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.

522

Interview

Joseph Polisi: Juilliard Jazz Hits Ten

by Greg Thomas
April 8, 2011

He's been president of the Juilliard School, the most prestigious performing arts institution in America, since 1984. Also an accomplished bassoonist, Dr. Joseph Polisi has performed as both soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, as well as at The Juilliard School, Alice Tully Hall, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and Avery Fisher Hall. Dr. Polisi grew up surrounded by the arts: his father was a distinguished bassoonist with the New York Philharmonic; his mother ...

285

Album Review

Darius Jones / Matthew Shipp: Cosmic Lieder

Read "Cosmic Lieder" reviewed by Troy Collins

by Troy Collins
April 8, 2011

Cosmic Lieder documents the first recorded collaboration between rising alto saxophone star Darius Jones and venerable pianist Matthew Shipp. Veering between dark lyricism and roiling catharsis, the date offers an illuminating window into the creative discourse between two different generations of the avant-garde. Released concurrently with the expansive live double album, The Art of the Improviser (Thirsty Ear), which showcases Shipp's artistry in both solo and trio settings, this intimate studio date presents yet another facet of the ...

358

Book Review

Music Is Rapid Transportation...From The Beatles To Xenakis

by Chris May
April 8, 2011

Music Is Rapid Transportation...From The Beatles To Xenakis Editor: Daniel Kernohan Paperback; 280 pagesISBN: 9781895166047Chavari Press2010 Music Is Rapid Transportation...From The Beatles To Xenakis is a book many jazz fans would probably like to write. It is, basically, a list of favorite albums. Or rather, seven lists, long ones, put together by a network of Canadian-based enthusiasts. If the current gender stereotype for list-makers is accurate, it ...

266

Album Review

Ray Charles: Ray Charles Live in Concert

Read "Ray Charles Live in Concert" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
April 8, 2011

The Concord Music group inaugurated a release cycle celebrating Ray Charles' 80th birthday with Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters (Concord Records, 2010). Now, its reissue of Ray Charles Live in Concert, expanded with previously unreleased material from the same September 20, 1964 performance at the Shrine Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles, captures Charles enjoying the pinnacle of his powers. Charles released few commercial live recordings in the 1950s and '60s, when his considerable talent and influence were ...

289

Take Five With...

Take Five with Colin Vallon

by AAJ Staff
April 8, 2011

Meet Colin Vallon:After studying classical music for two years, Colin Vallon (born November 17 1980 in Lausanne) took classes with jazz pianist Marc Ueter at the age of fourteen. He enrolled at the Swiss Jazz School when he was 18, and studied with Silvano Bazan, William Evans Manuel Bærtsch and Bert Joris. In 1999, he founds the Colin Vallon Trio, which has played regularly ever since, in Switzerland and abroad ; in 2004 it released his debut-album Les ...

289

Album Review

Todd Clouser: A Love Electric

Read "A Love Electric" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
April 8, 2011

Musicians and painters from the US have long since been relocating to Mexico, hoping to deepen their art through immersion in a slower pace of life. Guitarist Todd Clouser is a recent emigré, who moved south in 2006. Back then, Mexico's drug war was just starting to heat up, and has grown more vicious with each passing year. By the end of the decade, it resembled a particularly nasty, full-blown civil war, with an appallingly high level of civilian attrition. ...

190

Album Review

Terry Myers: Smiles

Read "Smiles" reviewed by Andrew J. Sammut

by Andrew J. Sammut
April 8, 2011

Tuneful, swinging and technically polished. Terry Myers isn't worried about anything else jazz is “supposed" to be. Smiles is a relaxed yet energetic romp through some standards, ballads and blues that the Florida-based saxophonist clearly loves to play. There's nothing complex or innovative here, just four musicians having a good time and looking to take the listener along. A jumping “Them There Eyes" introduces Myers's straightforward approach to contemporary swing. He crafts phrases with rhythm and reason ...

313

Album Review

Brad Shepik Quartet: Across The Way

Read "Across The Way" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
April 8, 2011

One of the modern day pioneers of integrating Balkan music into the progressive jazz vernacular, guitarist Brad Shepik's solo and session career spans a comprehensive panorama. He lingers on the cutting-edge of matters amid collaborations with like-minded artists, such as trumpeter Dave Douglas, reedman Chris Speed and other jazz VIPs. And on this quartet date, Shepik and vibraphonist Tom Beckham impart a jubilant union within more traditional jazz quarters. Across The Way is a sinuous endeavor, packed with ...

257

Mr. P.C.'s Guide to Jazz Etiquette and Bandstand Decorum

April 2011

by Mr. P.C.
April 7, 2011

Dear Mr. P.C.: A friend of mine books a successful outdoor music series featuring crowd-pleasing groups like rock cover bands. He called me up and told me that there was a problem: crowds had grown too large, forcing the city to hire extra police and trash collectors. Because of the city's budget crisis, he was under pressure to book bands that would draw smaller crowds. Then he offered my jazz trio a date in the series.

283

Album Review

Matteo Sabattini: Dawning

by Dan Bilawsky
April 7, 2011

A sense of melody seems to be sacrificed in a lot of modern jazz these days, as newcomers try to get some press as the next big thing by subscribing to a stranger-is-better aesthetic. Matteo Sabattini is a rare exception, an alto saxophonist whose music is unique in its provision of comfort and a natural sense of melodic lyricism, while still presenting challenging ideas, along with aggressive rhythmic and harmonic ideals that constantly surprise. His New York ...