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.

179

Album Review

Neurobot: Petla Bohumina

Read "Petla Bohumina" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
January 6, 2011

Listening to Charlie Parker recordings from the late 1940s and early 1950s, specifically the incomplete takes of studio sessions, it's possible to hear bits and pieces of chatter and noise from the hissing/wobbly start/stop of recordings. These are what musicologists and cultural historians dig. The off-hand comment, noise, or experiment in sound reveals another world, outside of the engineered masters.These outtakes might have been the seeds from which the 39 minutes of electronic improvisation, by the Neurobot trio, ...

208

Album Review

Matt Bauder: Day In Pictures

Read "Day In Pictures" reviewed by Troy Collins

by Troy Collins
January 5, 2011

Day In Pictures is Matt Bauder's first traditional jazz recording as the leader of a stellar acoustic quintet. Far from a debut, the young Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist already has a number of eclectic releases to his name, but none delve as far into the nuances of jazz tradition as this refined platter. His previous albums expand on his work as a sideman to adventurous peers like Taylor Ho Bynum, Harris Eisenstadt and Rob Mazurek, including his electro-acoustic debut, Weary Already Of ...

316

Live Review

Jan Garbarek / The Hilliard Ensemble: New York, November 12, 2010

by Warren Allen
January 5, 2011

Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard EnsembleChurch of St. Ignatius LoyolaNew York, NYNovember 12, 2010 Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek and the ancient music quartet known as The Hilliard Ensemble first came together through the machinations of ECM records owner and maestro Manfred Eicher. Their auspicious debut collaboration was Officium (ECM 1994), a serene mix of Medieval chants blended with Garbarek's ethereal saxophone. Belonging to neither the classical nor jazz bins, yet with clear roots to ...

166

Album Review

Evan Christopher: The Remembering Song

Read "The Remembering Song" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
January 5, 2011

All roads lead to New Orleans for clarinetist Evan Christopher. Christopher left sunny California in the mid-'90s and arrived in NOLA, ready to absorb from--and contribute to--the rich musical environs that only the Crescent City could claim. His initial stay lasted two years, but the city drew him back again in 2001. After Hurricane Katrina came to wreak havoc a few years later, Christopher--like many other musicians from the region--was a man without a home. He spent some time traveling ...

377

Extended Analysis

Frank Zappa: Hammersmith Odeon

by John Kelman
January 5, 2011

Christmas came early for Frank Zappa fans in 2010 with the release of Hammersmith Odeon on December 21, to celebrate the birthday of the late, great rock guitarist/composer/satirist who would have been 70, had he not passed away in 1993, just shy of turning 53. A three-CD set, culled from a series of early 1978 performances at the famous London venue used as the basic tracks for Sheik Yerbouti (FZ/Ryko, 1979), it's the next best thing to having been there, ...

312

Take Five With...

Take Five With Vladimir Vysotsky

by AAJ Staff
January 5, 2011

Meet Vladimir Vysotsky: Vladimir Vysotski (b. 1982) is a pianist, composer, songwriter and producer. He studied classical and jazz piano at Helsinki Pop & Jazz Conservatory and Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. Received the Nokia Young Talent Award in 2004. Today, Vysotsky participates in several jazz and experimental bands in the Estonian Music scene. He has an eclectic music style, getting inspiration from many sources and freely combining different music genres to create a fresh and unique sound.

219

Album Review

Matthias Bublath: Diversity

Read "Diversity" reviewed by Alan Bryson

by Alan Bryson
January 5, 2011

With his fifth release in five years, Munich-born Matthias Bublath demonstrates, once again, that he's a creative powerhouse. The composer/pianist/organist has the knack of achieving a rare and enviable outcome made famous by artists like Dave Brubeck: specifically, his music satisfies a sophisticated palate while appealing to a general audience.Diversity is an apt title, a musical kaleidoscope that brings together musicians from four continents. Although he is a fine musician in his own right, first and foremost Bublath's ...

173

Album Review

Katya Sourikova: Angels & Satellites

Read "Angels & Satellites" reviewed by Eyal Hareuveni

by Eyal Hareuveni
January 5, 2011

Now splitting her time between London and Berlin, Katya Sourikova was born in Saint Petersburg and studied music in London and at the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music, the latter under the tutorship of Dave Douglas and Marilyn Crispell. Angels & Satellites--her sophomore release after Steps in the Snow (Weave, 2008), with American saxophonist Curtis MacDonald--features the pianist as a mature composer and player, who defies genre boundaries between jazz and modern music. The ...

149

Album Review

Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes: Double Portrait

Read "Double Portrait" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
January 4, 2011

Many people believe that married couples have a telepathic connection. This recording puts that theory to the test, with two of the most important pianists in jazz today--who also happen to be husband and wife--sitting down for a duo piano recital. Charlap's own work with drummer Kenny Washington and bassist Peter Washington has positioned him as one of the key voices in the piano trio format. His selection of standards and exquisite, classy recording projects have given ...

599

Interview

Jane Monheit: Finding the Way Back Home

by Esther Berlanga-Ryan
January 4, 2011

Jane Monheit's voice is not a reflection of somebody else's talent: it is all on her. Home (Emarcy, 2010) is her new ticket to the legacy of the Great American Songbook, and her journey has been quite spectacular.Singing the words or simply scatting, Monheit lays down the pattern for the true vocal jazz tradition with tunes like “This is Always" and “Isn't It a Lovely Day" for those who might have forgotten what romanticism sounded like, back in ...