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.

173

Live Review

Jason Robinson Janus Ensemble: San Diego, CA, June 2, 2011

by Robert Bush
June 20, 2011

Jason Robinson Janus EnsembleDizzy'sSan Diego, CA June 2, 2011 Saxophonist/composer Jason Robinson--whose dual release of The Two Faces Of Janus (Cuneiform, 2010), and Cerulean Landscape (Clean Feed, 2010), put him on the map of wider recognition--finally made his impending departure from San Diego official with this farewell concert, held at Dizzy's. Robinson has spent the better part of 13 years in San Diego since arriving in 1998 to study with renowned ...

131

Album Review

Bronk: Bronk 2

by Chris Mosey
June 20, 2011

Three people lay claim to having created that seldom heard musical phenomenon, Swedish funk. They are: most famously, former Abba drummer and Formula 1 racing driver Slim Borgudd; jazz trombonist/vocalist Nils Landgren; and dance band leader Yngve Forsell. All three made an impression locally in the 1970s and '80, but now with this, their second album, pupils Bronk make a bold effort to bring the genre up-to-date, attempting to propel it into the international arena by enlisting American blues singer ...

207

Album Review

Travis Sullivan: New Directions

Read "New Directions" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
June 20, 2011

New Directions could signify a paradigm shift for alto saxophonist Travis Sullivan's eighteen-piece Björkestra, a unit dedicated to performing arrangements of Icelandic pop vocalist Björk. Sullivan goes back to his fundamental mainstream jazz roots on the lyrically rich New Directions, assembled with memorable comps and sterling interplay from his quartet. Sullivan's vocal-like tonalities and muscular alto work casts an acoustic game plan that often yields electrifying results. Sullivan generates memorable compositions while injecting a spirited aura into the ...

404

Interview

David Binney: Underground Tremors

by Ian Patterson
June 20, 2011

There are recordings that constitute a personal high watermark for a composer; then there are, less frequently, recordings that mark an era. Graylen Epicenter (2011), alto saxophonist David Binney's latest recording on his own label, Mythology Records, is both. For more than two decades, this exhilarating alto saxophonist has made a string of absorbing recordings as leader that have cemented his reputation as one of the most exciting and original musicians/composers in New York. By his own admission, ...

244

Extended Analysis

Neal Morse: Testimony Two Special Edition

by John Kelman
June 19, 2011

Neal MorseTestimony Two: Special EditionRadiant Records 2011 There are those who've claimed that rock music is “the Devil's Music," but for Neal Morse it's been just the opposite. Born again while leading Spock's Beard--on the vanguard of a new wave of symphonic progressive rock gaining traction in the late 1990s--the keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist's solo albums, beginning with 2003's Testimony (Radiant), have almost single-handedly created their own niche. Never shying away from his spiritual proclivities, ...

200

Album Review

Itai Kriss: The Shark

Read "The Shark" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
June 19, 2011

New and/or notable flute voices in jazz don't seem to come around very often. While scores of saxophonists double on this instrument, very few players that enter the jazz trenches are pure flautists, through and through. When a musician makes the decision to focus solely on an instrument like the flute, they might be narrowing their opportunities, but that risk sometimes yields rewards, and this would seem to hold true in the case of flautist Itai Kriss. His choice of ...

194

Album Review

Sean Jones: No Need for Words

Read "No Need for Words" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
June 19, 2011

Trumpeter Sean Jones has something to say and he says it in his inimitably bright, clear and soaring voice. This is clearly why he is fast becoming associated with the renaissance of the instrument that was brought about by an early mentor, Wynton Marsalis. Jones is a deeply spiritual player. His impulse to adorn notes with joyous phrases and lines comes from gospel roots. He preaches as he lets his trumpet sing and he urges his ensemble of players the ...

308

Album Review

Thomas Zehetmair / Ruth Killius: Manto and Madrigals

Read "Manto and Madrigals" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
June 19, 2011

The husband and wife team of violinist Thomas Zehetmair and violist Ruth Killius is best known for its work in the Zehetmair Quartet and, more specifically, for that group's award- winning recording of Schumann's First and Third String Quartets (ECM, 2001). On Manto and Madrigals the creative pair assembles an equally creative recital of duet miniatures from the 20th and 21st Centuries. This is difficult music, requiring something between attention and careful study. Darkly dissonant, the disc's repertoire is challenging ...

224

Live Review

Vinnie Cutro Trio: Montclair, NJ, April 3, 2011

by David A. Orthmann
June 19, 2011

Vinnie Cutro TrioTrumpets Jazz ClubMontclair, NJApril 3, 2011 Vinnie Cutro's opening set at Trumpets Jazz Club wasn't weighed down or overshadowed by history. The gig closely followed the release of the trumpeter's The Music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, this year on Royal Music Ensembles Records. A couple of things separated the live performance from typical salutes to revered artists of the jazz tradition. Instead of offering lengthy monologues on the significance of ...

142

Album Review

Jamie Ruben: Groove-O-Ly-O-Scene

Read "Groove-O-Ly-O-Scene" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza

by Jerry D'Souza
June 19, 2011

If at first you don't succeed, travel. Guitarist Jamie Ruben did just that when he failed to get much recognition in North America. Leaving his native Toronto, Canada, he made his way to the East playing and living in several cities before settling in for a lengthy spell in Chian Mai, Thailand, recording and releasing this first CD on his return home. Ruben's approach is clean, melodic and laidback. He lets the music flow gently, and while his ...