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.

137

Album Review

Marcin Wasilewski Trio: Faithful

Read "Faithful" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
May 4, 2011

In a parallel universe, it would be interesting to hear the music of a Marcin Wasilewski Trio that hadn't come under the influence of its mentor, Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko. Without him, they surely would have become an accomplished and synergistic group. But in this universe, Wasilewski's trio began recording with their countryman on Soul of Things (ECM, 2002), going on to join him on Suspended Night (ECM, 2004), and the stunningly gorgeous Lotano (ECM, 2006). The experience with Stanko ...

173

Album Review

Mark O'Leary / Peter Friis-Nielsen / Stefan Pasborg: Stoj

by Mark Corroto
May 4, 2011

In the aptly named Guerilla Series, for Ayler Records, this trio does, indeed, fight a “little war," recording this limited release (400 copies) as a hit-and-run ambush of destruction and noise. Støj is quite surprising for O'Leary, whose previous outings found him detailing more muted sounds with the likes of Supersilent on St. Fin Barre's (Leo, 2009), Tomasz Stanko on Levitation (Leo, 2005), and Cuong Vu on Waiting (Leo, 2007). Here, the Irish guitarist teams with the ...

326

Interview

Jimmy Haslip: The Honest Endeavor of Making Music

by Ian Patterson
May 4, 2011

When electric bassist Jimmy Haslip joined pianist/keyboard player Russell Ferrante as a sideman on guitarist Robben Ford's recording sessions for The Inside Story (Elektra Records, 1979), he probably wouldn't have wagered much on his and Ferrante's musical partnership lasting 33 years to date, in one of jazz's most durable and best-loved ensembles, the Yellowjackets. Haslip is a most lyrical musician, and he brings the elegant tone of an upright bass to his electric model. He talks of “the honest endeavor ...

148

Album Review

The Resonance Ensemble: Kafka in Flight

Read "Kafka in Flight" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
May 3, 2011

Until the formation of The Resonance Ensemble in 2007, Ken Vandermark's writing for large ensembles had been limited to his electro-acoustic Territory Band and Peter Brötzmann's sprawling free jazz Chicago Tentet. With this 10-man group, he succeeds in what he works so very hard at with the Vandermark 5. Like V5, his working band, he is able to integrate his passion for collaboration and orchestration with an individual musician's voice. Formed in Krakow for a jazz series at ...

476

Extended Analysis

Colin Vallon Trio: Rruga

by John Kelman
May 3, 2011

Colin Vallon Trio Rruga ECM Records 2011 As much as many artists have a clear idea of where they are and where they're going, there's no denying the value of a strong producer. Colin Vallon's first two trio discs--2004's Les Ombres, on the small Swiss NotsiNOISY label, and 2007's Ailleurs, on the more widely distributed Hatology label--both demonstrated plenty of promise, albeit in contexts where it seemed as though the young Swiss pianist was ...

279

Album Review

Mark Rapp's Melting Pot: Good Eats

Read "Good Eats" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
May 3, 2011

Legendary saxophonist Lou Donaldson doesn't subscribe to a one-size-fits-all approach in his own music making. His oeuvre, which spans more than half a century, touches on bop, hard bop, soul-jazz, and funk, with each setting allowing for a different aspect of his musical personality to shine. In crafting a tribute to Donaldson, trumpeter Mark Rapp honors this diversity and organic amalgam of music by touching on various styles, as he works his way through Donaldson's catalog. Rapp's ...

116

Album Review

Walt Weiskopf: Walt Weiskopf: Quartet Live

Read "Walt Weiskopf: Quartet Live" reviewed by Doron Orenstein

by Doron Orenstein
May 3, 2011

Besides being the tenor man onstage with Steely Dan, Walt Weiskopf is first and foremost a prolific solo artist. With over 15 critically acclaimed recordings as a leader, Walt is not one to rest on laurels collected over the course of years, playing alongside legends such as Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. As one of jazz music's foremost post-Coltrane voices on the saxophone, Weiskopf's tenor sounds uniquely vocal, almost wailing, and capable of burning ...

104

Album Review

Cuong Vu: Leaps of Faith

Read "Leaps of Faith" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza

by Jerry D'Souza
May 3, 2011

Over the last 10 years, trumpeter Cuong Vu has made an impact as an innovator who filters music through the prism of his imagination. He has been agile enough to fit into bands as diverse as those led by Myra Melford and Pat Metheny, and has also carved a niche for himself as a leader who turns his compositions into distinctive portraits of startling imagery. On Leaps of Faith, he focuses his attention on three jazz standards, two pop tunes ...

158

Album Review

Jane Ira Bloom: Wingwalker

Read "Wingwalker" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
May 3, 2011

On Wingwalker, as on her other albums, soprano saxophonist/electronics manipulator Jane Ira Bloom concerns herself with all things mysterious and beautiful. On this album, however, she does considerably more. The saxophonist has connected with the seemingly magical elements that lead her to expand the imagination. She does so as she lets the voice of her straight horn emerge from the depths of her soul. With impeccable, almost mystical tone and with a palette of a myriad, wondrous colors Bloom conjures ...

434

Interview

Matt Penman: Down on James Farm

by R.J. DeLuke
May 3, 2011

Matt Penman and his bass have inhabited a variety of musical places and spaces in recent years, all of them on a very high level. That speaks to his abilities on his instrument, and his adaptability to diverse situations. He of the fluid hands, rich sound and steady, melodic pulse always comes through. That's why he's performed with Joshua Redman's Double Quartet and the SFJAZZ Collective. He's also elevated the musical projects of Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Kurt Rosenwinkel and ...