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.

404

Take Five With...

Take Five with Max Johnson

by AAJ Staff
May 29, 2011

Meet Max Johnson:Max Johnson is a New York-born bassist, composer, and bandleader best known for his work in New York's free jazz and bluegrass scenes. He has played with numerous artists including Anthony Braxton, Candido Camero, Henry Grimes, Perry Robinson, Vernon Reid, William Parker, and countless others.Instrument(s):Bass.Teachers and/or influences?Henry Grimes, Jimmy Garrison, Mark Dresser, Mark Helias, Trevor Dunn, Reggie Workman, Anthony Braxton, Jimmy Giuffre./I knew I wanted to ...

170

Album Review

Walt Weiskopf: Walt Weiskopf: Quartet Live

Read "Walt Weiskopf: Quartet Live" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
May 29, 2011

A technician with the tenor saxophone, when Walt Weiskopf plays, it's clear that it's him; his voice is sharp, crisp and totally unique. His style is dynamic and comparable, in some respects, to the late jazz icon, Stan Getz.. On Walt Weiskopf: Quartet Live, the tenor saxophonist leads his quartet on what happens to be his very first live recording documenting a concert at the University of South Carolina, celebrating the final night of the bi-annual North American Saxophone Alliance ...

286

Album Review

Sade: The Ultimate Collection

Read "The Ultimate Collection" reviewed by Jeff Winbush

by Jeff Winbush
May 29, 2011

Did the world really need a new Sade “best of" album? Possibly, since it has been 17 years two albums of new material since The Best of Sade (Epic,1994). The timing of The Ultimate Collection is in no small part related to the fact Sade is off on her first world tour in a decade; since Soldier of Love (Epic, 2010) is a year old now she needed to put out “new" product to whet the appetite of the fans.

193

Bailey's Bundles

The Eybler Quartet: The New Guard

by C. Michael Bailey
May 28, 2011

Joseph Leopold Edler von Eybler (1765-1846) was a friend of Mozart (1756-1791). The two composers met through a third, Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) (some circle of friends that must have been!) Eybler was notable for having been asked by Constanze Mozart after Mozart's death in 1791 to complete the composer's unfinished Requiem. Eybler gave it the old college try, but ultimately abandoned the project, allegedly out of respect for Mozart and his gift, leaving the job ultimately to Franz Xavier ...

160

Album Review

Tonbruket: Dig It To The End

Read "Dig It To The End" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
May 28, 2011

For its eponymous debut (ACT, 2010) , this band was called Dan Berglund's Tonbruket. It was a new outfit, the first new venture by a member of e.s.t. after pianist Esbjörn Svensson's death in 2008, pretty much an unknown quantity. For Dig It To The End, bassist Berglund remains as an emphatic presence, but the band is simply Tonbruket. It's a clear indication that this is a democratic outfit, a band of equals, a group that can trade on its ...

241

Live Review

Clairdee: Half Moon Bay, CA, May 8, 2011

by Bill Leikam
May 28, 2011

ClairdeeDouglas Beach HouseHalf Moon Bay, CaliforniaMay 8, 2011 On Mother's Day, May 8, 2011, the historic Douglas Beach House (aka Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society) in Half Moon Bay, California was buzzing about Clairdee's impending performance. When the full house had settled in, her stellar band--musical director/pianist Ken French, world class bassist Ruth Davies, guitarist John Hoy and world renowned percussionist Jim Zimmerman--took to the stage and warmed the audience with Sonny Clark's upbeat ...

118

Album Review

John Martyn: Heaven and Earth

Read "Heaven and Earth" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
May 28, 2011

In a world filled with happiness and hurt, there's a gaping chasm between those that are aware and those that aren't. When John Martyn passed away months before his 60th birthday in 2009, the world lost one of the most painfully confessional singer/songwriters of the past half century. “Some people keep diaries," said Phil Cunningham in a 2007 BBC2 TV series, “John makes records." That Martyn could sing “Hurt in Your Heart," from his heart-wrenching breakup record, Grace & Danger ...

165

Take Five With...

Take Five With Dave Schiff

by AAJ Staff
May 28, 2011

Meet Dave Schiff:Dave Schiff, a 20 year veteran of the Navy Band Jazz Ensemble “The Commodores," is a powerful and versatile woodwind jazz instrumentalist who has traveled the world working with top entertainers and jazz legends such as Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Don Menza, and Dizzy Gillespie.Smooth jazz, straight ahead, funk... you name it... Dave can play it.His expertise on all woodwinds has given him the opportunity to back great acts all over the ...

223

Album Review

Boris Savoldelli: Biocosmopolitan

Read "Biocosmopolitan" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
May 28, 2011

The polyphonic vocal expertise of Italian artist Boris Savoldelli alters implications for the proverbial one-man band format. Although he receives assistance from revered session bassist/solo artist Jimmy Haslip, and some additional help from trumpeter Paolo Fresu--both appearing on selected tracks--it is Savoldelli who propagates the mesmeric performances. The vocalist uses electronics and voice overlays, and abides by a strong rhythmic process throughout Biocosmopolitan's sixteen pieces, spanning one to four minutes in length. He also benefits by possessing near ...

108

Album Review

David Gibson: End Of The Tunnel

Read "End Of The Tunnel" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
May 28, 2011

David Gibson's A Little Somethin' (Posi-Tone, 2009) had a lot to offer, the trombonist garnering attention for its vibrant swing, soul and funk-laced jazz, but it wasn't a one-man show. He had some help from a stellar support crew, and the same musicians that assisted in fleshing out his vision there return for another go-round on End Of The Tunnel. While saxophonist Julius Tolentino proves to be a simpatico frontline companion on this outing, Gibson's main foil ...