (ArtistShare, 2009), his last date as a leader. Transatlantic ends Potter's recording hiatus, teaming the influential saxophonist with Denmark's DR Big Band for a brass-heavy set more orchestral in ...

195

Interview

Jacqui Dankworth: I Can't Help Pouring My Heart Out

by Bruce Lindsay
August 15, 2011

Jacqui Dankworth is one of Britain's finest singers; a strikingly effective interpreter of lyrics blessed with a superb voice and the talent to delve deep into the emotional heart of a song. Whether it's nature or nurture, it's not too surprising that the daughter of Sir John Dankworth and Dame Cleo Laine should have developed such a strong and distinctive vocal talent. What is, perhaps, more surprising is that, although Jacqui has worked with her family many times over the ...

181

Live Review

Newport Jazz Festival: Newport, RI, Saturday, August 6, 2011

by Timothy J. O'Keefe
August 15, 2011

Natixis Newport Jazz FestivalFort Adams State ParkNewport, RIAugust 6, 2011 On a hazy Saturday that started hot and grew more humid, violin and accordion walked a melody as Regina Carter's Reverse Thread opened the main stage at the 2011 Newport Jazz Festival. Will Holshouser's accordion puffed sounds inspired by zydeco and percussionist Alvester Garnet hinted at African-inspired rhythms. The band opened with the slow-moving tempo of “Juru Nana/God Be With You," followed by the ...

281

Album Review

Jacqui Dankworth: It Happens Quietly

Read "It Happens Quietly" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
August 15, 2011

It Happens Quietly is an album of great beauty. Singer Jacqui Dankworth is at the top of her game, investing this collection of songs with superb technique and humanity. She's ably assisted by superb musicians, and by some of the loveliest and most creative arrangements to grace a jazz record for some time. There's an element of poignancy too, as this album is the last work undertaken by Jacqui's father, Sir John Dankworth, before his death in 2010.

297

Album Review

Sam Yahel: From Sun to Sun

Read "From Sun to Sun" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
August 15, 2011

Sam Yahel made his name in jazz as an organist, notably on the excellent Truth and Beauty (Origin Records, 2009). In addition to a handful of well-received CDs under his own name, Yahel has worked his B3 Hammond magic on recordings by vocalist Norah Jones and saxophonist Joshua Redman. So it was something of a risk to return to his “original instrument," the piano, for Hometown (Posi-Tone Records, 2009), a piano trio set that opened with a nice take of ...

377

Album Review

Chris Taylor: Nocturnal

Read "Nocturnal" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
August 15, 2011

New York-based virtuoso Chris Taylor spent 30 years behind the scenes as a session guitarist amid works for TV and various electronics-centered persuasions. Here, the artist steps out of the pocket for his freshman solo stint, supported by a distinguished roster of jazz-fusion artists performing on select tracks. Taylor's influences seem varied, and his impressive compositional pen parlays a complement to his guitar expertise. Featuring precision-oriented theme building, loose groove dialogues and flourishing arrangements, Taylors merges fury, muscle, ...

182

Album Review

Sonny Rollins: Newk's Time

Read "Newk's Time" reviewed by Greg Simmons

by Greg Simmons
August 14, 2011

Possibly the premier US remastering shop, Music Matters continues to reissue Blue Note albums of the 1950s and 1960s on premium 180 gram, 45rpm vinyl. These recordings are at the heart of the jazz canon and should be heard by any serious student of the music. Now, one of the finest performances in the Blue Note catalogue, tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins' 1957 date Newk's Time, has hit the street. Newk's Time features some of Rollins' most robust ...

292

Album Review

Katie Bull: Freak Miracle

Read "Freak Miracle" reviewed by Florence Wetzel

by Florence Wetzel
August 14, 2011

Katie Bull is a highly original talent, a vocalist steeped in tradition who fearlessly rocks the boundaries of the known. Freak Miracle is a wonderfully expressive and free-flowing CD, a fresh and unpredictable mix that highlights Bull's gift for approaching music and songwriting from her own unique angle. Eleven of the fourteen tracks on Freak Miracle are Bull originals, and no two songs are alike, whether it's an homage to mentor Sheila Jordan on “Back to Square One," ...