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.

429

Interview

Tim Nikolsky: Getting Real Down Under

by Ian Patterson
April 20, 2011

Australian jazz? Although New Orleans is the undisputed historical cradle of jazz, any attempt at a definition of what modern jazz is seems to crash against the rocks of uncertainty at best, and narrow mindedness at worst. Tim Nikolsky--a guitarist who has been part of the Melbourne jazz scene for a decade--agrees that, whilst it is not a simple matter to define a particularly Australian brand of jazz, nevertheless it exists. Like almost every other jazz musician on the planet, ...

238

Album Review

Klang: Other Doors

Read "Other Doors" reviewed by Nic Jones

by Nic Jones
April 19, 2011

With Other Doors, Klang leader and clarinetist James Falzone has documented a body of music he worked on, after being invited to celebrate what would have been Benny Goodman's 100th birthday, at the Chicago Jazz Festival back in 2009. As he's a highly creative individual in his own right, he hasn't gone for any sterile Swing Era reconstruction, instead fashioning a program which makes for rewarding listening even while it doesn't lose sight of its original stimulus. ...

384

Old, New, Borrowed and Blue

Making Cents Of It All: Jazz Enters The Money Jungle

by Dan Bilawsky
April 19, 2011

Is money the root of all evil? I, of course, can't answer that, but anybody with access to a newspaper, television and/or the internet knows that it's at the heart of many debates these days. As I sit here writing this column on a cloudy day in early April, I can't help but think that the weather is a current reflection of the financial climate in the United States. Tax day looms heavy on the horizon, as millions of Americans ...

249

Album Review

Agogic: Agogic

Read "Agogic" reviewed by Mark F. Turner

by Mark F. Turner
April 19, 2011

Seattle's music scene is well known for its alternative rock bands, such as Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden. But the nonconformist jazz of Agogic's debut would rival them all in terms of its own energy and inventiveness. Born from the collaboration between saxophonist Andrew D'Angelo and trumpeter Cuong Vu (whose resumes are dotted with the likes of David Bowie, Pat Metheny and Kurt Rosenwinkel), the group is further cemented by bassist Luke Bergman and drummer Evan Woodle.

210

Album Review

Gretchen Parlato: The Lost and Found

Read "The Lost and Found" reviewed by A. Lienhard

by A. Lienhard
April 19, 2011

Gretchen Parlato's much anticipated third release, The Lost and Found, secures her position as the leading vocalist in New York's under-40 jazz scene. On this 15-track program, Parlato and producer Robert Glasper blend musical styles like so many cocktails. They purposefully demonstrate that hip-hop has a quiet side, that you needn't be from Brazil to play its music, and that a mere whisper can incite goose bumps. The album opens with an update of the Simply Red ...

135

Album Review

Benjamin Drazen: Inner Flights

Read "Inner Flights" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
April 19, 2011

Inside Benjamin Drazen is an old soul, nestling cheek-by-jowl in a fertile mind, brimful with new ideas that undulate and flow beautifully from his alto saxophone. That he is able to take control of this force, and harness its power to open a virtual door to the temple of his muses--running the gamut of saxophonists from Charlie Parker to John Coltrane, and almost certainly including the mighty Johnny Hodges--speaks volumes about his mature craftsmanship. He has something else that shines ...

213

Album Review

Our Latin Groove: Bringin’ It All On Back!

Read "Bringin’ It All On Back!" reviewed by Javier AQ Ortiz

by Javier AQ Ortiz
April 19, 2011

Percussionist Gerardo Rosales' production resembles a piece of roughhewn North Carolina outdoor mountain cabin furniture: solid, durable, attractive, functional...and just plain charming. Under the moniker Our Latin Groove, paying homage to the heyday of the Fania label and the film production Our Latin Thing, the group courageously avails itself of neglected '60s Latin/New York musical styles when the boogaloo, the shingaling and their cognates had their limelighted time, as well as the ruling '70s period of salsa. The results are ...

291

Mix Tape

Some Things That I Love

by Zach Brock
April 19, 2011

Here is some of the music that I love. There is no way for me to reflect everything that I'm listening to in one playlist, but this is at least a partial representation of some of the sounds that were in my head as I wrote for my new CD The Magic Number. TrackNameTimeArtistAlbum1And Your Dream Comes True1:5The Beach BoysPerfect Harmony2Zhivago9:4Kurt RosenwinkelThe Next Step3Late November7:7Bobby AveyA New Face4On A Good Day1:48Joanna NewsomHave One On Me5Tango Pajdusko5:40Eastern BlokFolk ...

665

Interview

Michael Bisio: Stepping Into the Limelight

by Gregory Applegate Edwards
April 19, 2011

Bassist Michael Bisio has become an increasingly visual and aural presence on the jazz/improvisation scene in the time since he moved from the west coast to New York. Yet he has been a significant contributor in jazz circles for years, and success was no overnight thing. Among other ongoing associations, Bisio is currently the bassist in pianist Matthew Shipp's trio and Tomas Ulrich's Cargo Cult. Bisio also leads his own group. His discography is extensive and covers much ground.

275

Album Review

Kenny Werner: Balloons

by John Kelman
April 18, 2011

Times sure have been tough for pianist Kenny Werner, and yet, he seems to be turning tragedy into triumph, mining the depths of emotion caused by the accidental death of his daughter, Katheryn, in 2006. While he's been playing in the years since, he was noticeably quiet on the recording front until No Beginning, No End (Half Note), released just a short six months ago, in October, 2010. A sweeping, career-defining recording that earned the pianist/composer a Guggenheim Fellowship Award, ...