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.

189

Album Review

Travis Sullivan: New Directions

Read "New Directions" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
May 17, 2011

Saxophonist Travis Sullivan has received lots of coverage for the music he creates with his Björkestra, but the success of that band is a double-edged sword. While following the musical pathways set forth by his Icelandic muse has helped the saxophonist expand his audience, it also temporarily suppressed his own musical personality. With New Directions, Sullivan steps out of the shadow of Björk and back into the light of his own creations. For this ten-song program, Sullivan ...

184

Extended Analysis

Omara Portuondo & Chucho Valdes: Omara & Chucho

by Chris May
May 17, 2011

Omara Portuondo and Chucho ValdésOmara & ChuchoWorld Village2011 After 50 years of carrying a torch for Bueno Vista Social Club singer Omara Portuondo, pianist Chucho Valdés has finally succeeded in getting her into bed. The rear sleeve photo on Omara & Chucho shows the pair side by side between the sheets and smiling broadly, although, admittedly, both appear to be clothed, and are mugging it up for the camera. ...

563

Extended Analysis

Omer Avital: Free Forever

by Charles Walker
May 17, 2011

Omer AvitalFree ForeverSmalls Records2011 Bassist Omer Avital is not a household name. Despite a surge of media coverage about the rise of Israeli expats on the New York jazz scene, despite playing a central role in a variety of ensembles at the now-beloved Smalls jazz club, and despite appearing on several dozen recordings, Avital's name continues to register as little more than a faint echo in the background of the jazz ...

Album Review

Russ Lossing Trio: Oracle

by Mark Corroto
May 17, 2011

Pianist Russ Lossing's trio evokes a dreamlike state on Oracle, by communicating an atmosphere of unearthly elegance through trance-inducing energy. Lossing, bassist Masa Kamaguchi and drummer Billy Mintz commune at this level because they'd been a working trio for six years when this studio recording was made in 2007. Besides that, all three bring experience from the fertile jazz world: Lossing, as a member of bands led by Paul Motian, Dave Liebman, and Mat Maneri; Kamaguchi, with Frank ...

125

Album Review

Marty Nau Group: Mood Ebony

Read "Mood Ebony" reviewed by Greg Simmons

by Greg Simmons
May 17, 2011

An all-clarinet album is a rare thing in jazz these days. The B-flat clarinet has an old-fashioned sound, ubiquitous in the early days of jazz, but gradually replaced by the bigger, deeper, and often more aggressive reed sound of the saxophones. Early New Orleans bands at the birth of the form almost always featured the “stick," but with a few exceptions, it has become something of a rarity. Multi-reedist Marty Nau has made a credible effort to reaffirm ...

161

Album Review

Nektar: Remember The Future - Deluxe Edition

Read "Remember The Future - Deluxe Edition" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
May 17, 2011

This deluxe/digitally remastered version of British progressive-rock band Nektar's iconic Remember the Future (1973) features a full second disc with a live performance of other works, culled from a 2007 concert in Brazil. The original two-part recording of “Remember the Future," is followed by a live rendition, although no information is provided in the album notes, concerning the date or location. The album soared through the Billboard charts amid substantial global visibility and impressive sales. “Remember ...

Album Review

Tcha Limberger - Herman Schamp: Guitar Duo: Standards

Read "Standards" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
May 16, 2011

Sometimes it takes people a few extra revolutions of the earth to catch onto the art of certain musicians. The stunning repertoire of the young Gypsy multi-instrumentalist and composer, Tcha Limberger is a case in point. A prodigious talent from his very early years, when he performed with the family band Di Piotto's, Limberger has made waves with his mature artistry on guitar and violin, as well as with his sensitive vocals. His last two albums for the British label ...

173

Album Review

Art Hirahara: Noble Path

Read "Noble Path" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
May 16, 2011

Art Hirahara has gained the most notice for his work on saxophonist Fred Ho's adventurous outings, but the pianist's own music, while occasionally outward bound, often has a more immediately accessible sound to it. Featuring eight pieces from Hirahara's pen and four newly arranged classics, Noble Path is a piano trio record that's both commonplace and unique. The album can seem like a standard trio affair because few pieces veer too far off the road and the material is delivered ...

208

Album Review

Joelle Leandre Tentet & Trio: Can You Hear Me?

Read "Can You Hear Me?" reviewed by Eyal Hareuveni

by Eyal Hareuveni
May 16, 2011

It is quite rare to find recordings of composed works by French double-bassist Joëlle Léandre. Léandre has gained a justified reputation as an innovative virtuoso of the double-bass, a masterful free improviser, and as an imaginative collaborator, mostly in small, intimate outfits. This double-disc set, with its first half featuring Léandre's composed work for a tentet, is one of the treats that Léandre is releasing to celebrate her upcoming 60th birthday. This recording was captured on two consecutive ...

157

Album Review

Benny Green Trio: Source

by Larry Taylor
May 16, 2011

Benny Green, now 48, is entering his middle years. Early on he was hailed as a budding master; today he has fully blossomed into one of the jazz world's finest pianists. Equally comfortable with a fast-paced piece and or a sensitive ballad, he is a go-to guy for sessions as back-up or leader. His last recordings were as a co-leader, in duo with guitarist Russell Malone, hailed for the exquisite interplay of Jazz at The Bistro (2003) and Bluebird (2004), ...