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.

141

Album Review

Rahe: Out of the Box

Read "Out of the Box" reviewed by Seton Hawkins

by Seton Hawkins
July 1, 2011

Originally hailing from Spain, Tucson-based singer-songwriter/guitarist Rahe (pronounced “Ray") has rapidly established herself as a noteworthy new voice in the music. While not yet a household name, Rahe may change that following the release of her debut, Out of the Box, a musical outing of wonderful creativity. Clocking in at a relatively modest 32 minutes of music, spread out over eight tracks, Out of the Box nevertheless manages to traverse a wide gamut of styles, including slow burning ...

571

Live Review

DC Jazz Festival: June 1-13, 2011

by Franz A. Matzner
June 30, 2011

DC Jazz Festival 2011 Washington, DCJune 1-13, 2011 The DC Jazz Festival's seventh year was defined in equal measure by the event's now distinct combination of local acts and headline guests, spread throughout the city's stages, museums, and local clubs. Unlike many festivals, the DC Jazz Festival has maintained an exclusive focus on jazz music and continues to place a spotlight on the local musicians that now more than ever are converting DC back into ...

323

Album Review

Kayo Hiraki: I Wish You Love

Read "I Wish You Love" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
June 30, 2011

Japanese pianist Kayo Hiraki is in search of her audience. She has self-released a smart set of standards in the trio format that is garnering attention from all quarters of the jazz writing world. A ballad specialist, to be sure, Hiraki resists the modern impulse to deconstruct, keeping the tunes intact and in congress with the composers' intentions. To have been composed by a horn player, Lee Morgan's balladic “Ceora" translates well to the standard jazz piano ...

171

Live Review

Ottawa Jazz Festival, Days 4-6: June 26-28, 2011

by John Kelman
June 30, 2011

Days 1-3 | Days 4-6 T D Ottawa International Jazz Festival Ottawa, Canada June 23-July 3, 2011 Well, the numbers are in, and the opening weekend of the 2011 TD Ottawa International Jazz Festival has broken all previous records, despite a day of heavy rain severely impacting attendance for Elvis Costello's show on June 24. Only time will tell if the festival's decision to move into mixed programming will actually solve the issue ...

227

Album Review

Laszlo Gardony: Signature Time

Read "Signature Time" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
June 30, 2011

As composer, Laszlo Gardony posits--without much opposition--that the inspiration of all modern music owes a debt to the “birthplace of culture and sound: Africa. As a composer and pianist he develops his hypothesis with Signature Time, an album of considerable and somewhat dark beauty. Driven by the percussive nature of African music--in almost continuous binary rhythms--Gardony's compositions and performance is supported by the rolling thunder of John Lockwood's bass and Yoron Israel's joyously dancing drums. Gardony also manages to capture ...

223

Live Review

Undead Jazz Festival: Day 2, June 24, 2011

by Daniel Lehner
June 30, 2011

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 Undead Jazz FestivalNew York, New YorkJune 23-26, 2011 Sometimes a great idea just begs to be used again. The first performance of Search and Restore's “round-robin style" improvisation cycle last December proved its worth went beyond novelty. This time, the improvisatory pairings (improvised in both musical content and the pairings themselves) amongst 15 musicians kicked off the second day of the ...

182

Album Review

David Binney: Barefooted Town

Read "Barefooted Town" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
June 30, 2011

Alto saxophonist/composer David Binney must not worry about “market saturation." He releases albums, as a leader for both Criss Cross and his own Mythology label, at a rate that many top jazz artists did during the late 1950's and early 1960's. Less than six months into 2011, he has already offered up Graylen Epicenter (Mythology) and now, on Criss Cross, Barefooted Townunder his own name, in addition to sideman and producer gigs over the years for artists like saxophonist Donny ...

209

Album Review

Silvano Monasterios: Unconditional

Read "Unconditional" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
June 30, 2011

The word “unconditional" is often associated with love, referencing the feeling that parents have for their children and pets have for their owners, but the word itself isn't limited to use on this topic. In fact, the very meaning of “unconditional" actually addresses a lack of limitations or constraints, as does the music on pianist Silvano Monasterios' Unconditional. This recording marks Monasterios' Savant Records debut, and the Venezuelan-born, Miami-based pianist breaks free from the shackles of Latin jazz labeling and ...

299

Live Review

Ottawa Jazz Festival, Days 1-3: June 23-25, 2011

by John Kelman
June 29, 2011

Days 1-3 | Days 4-6 TD Ottawa International Jazz Festival Ottawa, Canada June 23-25, 2011 2011 represents something of a gamble--and no shortage of controversy--for the TD Ottawa International Jazz Festival. After a financial loss in 2010 that wasn't especially large in relative terms, but was nevertheless significant, the festival's Executive Producer, Catherine O'Grady, made the decision to open up the roster of a festival that has remained, until this year, a relatively ...

128

Album Review

Danilo Rea and Flavio Boltro: Opera

by Bruce Lindsay
June 29, 2011

Opera is a big art form: elaborate sets; high, occasionally overwrought, drama; large orchestras; and, of course, the singers. So what happens to this art form when almost everything is stripped away and the melodies are recreated by a simple duo of piano and trumpet? On the evidence of Opera, the first duo project from pianist Danilo Rea and trumpeter Flavio Boltro, what happens is something rather special. Rea and Boltro have been friends for many years--both ...