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.

267

Year in Review

Lyn Horton's Top Releases of 2010

by Lyn Horton
December 27, 2010

William Parker Quartet Uncle Joe's Spirit House(AUM Fidelity) Matthew Shipp 4D(Thirsty Ear) David S. Ware Saturnian, Volume One(AUM Fidelity) Vox Arcana Aerial Age(Allos Documents) David Rempis and Frank RosalyCyrillic(482 Music) Joe McPhee / Dominic Duval / Jay Rosen / Mikolaj Trzaska Magic(Not Two) Wadada Leo Smith / Ed Blackwell Blue Mountain's Sun Drummer

291

Album Review

Kablys: Live at 11:20

Read "Live at 11:20" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
December 27, 2010

Alongside the growing roster of international talent, the Lithuanian No Business label is also starting to document the home grown scene. Kablys comprises three of the country's leading younger generation of jazz musicians. Saxophonist Liudas Mockūnas is among the best known, with over ten albums to his credit, and a résumé including appearances with Andrew Hill, the World Saxophone Quartet and Marc Ducret. He is also a composer and active in contemporary academic music fields. Bassist Eugenijus Kanevicius works across ...

Album Review

Bill O'Connell: Rhapsody In Blue

Read "Rhapsody In Blue" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza

by Jerry D'Souza
December 27, 2010

Pianist Bill O'Connell has a varied career as a musician. After studying classical music he found inspiration in jazz and salsa. He shaped his instincts for the latter with Mongo Santamaria with whom he played for two years. From there he gravitated to Sonny Rollins and Chet Baker. This wide spectrum served to expand his skills and his approach to the piano. He is as adept at hard bop and mainstream jazz as he is in Latin jazz even though ...

618

Music and the Creative Spirit

Curtis Mayfield: After the Rain

by Lloyd N. Peterson Jr.
December 26, 2010

Throughout the passageways of my youth, perhaps no other voice was as critically important. When I questioned my own existence in a predominantly white school and community, it was his voice and music that carried me through. During my saddest and most vulnerable moments, he filled me with hope and the strength to face another day. When I was locked inside the torments of my own mind, he would free me from the shackles of despair. The Reverend Andrew Young ...

142

Album Review

Chris Crocco: The Chris Crocco Trio +

Read "The Chris Crocco Trio +" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
December 26, 2010

What makes music fluid? Is it based on smooth transitions from section-to-section in each piece? The consistent flow of ideas from each individual artist involved in the music making process? The ability of a group to form a bond that allows them to travel along the same routes with simpatico sensibilities? The music of guitarist Chris Crocco's Fluid Trio measures up to any of these standards, and easily lives up to its name. Surprisingly, the “+" in the title is ...

383

Live Review

Alan Ferber Nonet Plus Strings at Jazz Gallery on December 16, 2010

by Daniel Lehner
December 26, 2010

Alan Ferber Nonet Plus StringsThe Jazz GalleryNew York City, USADecember 16, 2010 Despite having fewer members than an average big band, the concept of a nonet plus an eight-piece string section seems like a huge undertaking. Even the sight of violins and cellos in front of the large small group in the cozy confines of New York City's Jazz Gallery seemed overwhelming. Perhaps it's because the suffix “with strings" conjures up images of a huge ...

433

Album Review

Portland Jazz Orchestra: Nor'easter

Read "Nor'easter" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello

by Nicholas F. Mondello
December 26, 2010

Although the era of the gig-to-gig road-traveling big band is defunct, save for a few ghost bands, fine regional big bands continue to thrive around the United States. From Los Angeles, killer bands such as Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band and Tom Kubis's and Gary Urwin's respective ensembles, to the East Coast where groups such as Tommy Igoe's Birdland Band, the Westchester Jazz Orchestra, Keith Pray's ensemble, Kenny Hadley's and others still fill venues with swinging jazz. The road may ...

358

Extended Analysis

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 7

by AAJ Staff
December 26, 2010

Mariss Jansons / Bavarian Radio Symphony OrchestraGustav Mahler: Symphony No. 7BR Klassik 2010 Gustav Mahler's 7th Symphony, first performed in 1908 under the baton of the composer in Prague, is felt by many to be a colorful vision of a night-time journey. The symphony (or at least the first movement) could equally give the impression of the entry to and exploring of a new city, or some kind of adventure, and so ...

323

Album Review

Take 6: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Read "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
December 26, 2010

A capella group Take 6 produces little more than an extended play CD with its holiday offering, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Ten songs clocking in at a slim 33 minutes make the disc a disappointment, save for that precious 33 minutes where the sextet does what it does best: sing. Opting for a majority of secular carols, the group concentrates largely on the popular Christmas canon. Most outstanding among the 10 selections is the ...

401

Year in Review

Hrayr Attarian's Best Releases of 2010: Female Instrumentalists

by Hrayr Attarian
December 25, 2010

More experienced editors before me have already posted their best choices for this past year. Instead of adding yet another list of some of the same, I would like to take a slightly different approach. Here are my top 10 picks for 2010, by female jazz instrumentalists: Mary Halvorson QuintetSaturn SingsFirehouse 12 An alumnus of Anthony Braxton's, guitarist Mary Halvorson has, on this CD, created a unique set of pieces that strike ...