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.

176

Live Review

Piers Faccini, New York City, February 9, 2011

by Ernest Barteldes
February 17, 2011

Piers FacciniLiving RoomFebruary 9, 2011New York, NYOn the opening date of his February 2011 residence at New York City's Living Room, British singer-songwriter Piers Faccini featured mostly music from his recent release, Two Grains of Sand (tôt Ou tard, 2009), a record he describes on his webpage as inspired “by the great African bluesman Ali Farka Toure, the American beat cowboy Bob Dylan, and the dulcet Brazilian maestro Caetano Veloso."Backed solely by his ...

287

Album Review

Claire DeBrunner / Ken Silverman / Daniel Carter / Tom Zlabinger: Macroscopia

Read "Macroscopia" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
February 17, 2011

Multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter may be the best known constituent part of NYC collective quartet Macroscopia, but based on its eponymous debut, he's not the only reason to listen. Although the bassoon hasn't figured largely in jazz history to date, an increasing number of able modern practitioners specializing in the large double reed woodwind seek to change that, including Sara Schoenbeck, and Katherine Young. Now, to that company, the name Claire DeBrunner must be added: her agile playing is one of ...

168

Take Five With...

Take Five With Kelly Powers

by AAJ Staff
February 17, 2011

Meet Kelly Powers:Pianist Kelly Powers has performed with the Cab Calloway Orchestra, the Artie Shaw Orchestra, Steve Davis, Nat Reeves, Jack Jeffers and the New York Classics, George Gee Swing Orchestra and Travis Sullivan's Björkestra, among others. Her playing has been showcased in numerous New York City venues including Smoke Jazz Club, Cleopatra's Needle, Kitano, Zinc Bar, Makor, Swing 46, Minton's Playhouse, Big Apple Jazz, the Shrine, Miles Cafe, Bruno Jamais, the Carlyle, Rainbow Room, Café Vivaldi, Rockwood ...

180

Album Review

Everywhere Band: Music Is...

Read "Music Is..." reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
February 17, 2011

Everywhere Band has a bit of an identity crisis on this three-song EP. Multi-reedist/composer/leader Joshua Kwassman takes the band through reworkings of two semi-modern pop hits--John Mayer's “Clarity" and Dave Matthews' “Satellite"-- with mixed results, painting an uneven picture of what this band can do. Sometimes this music cooks under the flame of guitarist Michael Valeanu's Allman Brothers-like guitar solos, but other moments present a meandering musical ensemble that lacks a strong directional intent. This turns out to be a ...

253

Album Review

Nick Mazzarella Trio: Aviary

by Mark Corroto
February 17, 2011

Saxophonist Nick Mazzarella keeps things neat and succinct on this shortish (30 minute) introductory release. Although compact, this release is quite loquacious and, perhaps, a presage of great things to come.All six compositions were penned by Mazzarella, and harken back to the early 1960s, and the rise of Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy. Mazzarella, a twenty-something DePaul University graduate and Chicago resident, is a member of Green And Gold, a band dedicated to Ornette's early offsprings, Sonny Simmons ...

198

Mix Tape

Brazil Songbook, Post Bossa Vol. 1

by Tom Moon
February 17, 2011

Whenever I need to reconnect with the infinite inspiration of music, I dial up something from Brazil. Here's a short tour of some incredible records that deserve recognition as classics of world culture—a few craftily updated classics by Antonio Carlos Jobim, a few stellar gems from the songbook of Milton Nascimento, some crackling Baden Powell, an absolutely gorgeous Edu Lobo tune, etc. Enjoy! TrackNameTimeArtistAlbum1 Três temas de fé afro-brasileira: Pai (Um canto de preto velho)4:35Baden PowellTristeza / ...

363

Album Review

Robert Hurst: Bob Ya Head

Read "Bob Ya Head" reviewed by Mark F. Turner

by Mark F. Turner
February 16, 2011

With a spirit of optimism and new direction, veteran bassist Robert Hurst returns with two simultaneous releases on his Bebob recording label, that further expound on his leadership. The first, Unrehurst Vol. 2 , is an all-acoustic date with drummer Chris Dave and firebrand pianist Robert Glasper, recorded live in 2007 at the Smoke in New York City. An educator, composer and bandleader, Hurst's accolades also include directing, arranging and composing for The Tonight Show, with Jay ...

167

Album Review

Ralph Bowen: Power Play

Read "Power Play" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
February 16, 2011

The inscription on saxophonist Ralph Bowen's business card probably should read “solid citizen," because his post-bop jazz conception has always been steadfast and dependable. With Power Play, he only adds to his stalwart reputation. Together with bassist Kenny Davis, Bowen was picked, in the mid-1980s, to spearhead the return of Blue Note Records in the all-star band Out Of The Blue. Along with the likes of Michael Philip Mossman, Kenny Garrett, and Ralph Peterson, OTB revived the classic ...

116

Profile

Phil DeGreg: Cincinnati Jazz Heavyweight

by Michael Shults
February 16, 2011

Cincinnati-based pianist Phil DeGreg has made his mark in the jazz world over the past three decades as a recording artist, composer, and pedagogue. An alumnus of the Woody Herman band, DeGreg boasts ten recordings as a leader, and has appeared alongside J.J. Johnson on the legendary trombonist's video Live in Concert (City Hall, 2007). Since 1991, he has been a Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Cincinnati's esteemed College Conservatory of Music, and his 1994 text Jazz ...

474

Record Label Profile

Posi-Tone Records: Creating a New Iconic Catalogue

by John Patten
February 16, 2011

When Posi-Tone Records founder Marc Free was growing up, he looked forward to each new record purchase, cherishing the cover artwork, devouring the liner notes and most of all, feasting on the music. He came to love the music and albums issued by iconic labels such as Blue Note and Impulse!, knowing that even if he hadn't heard of the artist, it was likely to be a quality recording by a great musician.And when Free launched Posi-Tone in ...