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.

626

Live Review

Enjoy Jazz Festival, Days 4-6: November 11-13, 2010

by John Kelman
November 15, 2010

Days 1-3 | Days 4-6 Enjoy Jazz FestivalMannheim/Heidelberg/Ludwigshafen, GermanyNovember 8-13, 2010 Every city has a story, but some have more than others. Heidelberg, Germany, has a history as rich and varied as might be expected from a place that dates back to the middle of the first century AD, when the Romans began to settle in the area, but actually goes even further back, to 600,000 BC, when Homo heidelbergensis, a precursor to the Neanderthal ...

630

Interview

Clifton Anderson: Leading The Way

by Mikayla Gilbreath
November 14, 2010

Not since the heyday of Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey has the trombone enjoyed widespread acceptance as a band leader's instrument. With only a few exceptions, the last half century has seen trombonists slide from favor as leaders and become more commonly viewed as sidemen. Even genuinely notable artists like J.J. Johnson, Frank Rosolino, Bill Watrous and Slide Hampton never really gained the fame and notoriety afforded their predecessors of the 1930s and '40s. Some believe the trombone's ...

304

Film Review

Phish: Coral Sky

by Doug Collette
November 14, 2010

PhishCoral SkyJemp2010 What's most striking at the outset of Phish's Coral Sky DVD is how much the band's presentation here, in November 1996, is so remarkably similar to the sound and vision of the Vermont-based jamband since its reunion in 2009. From the sight of drummer Jon Fishman in his trademark dress on stage, to the near telepathic tradeoffs during improvisational segments, this might well be a recent performance.

181

Album Review

Richard Pinhas: Metal/Crystal

Read "Metal/Crystal" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
November 14, 2010

The music of Metal/Crystal is loud and scary. It is not oxymoronic to call Richard Pinhas' creation the noisiest ambient record this year. The guitarist, perhaps the French equivalent to Robert Fripp, has been making music for 30 years, first with the electronic rock band Heldon, then as a solo act, extending ambient music with his guitar processing techniques. Of late he has been experimenting with the international noise scene, releasing Keio Line (Cuneiform, 2008) with Masami Akita ...

142

Take Five With...

Take Five With Beat Kaestli

by AAJ Staff
November 14, 2010

Meet Beat Kaestli: Beat Kaestli is a Swiss vocalist, songwriter, arranger and producer. When faced with the choice of a promising singing career in his homeland or broadening his musical horizon in the US, he decided to make New York City his new home. While honing his craft alongside noteworthy jazz performers, such as Jane Monheit, Jason Moran and Stefon Harris, he immersed himself in Manhattan's fiercely competitive music scene, emerging as a seasoned performer. He is now touring the ...

245

Album Review

Mike Pride's From Bacteria To Boys: Betweenwhile

Read "Betweenwhile" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
November 14, 2010

Even though drummer/composer Mike Pride has appeared on over 70 albums, ranging from avant rock to blues, he remains not as well-known as he might be in the jazz field. Betweenwhile is likely to change that. Pride's From Bacteria to Boys has existed in various lineups since 2005, but the current foursome first came together in 2009 and clicked immediately. Although the drummer's collaborators exhibit a similarly eclectic work ethic (with the likes of saxophonist Darius Jones, a rising star ...

305

Album Review

The Trey Anastasio Band: TAB @ The Tab

Read "TAB @ The Tab" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
November 14, 2010

TAB at the Tab is a well-recorded composite from a February 2010 performance at The Tabernacle in Atlanta. The eye-catchingly designed single CD captures Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio with a tight, efficient combo, performing economical arrangements of a wide array of material from his solo repertoire, as well as the Phish catalog.. Returning to the road in 2008, Anastasio reconvened what's now called “Classic TAB," in a foursome of longtime collaborators. Drummer Russ Lawton, bassist Tony Markellis and ...

153

Album Review

Negroni's Trio: Just Three

Read "Just Three" reviewed by Woodrow Wilkins

by Woodrow Wilkins
November 14, 2010

One way to keep a piano-led trio from sounding like so many others is to write original music for the group. Another is to take a page out of Jose Negroni's playbook, splitting time between acoustic and electric pianos. The Puerto Rican composer/pianist taught for 16 years at the Island's Music Conservatory. After moving to the United States, he became director of Sony Music Publishing, a position he held for 10 years. He has been nominated for a ...

729

Film Review

Transatlantic: Whirld Tour 2010 Deluxe Edition

by John Kelman
November 13, 2010

TransatlanticWhirld Tour 2010: Deluxe EditionRadiant Records/Metal Blade Records2010 When Transatlantic wowed a Montreal, Canada audience back in April 2010, as part of its Whirld Tour in support of the 77-minute progressive rock epic, The Whirlwind (Radiant/Metal Blade, 2009), a few things stood out. First, for a group who, in the course of over three hours, played only six songs--four in excess of 30 minutes--Transatlantic's ability to not just navigate, but remember a ...

179

Album Review

Der Rote Bereich: 7

by Nic Jones
November 13, 2010

This trio of bass clarinet, guitar and drums knows a lot about achieving unity from a diversity of sources. Guitarist Frank Mobus is credited with the lion's share of the compositions, which ostensibly means he's more responsible for that unity than his fellow players even while it's the depth of their shared thoughts that really makes the music come alive. It does so with a measure of both reflection and fire on “Ramallah" where bass clarinetist Rudi ...