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.

425

Live Review

Anthony Branker & Word Play: Princeton, NJ, April 3, 2011

by Victor L. Schermer
April 17, 2011

Anthony Branker & Word PlayPaul Robeson Center for the ArtsSolley AuditoriumPrinceton, NJApril 3, 2011 Trumpeter Anthony Branker's Princeton, New Jersey concert--sponsored by The Princeton Council for the Arts, funded by Wachovia-Wells Fargo Bank, Bloomberg and other sources--was a musical gem set on the laconic, early spring day of Sunday afternoon, April 3. The Solley Auditorium of the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts on Witherspoon Street, is an intimate but fully equipped ...

224

Album Review

Peter Brötzmann: Wolk In Hosen

Read "Wolk In Hosen" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
April 17, 2011

In a blindfold test--and not knowing he was but 11 years old when this solo session was recorded in 1976--the sound heard on Wolk In Hosen might be mistaken for that of Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson. But no, it is, indeed, Gustafsson's hero and musical role model, the fire-breathing Peter Brötzmann. Also released as part of the limited edition, 12-CD box FMP im Rückblick--in Retrospect (1969-2010) (FMP, 2010)--with an extraordinary 218-page book full of photographs, articles, and a ...

191

Album Review

The Flying Burrito Brothers: Authorized Bootleg: Fillmore East, Late Show, Nov 7,1970

Read "Authorized Bootleg: Fillmore East, Late Show, Nov 7,1970" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
April 17, 2011

Gram Parsons began The Flying Burrito Brothers with Chris Hillman when the two men left The Byrds in 1968, but the group continued on admirably without Parsons, under Hillman's stewardship, in the role of bassist, singer and songwriter. Authorized Bootleg: Fillmore East compares favorably with the latter-day Burritos' live Last of the Red Hot Burritos (A&M, 1972), if only because the bulk of the material consists of originals Parsons wrote himself, like the streamlined chug of “Lazy Days," ...

190

Album Review

Soren Moller: Christian X Variations

Read "Christian X Variations" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
April 17, 2011

Quasi-historians suggest that the story, in which Christian X, King of Denmark dictated that all Danes, including himself, would wear the Star of David as a symbol of solidarity with his Jewish subjects, if the Nazis forced the Danish Jews to do so, is apocryphal. The profound nature of the King's support for his Jewish subjects and his fierce declaration of Danish nationalism amid the then-rise of Nazism is at the heart of the celebration of this suite. Indeed, pianist/composer ...

425

The Art and Science of Jazz

On Blind Tom, Essence of Creativity, Autism and Jazz

by Hrayr Attarian
April 17, 2011

It is safe to assume, that today, Blind Tom Wiggins (AKA Bethune) is not a household name. In the mid to late 19th century, and into the first decade of the 20th, however, Blind Tom was a phenomenon who some named the Eighth Wonder. Although no contemporary physician made the actual diagnosis of autism, it is quite clear from reading about him that he, in all likelihood, fell within the autistic spectrum. Jazz per se did not exist then either, ...

304

Extended Analysis

Dub Colossus: Addis Through The Looking Glass

by Chris May
April 16, 2011

Dub ColossusAddis Through The Looking GlassReal World2011 Modern Ethiopian recordings were largely unknown abroad until 1997, when France's Buda Musique label launched its Ethiopiques CD series. The reason had nothing to do with the music, which was wondrous and varied and splendidly distinctive, and everything to do with the Dergue, the military junta which ruled Ethiopia from the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 until its own downfall in 1987. ...

196

Album Review

MUTA: Bricolage

Read "Bricolage" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
April 16, 2011

Quite the collective, MUTA makes soundscapes from a cooperative effort that is nearly solo-free. That is, the trio of flautist Alessandra Rombolà, electric harpist Rhodri Davies and percussionist Ingar Zach set aside any individual ambition on Bricolage, to create a consistent and cogent statement. Formed in 2003, the players have one previous release, Yesterday Night You Were Sleeping At My Place (Sofa, 2007). Their approach of slowly building upon minimal sounds, drones, and altered pitches occupies the field ...

139

Live Review

Japan Benefit Concert at the Village Vanguard

by Emilie Pons
April 16, 2011

On Monday, April 4, 2011, the storied Village Vanguard, a classy little West Village basement club, hosted one of numerous benefit concerts for Japan around New York City. The Village Vanguard Orchestra was featured for three incredible sets, like every Monday; but on this special occasion invited a series of wonderful guest musicians to contribute. Pianist Fred Hersch, bassist Rufus Reid and saxophonist Jerry Dodgion sat in on the first set. Much of the band's repertoire was composed ...

217

Album Review

Kyle Eastwood: Songs From The Chateau

Read "Songs From The Chateau" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
April 16, 2011

Kyle Eastwood's career encompasses the writing of film soundtracks, as well as the life of a jazz composer, bandleader and bassist. On those seemingly rare occasions when he isn't working, Eastwood spends much of his time in France. Songs From The Chateau is his fifth album since 1998's debut, From There To Here (Sony), and his fourth for British Candid label. It finds Eastwood recording in the country he loves, at the 15th century Chateau Couronneau in the Bordeaux region. ...

230

New York Beat

The Jazz Conservatory

by Nick Catalano
April 16, 2011

Each semester I bring my jazz students from Pace university down to Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola to see a performance by the Manhattan School of Music Jazz orchestra, under the direction of Justin DiCioccio. The concerts are spectacular with themes intelligently constructed featuring areas of jazz (musicians, composers, arrangers, styles) appealing to serious listeners. I've written about the orchestra's programs in previous columns, but it is time to focus on the school itself because recent developments there are truly noteworthy.