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.

201

Album Review

Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York: ETO

by Troy Collins
July 26, 2011

In addition to an ever-changing array of small combos, tireless Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii continues to lead four international big bands, each based in a different city (Kobe, Nagoya, New York and Tokyo). Of the four, her New York based Orchestra is both her oldest and most prolific, having maintained virtually the same line-up since 1997. ETO, dedicated to her husband, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura on the eve of his sixtieth birthday, is the Orchestra's eighth recording.A milestone event ...

278

Extended Analysis

Jan Kopinski's Reflektor: Mirrors

by Chris May
July 26, 2011

Jan Kopinski's ReflektorMirrors33 Jazz2011 Tenor saxophonist Jan Kopinski is best known for his pioneering improv-meets-funk band, Pinksi Zoo. Formed in the mid-1980s, Pinski Zoo burst onto the emerging British delinquent-jazz scene around the same time as Rip Rig & Panic, then fronted by multi-instrumentalist Don Cherry's adopted daughter, Neneh. Rip Rig & Panic sweetened its avant-garde jazz content with guitars, songs with hooks, some savvy rock and roll image building, and ...

263

Album Review

Sasha Masakowski and Musical Playground: Wishes

by Dan Bilawsky
July 26, 2011

Growing up in the Big Easy can be a blessing or a burden. The musical streets of New Orleans were paved with the glorious sounds of Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet, second line parades, and brass bands galore, making it a heavenly place for those wishing to soak their ears in the sounds of jazz from long ago, but that might not be the path for everybody nurtured in good old NOLA. Some artists want to reach beyond the confines ...

251

Album Review

Jeff Hackworth: Night Owl

Read "Night Owl" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
July 26, 2011

New York saxophonist Jeff Hackworth--who performs in the style of jazz greats like Gene Ammons, David Fathead" Newman and Stanley Turrentine--keeps the tradition alive on Night Owl. Leaving the standard piano trio behind, Hackworth recaptures the saxophone/organ blend made so popular by Lou Donaldson and takes it a step further by adding vibraphone to the mix. With organ master Radam Schwartz and vibraphonist Jay Hoggard replacing the standard piano/guitar combo, the quartet shuffles to a distinctly new groove.A ...

371

Live Review

North Sea Jazz Festival, July 8-10, 2011

by R.J. DeLuke
July 26, 2011

North Sea Jazz FestivalJuly 8-10, 2011AhoyRotterdam, The Netherlands The North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands is staggering in size, touted as the world's largest indoor jazz festival and that's certainly a good bet. With 13 stages running from late afternoon until the early morning hours, it's far more than a smorgasbord. More like an avalanche, but one where the music fan happily stands at the bottom of the mountain.Artists of all statures ...

271

Album Review

Stanley Turrentine: Don't Mess With Mister T.

Read "Don't Mess With Mister T." reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
July 25, 2011

When the CTI label originally released tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine's Don't Mess With Mister T. in 1973, it managed to bring music to the public that served as a sign of the times, while also helping to define the times. The soul within Turrentine's horn had been at the center of his earlier successes for the label--Sugar (CTI, 1970), Salt Song (CTI, 1971) and Cherry (CTI, 1972)--but it really rose to the surface and reached its peak with this release. ...

273

Album Review

Linley Hamilton: Taylor Made

Read "Taylor Made" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
July 25, 2011

Trumpeter Linley Hamilton is a central figure in the burgeoning Northern Ireland jazz scene. He's an experienced musician, with a résumé that includes work with Van Morrison, Ken Peplowski and Jean Toussaint; being a broadcaster, whose Radio Ulster After Midnight program showcases new jazz; a writer and producer. Above all, he's a man with a genuine love of jazz and a desire to support and develop the music. It takes no more than a few bars of “Without A Song," ...

286

Album Review

Thelonious Monk: The Definitive Thelonious Monk on Prestige and Riverside

Read "The Definitive Thelonious Monk on Prestige and Riverside" reviewed by Kevin Davis

by Kevin Davis
July 25, 2011

One fundamental paradox of compilation albums is the way so many good ones ultimately render themselves useless. Consider how many hits packages sit untouched on the shelves of aficionados, doomed to a lifetime of neglect simply for having the gall to work efficiently as the conversion tools they were intended to be. Consequently, a great compilation requires a functionality beyond simply being a commercially-endorsed mix CD. The Definitive Thelonious Monk on Prestige and Riverside spans the great pianist/composer's most revered ...

244

Multiple Reviews

Ray Charles: Rare Genius

by Chris May
July 25, 2011

Concord's reissue of vocalist and keyboardist Ray Charles' albums for ABC-Paramount, the label he moved to from Atlantic in 1959, is a mixed bag. It includes two winners, The Genius Hits The Road (1960) and Modern Sounds In Country Music Vols. 1 & 2 (1962), a so-so concept album, A Message From The People (1973)--and, in Live In Concert (1965), a stone masterpiece, Charles' all-round best live album. This edition is made essential listening by the inclusion of six previously ...

388

Interview

Ryan Truesdell: The Gil Evans Project

by Victor L. Schermer
July 25, 2011

Imagine the commotion when previously unknown manuscripts of Beethoven or Bach were discovered. In the jazz world, the equivalent of such an event might occur with regard to the music of innovators like Duke Ellington or Gil Evans. Indeed, that is exactly what composer-arranger-conductor-producer Ryan Truesdell has uncovered with Evans' music. He researched and found a treasure trove of sketches, arrangements and compositions by the great Gil Evans in several collections, and many of them have never been heard before, ...