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.

200

Album Review

Francois Carrier Trio + 1: Entrance 3

Read "Entrance 3" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
July 10, 2011

Venerable Canadian saxophonist Francois Carrier steers his trio and celebrated Swedish pianist Bobo Stenson into many circuitous routes during this set recorded at the 2002 Vancouver Jazz Festival. The musicians instill profundity into this democratic set, where the instrumentation is mixed with a horizontal plane approach. Here, Carrier's spirited attack is fused with grace, power and lyrically resplendent voicings, amid ventures into the freer realm. The band's budding passages signify a consortium of slants, comprising investigative techniques ...

257

Album Review

Monika Herzig: Come With Me

Read "Come With Me" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
July 10, 2011

Pianist Monika Herzig presents her second Owl Studios album in combination with award-winning documentary filmmaker Susanne Schwibs. Come With Me is a unique CD/DVD project that includes a 30-minute story of her work including an interview, concert footage and special features of live performances. The music though, is the main course of this dish served warm, tender and delicious with every tasting. Offering a majority of originals, Herzig was astute enough to also include fresh arrangements of covers by Bob ...

232

Live Review

Denise Donatelli and Janis Mann at Charlie O's, May 20, 2011

by Chuck Koton
July 10, 2011

Denise Donatelli Charlie O's Van Nuys, CA May 20, 2011 The Los Angeles area is blessed with the presence of many talented vocalists--drawn, no doubt, by both the Mediterranean climate and the abundance of studio work. In May, a pair of transplanted East Coast songbirds, Denise Donatelli and Janis Mann, warbled their way through several spirited and memorable sets at Charlie O's in the San Fernando Valley.Donatelli, an Atlanta native whose recording, When Lights Are ...

216

Album Review

Irene Kral: Second Chance

Read "Second Chance" reviewed by Jim Santella

by Jim Santella
July 10, 2011

Singer Irene Kral (1932-1978) communicated with her audience through more than just music; she could make everyone in the room believe in what she had to say and take the message home with them for keeps. Recorded in 1975, this program of jazz standards features a nightclub performance with vocalist, acoustic piano trio and swirling emotions.The lyrics of “Second Chance," by André Previn and Dory Langdon Previn, make it clear that she believed in letting her feelings tell ...

303

Afrobeat Diaries

Part 24 - Ghariokwu Lemi: Fela Kuti And Me

by Chris May
July 9, 2011

In an illuminating interview, artist and sleeve designer Ghariokwu Lemi talks to Afrobeat Diaries about his work and friendship with Fela Kuti. The interview attests to the indelible link between Lemi's designs and Kuti's music, and to a working relationship which, Lemi reveals, broke down only once, over 1977's Sorrow Tears And Blood. The interview is a follow-up to an earlier one given by Lemi to Afrobeat Diaries, The Art Of Afrobeat. Starting with 1974's Alagbon Close, ...

167

Album Review

Django Reinhardt: Four Classic Albums Plus

Read "Four Classic Albums Plus" reviewed by David Rickert

by David Rickert
July 9, 2011

The legend of Django Reinhardt is the stuff of jazz folklore; the nomadic gypsy had limited use of the fingers on his left hand, yet still managed to create blistering solos, all while creating some of the best jazz to come out of Europe. In fact, Reinhardt spawned his own style, and like many a folk hero, there are those who aspired to his level of musicianship yet come up lacking. Reinhardt's music still sounds fresh and ...

278

On the Road With...

Lenny White and RTF IV: Syracuse, NY and Canada

by Carl L. Hager
July 9, 2011

Intro | #2 | #3 | #4 [Editor's note: After opening night in Northampton, Massachusetts, Lenny White and his Return To Forever band mates played at the M&T Jazz Festival in Syracuse, New York, then headed north to Canada for festival dates in Montreal and Ottawa. After filing this report, RTF IV played a third festival date in Toronto, and then got on a plane to Berlin.] Show time!

223

Album Review

Denny Zeitlin: Labyrinth

Read "Labyrinth" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
July 9, 2011

To Denny Zeitlin the piano is several instruments rolled into one. It is a percussion instrument, struck by fingers and all manner of objets d'art. Together with his feet, which depress the pedals as if they were instrumental peripherals in themselves, Zeitlin makes masterful use of them to split, carve, bend and hang notes. Zeitlin might also make the piano sound like a lute or a harp. And then there are his arms and fingers, that make oceanic use of ...

205

Album Review

Rich Halley Quartet: Requiem For A Pit Viper

Read "Requiem For A Pit Viper" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
July 9, 2011

Requiem For A Pit Viper opens up with a powerful, in-your-face, four-note riff that demands attention. The Rich Halley Quartet keeps demanding--and deserving--this attention throughout this collection of the tenor saxophonist's original compositions, as it delivers a constantly surprising and inventive music that ranges from a scream to a whisper--with a few squeaks thrown in. The musicians' energy and pleasure is almost palpable, the grooves strong and sinuous. Halley, based in Oregon, has a discography that goes ...

326

Film Review

Phish: Live in Utica October 20, 2010 At The Aud

by Doug Collette
July 9, 2011

PhishLive in Utica October 20, 2010 At The AudJemp2011 It may demean the occasion to call it an instant classic, but Phish's October 2010 appearance at The Auditorium in Utica, New York has all the earmarks of a unique event. The main distinction of the evening was the music, some of the most self-challenging and rewarding the Vermont band has played since its reunion in 2009; but there's also the unusual ...