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.

261

Afrobeat Diaries

Part 16 - Dele Sosimi: Turbulent Times

by Chris May
January 21, 2011

Dele SosimiTurbulent TimesEko Star2002 Whatever you may think of musicals, and most people either love them or hate them, the New York and London productions of Fela! are to be welcomed. Both have been distinguished as much by their house bands as by their leading actors and dancers, and, as a result, both have done Fela Kuti's legacy proud--confirming, if confirmation was needed, the Afrobeat originator's enduring power to connect.

177

Album Review

Stephen Haynes: Parrhesia

Read "Parrhesia" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
January 21, 2011

There's something about the plain brown recycled chipboard sleeve of Parrhesia, with its letter-pressed script, which relates to the music contained inside. It's not just the concern for sustainability, but also the understated, organic yet singular nature of the package. Trumpeter Stephen Haynes' leadership debut has been a long time coming, which perhaps suggests undue modesty. Mentor Bill Dixon looms large in the trumpeter's resume, but Haynes has been active since the early '70s, with many renowned leaders including composer ...

302

Album Review

Walter Smith III: III

by Mark F. Turner
January 21, 2011

While there are many saxophonists warranting greater recognition, Walter Smith III is consistently emerging as an identifiable voice among the masses. He's been making waves, whether performing across the waters in Spain with bassist Paco Charlin; recording in France on drummer Eric Harland's debut, Voyager Live by Night (Space Time, 2010); with trumpeter Christian Scott for 2008's Live at Newport (Concord); or stints with another trumpeter, Terence Blanchard. Smith's third release further reveals his maturation as a ...

285

Album Review

Led Bib: Bring Your Own

Read "Bring Your Own" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
January 21, 2011

Led Bib has never been an easy ensemble to pigeonhole: according to critics and reviewers the band is “punk jazz," free improvisation, avant-garde, skronk, dirty jazz--and, most splendidly, “death-jazz-cum-math-punk." On the evidence of the London-based band's fourth album, Bring Your Own, it's all of the above, and a little bit more. This is music for dancing, for head-banging, for thinking and even for quiet reflection. Led Bib's founder and main writer is New Jersey native Mark Holub, ...

269

Album Review

Donny McCaslin: Perpetual Motion

Read "Perpetual Motion" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
January 21, 2011

Saxophonist Donny McCaslin can be called, quite accurately, a fearless player, whether it's for his prodigious and always adventurous work as a sideman--very notably with trumpeter Dave Douglas' quintet and with Maria Schneider's award-winning orchestra (for which he garnered a Grammy nomination), or on his own discs as a leader.McCaslin's musical spirit is a searching one, exploring different facets of his artistry on the pared-down and often fiery trio outing, Recommended Tools (Greenleaf Records, 2008); going after the ...

387

Album Review

David Binney: Graylen Epicenter

Read "Graylen Epicenter" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
January 20, 2011

Even with artists whose eyes are always on a dangling carrot that keeps them moving relentless forward, there are albums where quantum leaps are made. Since 2005, alto saxophonist/composer David Binney has been alternating between small ensemble, inherently quick-and-dirty sessions for the Dutch Criss Cross label like Aliso (2010) and more ambitious projects on his own Mythology label, including the particularly excellent Third Occasion (2009). If Third Occasion found Binney's reckless yet unerringly focused playing and instantly recognizable and influential ...

521

Extended Analysis

Chico Hamilton Quintet: Three Classic Albums

by David Rickert
January 20, 2011

Chico Hamilton QuintetThree Classic AlbumsAvid Records2010 The first thing the Chico Hamilton Quintet had going for it was unusual instrumentation. The quintet built its sound around the cello, and featured guitar, bass, either flute or clarinet (with the occasional sax), and Hamilton on drums, forgoing the sticks for brushes or mallets. The second thing was a style that wasn't quite jazz, exactly, but not as composed as classical (and definitely not as ...

241

Album Review

Lars Fiil Quartet: Reconsideration

Read "Reconsideration" reviewed by Jakob Baekgaard

by Jakob Baekgaard
January 20, 2011

Hailing from Aarhus, Lars Fiil is one of the latest discoveries on the Danish jazz scene. The young Danish pianist's quartet won the prestigious Young Jazz Comets Denmark in 2010, and is now ready to launch its debut, Reconsideration. The album, consisting entirely of compositions penned by the leader, shows a band whose understanding of the complexities of musical form belies its young age. While each of the members is certainly a highly skilled musician, instrumental prowess ...

188

Live Review

Tierney Sutton Band: Denver, December 29, 2010

by Geoff Anderson
January 20, 2011

Tierney Sutton BandDazzle NightclubDenver, USADecember 29, 2010, Second SetIt turns out the Tierney Sutton Band operates a foster home. They don't take in human children, rather they adopt songs. Most of these songs didn't even know they needed a new home. Most were happily making their way through life, having been spawned by parents with impeccable pedigrees. These are songs that are as popular as the high school quarterback, the head cheerleader; everyone knows and ...

222

Album Review

Kathleen Kolman: Dream On

Read "Dream On" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
January 20, 2011

New England jazz polyglot Kathleen Kolman displays efficiency in art with the release of Dream On. The recording serves as both her Masters Degree project at Lesley University in Cambridge and her first commercial release. She joins a rarefied group of female jazz vocalists who call New England home, including Donna Byrne, Kris Adams, Krisanthi Pappas, Carol Akerson and Rebecca Parris. Her deep alto voice is quite reminiscent of Parris, a true standout in jazz vocals. Kolman's ...