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.

340

Album Review

Philip Gibbs / Paul Dunmall / Tony Hymas / Paul Rogers / Neil Metcalfe / Tony Levin: Mumuksuta

Read "Mumuksuta" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
February 12, 2011

With over 60 releases by the end of 2010 on his own Duns Limited Edition label, reedman Paul Dunmall has been trying to slow down. That yet another new issue turns up regardless is testament to the quality contained therein. Derived from yoga teachings, the title Mumuksuta translates as a burning desire to realize the Self within. While it's hard to say whether the participants have succeeded in freeing themselves of earthly desires, they certainly manage to perform without ego. ...

179

Bailey's Bundles

The Beethoven Piano Sonata Series: Idil Biret and Andras Schiff - Sonata No. 1 in F minor

by C. Michael Bailey
February 12, 2011

Note to Readers: This column is switching gears to review the complete Andras Schiff and Idil Biret Beethoven Sonata cycles. One sonata will be addressed at a time. This will be more orderly than trying to match the respective volumes as first written. An overview article on these sonata cycles can be found here. Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2, No.1 was written with his Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3, in 1795, the ...

192

Live Review

Dave Douglas and Keystone: Columbus, February 5, 2011

by Mark Corroto
February 12, 2011

Dave Douglas & KeystoneLincoln TheatreColumbus, OhioFebruary 5, 2011 It seemed somehow fitting that composer Dave Douglas' presentation of Spark Of Being (Greenleaf Music, 2010) be held in the aftermath of the blizzard of 2011. The audience for this retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which begins and ends with a sailing ship frozen in the ice of the North Pole, had traveled to the Lincoln Theatre through huge drifting snows, with trees and power lines ...

215

Album Review

Steve Turré: Delicious And Delightful

Read "Delicious And Delightful" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
February 12, 2011

Trombonist Steve Turré is a renowned jazzman. An educator and member of the Saturday Night Live band, the artist has released several solo outings amid a legacy that includes first- call session stints with jazz, Latin and pop notables. On Delicious and Delightful, Turré treads along a rather clement path consisting of medium-tempo pieces and ballads. He also multitasks when toggling between the trombone and conch shells. The opener and embryonic piece “Light Within," is a composition by venerable tenor ...

115

Album Review

Nordic Connect: Spirals

by Troy Collins
February 12, 2011

Scandinavian jazz has enjoyed quite a renaissance over the past few decades, ranging from the cool Norwegian austerity of Jan Garbarek and Terje Rypdal's seminal 1970's recordings to the fiery Swedish expressionism of Magnus Broo and Mats Gustafsson's recent avant-garde excursions. Spirals, the sophomore effort of Nordic Connect, embraces both aesthetic dualities, serving as a pertinent example of the stylistic diversity currently championed by those of North Atlantic descent.All of the members of Nordic Connect share similar ethnic ...

397

Afrobeat Diaries

Part 18 - Seun Kuti talks about From Africa With Fury: Rise

by Chris May
February 12, 2011

Seun Kuti's From Africa With Fury: Rise, the follow-up to the ferocious Many Things (Tot Au Tard, 2008), is under starter's orders--and Afrobeat Diaries' sneak preview attests that it's a monster, a stone delight of epic proportions. Produced by Brian Eno with John Reynolds and Kuti, with additional input from dub wizard Godwin Logie, the new album features Fela Kuti's son once more fronting Egypt 80 under the leadership of Lekan Animashaun, its founding bandleader, whose time ...

267

Album Review

Samo Salamon Trio: Almost Almond

Read "Almost Almond" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza

by Jerry D'Souza
February 12, 2011

Guitarist Samo Šalamon has exhibited a high level of creativity on his recordings. He continues to manifest that trait on this release, his 11th as leader. As before, the material entices, as it moves between laidback tunes that are bathed in a soft glow, or hard permutations that crackle and snap. Add little twists like the times he lets the melody slip in almost perceptibly into the framework, and Almost Almond becomes a lair of delightful aural textures.The ...

269

Album Review

Chris Cogburn / Bonnie Jones/ Bhob Rainey: Arena Ladridos

Read "Arena Ladridos" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
February 12, 2011

The opening scene in director David Lynch's movie Blue Velvet (1986) shows a placid neighborhood scene of a man watering his lawn. As the camera zooms closer and closer to the grass, the serenity of the landscape is peeled away to reveal a tumultuous battle of tiny insects in a life-and-death struggle that goes on outside of our familiar perspective. The same can be said of these two minimalist improvisation pieces on Arena Ladridos. Recorded in Austin and ...

323

Mix Tape

The Beatles: Mostly McCartney

by Michael Ricci
February 12, 2011

EMI was nice enough to send me every reissued Beatles release in 2009 which led to this ultimate playlist of mostly Paul McCartney led tunes. TrackNameTimeArtistAlbum1Good Day Sunshine2:09The BeatlesRevolver2Norwegian Wood2:04The BeatlesRubber Soul3Eleanor Rigby2:06The BeatlesRevolver4Love You To2:59The BeatlesRevolver5Michelle2:42The BeatlesRubber Soul6When I'm Sixty-Four2:37The BeatlesSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band7Here Comes The Sun3:05The BeatlesAbbey Road8Baby You're A Rich Man3:01The BeatlesMagical Mystery Tour9The Fool On The Hill2:59The BeatlesMagical Mystery Tour10Yesterday2:05The BeatlesHelp!11Dear Prudence3:55The BeatlesThe Beatles (White Album) [Disc 1]12Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da3:08The BeatlesThe Beatles ...

487

Extended Analysis

Bert Turetzky / George Lewis / Vinny Golia: Triangulation II

by Robert Bush
February 11, 2011

Bert Turetzky / George Lewis / Vinny GoliaTriangulation 11Kadima Collective2010 The trio at work here consists of three giants of improvised music. On trombone, George Lewis has few peers; multi-instrumentalist Vinny Golia has been a rock of the Los Angeles free-jazz scene for over 30 years; and contrabassist Bert Turetzky has a lifetime of cutting edge experience to contribute. The music on Triangulation II is more than just a record of three ...