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.

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Album Review

Starlicker: Double Demon

Read "Double Demon" reviewed by Troy Collins

by Troy Collins
May 21, 2011

Since the turn of the Millennium, cornetist Rob Mazurek has been one of the most intrepid explorers in the field of electro-acoustic jazz improvisation. From the seminal efforts of his flagship collective, the Chicago Underground (Duo to Orchestra), to recent endeavors like Exploding Star Orchestra, Mandarin Movie and his own self-titled Quintet, all of Mazurek's projects have featured computerized and/or electronic sound manipulation as a key element--which makes his most recent venture, the acoustic trio Starlicker, all the more intriguing.

184

New York Beat

A Jazz Marriage: Smoke and One For All

by Nick Catalano
May 21, 2011

After 12 years of classic jazz bookings and extraordinary patron loyalty, Smoke deserves legendary status right next to Birdland (the old club of the 50's), Basin Street, The Village Vanguard, The Blue Note, and a couple of the old 52 St. clubs. In addition to having unique intimacy, a special staff who could give a seminar in how to run a jazz club and a sensible food and drink menu, Smoke has had the prescience to embrace the hottest hard ...

164

Album Review

The Jimmy Giuffre 3: 7 Pieces

Read "7 Pieces" reviewed by Greg Simmons

by Greg Simmons
May 21, 2011

Fame can be fickle, meaning that someone like Jimmy Giuffre can fade into relative obscurity, remembered and appreciated by fellow musicians and a few hardcore jazz fans, while never having reached into the broader public consciousness in any measurable way. As a multi-reed artist, Giuffre was certainly one of the most original and creative visionary forces in jazz. Perhaps Giuffre's best known ensemble was his first: a combo that was unorthodox in its day, featuring Giuffre, Jim Hall ...

175

Album Review

Daniel Smith: Bassoon Goes Latin Jazz!

Read "Bassoon Goes Latin Jazz!" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
May 21, 2011

The bassoon seems to be the homebody of the orchestral woodwind family. This double-reed dynamo rarely leaves the confines of the classical world, instead finding contentment in its comfort zone, playing classic works of yore. On the rare occasion that the instrument does wander outside of its safety net to converse in other musical environments, it often meets with mixed results and critical derision. While the skilled bassoon practitioners who are willing to take a chance in jazz deserve a ...

197

Album Review

Jochen Rueckert: Somewhere Meeting Nobody

Read "Somewhere Meeting Nobody" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza

by Jerry D'Souza
May 21, 2011

Drummer Jochen Rueckert has recorded in a variety of musical combinations, adding his distinctive rhythmic insights. He is secure in several styles, a trait that is evident in his compositions as well. His compositional abilities are affirmed by the nine tunes he has written for Somewhere Meeting Nobody, while his instincts as a drummer travel through all of the music. Tenor saxophonist Mark Turner and guitarist Brad Shepik capture the essence of Rueckert's compositions and then describe it ...

316

Take Five With...

Take Five With Sal La Rocca

by AAJ Staff
May 21, 2011

Meet Sal La Rocca: Sal La Rocca discovered jazz in the early '80s, and switched to double-bass, which he intensively explored on his own, taking Paul Chambers as a model. Instrument(s): Doubl-bass, electric bass, guitar. Teachers and/or influences? Paul Chambers, Sam Jones, Charles Mingus, Scott LaFaro. I knew I wanted to be a musician when... when i was 12 years old. Your sound and ...

Album Review

Arrive: There Was...

Read "There Was..." reviewed by Troy Collins

by Troy Collins
May 20, 2011

A longtime fixture of the fertile Chicago jazz scene, Aram Shelton's relocation to Oakland, California has not diminished the alto saxophonist's presence among his peers in the Windy City. Courtesy of a rigorous touring schedule, Shelton maintains memberships in numerous ensembles, including Jason Adasiewicz's Rolldown, the collective ensemble Fast Citizens, and Arrive, his quartet with vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, bassist Jason Roebke and drummer Tim Daisy--three of Chicago's finest improvisers.Recorded in 2008 after a two week tour of the ...

176

Live Review

Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra: Cambridge, April 29, 2011

by Andrew J. Sammut
May 20, 2011

Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra YMCA Theater Cambridge, MA April 29, 2011 A local community center turned into a forward-thinking artistic venue when the Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra ascended the small stage at the Cambridge YMCA. The JCAO plays original works by a membership drawn from Boston's (naturally) progressive jazz community, with several performers doubling as faculty at Berklee College of Music and other renowned local institutions. This diverse talent pool ...

107

Album Review

Shane Endsley and the Music Band: Then The Other

Read "Then The Other" reviewed by Daniel Lehner

by Daniel Lehner
May 20, 2011

Naming your working ensemble The Music Band might seem like a very tongue in cheek gesture at first. However, Shane Endsley's second release as a leader (and the first record to come out on Kneebody's Low Electrical Records) shows that the versatile and quietly charismatic trumpeter has a sincere interest in playing music, both jazz and beyond. Then the Other is a widespread, patchwork quilt of Endsley's approach to composition, improvisation and group dynamics. Despite being well-known ...

135

Live Review

Herbie Hancock: Bangkok, Thailand, May 8, 2011

by Ian Patterson
May 20, 2011

Herbie HancockRoyal Paragon HallBangkok, ThailandMay 8, 2011Herbie Hancock is--like the title of one of his most celebrated tunes--a chameleon, and the audience at a near-packed Royal Paragon Hall was reminded of just how many changes Hancock has stylishly wrung over the last fifty years. There were touches of his more impressionistic Blue Note recordings of the '60s, and the modal jazz purveyed by trumpeter Miles Davis's second great quintet, of which Hancock was a pivotal ...