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.

178

Live Review

Forbes Graham at Cafe Fixe: Streaming Consciousness

by Gordon Marshall
November 13, 2010

Forbes GrahamCafe FixeBrookline, MassNovember 9, 2010 The sound of a bubbling stream seeped out of Forbes Graham's computer as he performed his sound check. In attendance was a small but dedicated crowd of admirers. With intense eyes and a mysterious smile, Graham brings electricity to a room, giving it a glow even when the lights are dimmed, as they were when the performance began in proper, the stream rising again and mounting ...

172

Album Review

Suresh Singaratnam: Lost in New York

Read "Lost in New York" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
November 13, 2010

The breathtaking narrative of Lost in New York is couched in an abstract interplay between performers and their instruments, as they describe what must have been a most challenging newcomer's journey to that often forbidding city. Trumpeter Suresh Singaratnam's high-wire act documents every nuance with some of the most rarefied excursions to emerge from a horn. An astute observer of his own life and those around him, Singaratnam allows the angst of being, and observing, to permeate the heated rush ...

347

Album Review

Russell Malone: Triple Play

Read "Triple Play" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
November 13, 2010

Guitarist Russell Malone has found a durable and receptive home at MAXJAZZ, resulting in three fine recordings: Playground (2004); Live at Jazz Standard, Volume 1 (2006); and Live at Jazz Standard, Volume 2 (2006). He sports an elegant, unpretentious method and a shimmering, round and slightly velvety tone that compliments his considerable abilities. Triple Play is Malone's first trio recording, proving that the best jazz is created in small spaces. Malone's grasp of the blues is beyond ...

301

Album Review

Rodrigo Amado: Searching For Adam

Read "Searching For Adam" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
November 13, 2010

Another spirited outing from saxophonist Rodrigo Amado, Searching For Adam finds the tenor and baritone saxophonist in the company of three of the most in-demand players working today: cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, drummer Gerald Cleaver, and bassist John Hébert. Like his previous discs, The Abstract Truth (European Echoes, 2009), and Teatro (European Echoes, 2006), with Paal Nilssen-Love and Kent Kessler, Amado unveils a keen sense of improvisation tempered with an ability to obtain an ensemble sound of composition ...

242

Album Review

Youn Sun Nah: Same Girl

Read "Same Girl" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
November 13, 2010

Korean singer Youn Sun Nah has come a long way in a short time, since casting off from her French quintet of a decade and turning down a five-album deal from Label Bleu, in order to pursue absolute artistic freedom. Her ACT debut, Voyage (ACT Music, 2009), was a stylish introduction to a strikingly original voice, one which blurred the lines between jazz, folk and pop. On Same Girl, the core musicians from Voyage remain, as does the music's eclectic ...

122

Album Review

Andy Farber and his Orchestra: This Could Be the Start of Something Big

Read "This Could Be the Start of Something Big" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
November 13, 2010

Composer Andy Farber writes musical scores for television commercials and movies, but This Could Be The Start of Something Big is Farber's big band debut, showcasing his talents as a multi-reed musician and bandleader. Recorded in late 2009, after a two-year stint playing every Sunday evenings at New York's famed Birdland, the album features an eighteen-piece orchestra with legendary vocalist Jon Hendricks and veteran alto saxophonist Jerry Dodgion as special guests. Providing all of the arrangements, Farber produces an explosive ...

666

Film Review

Rory Gallagher: Ghost Blues & The Beat Club Sessions: The Story Of Rory Gallagher

by Doug Collette
November 13, 2010

Rory Gallagher Ghost Blues & The Beat Club Sessions: The Story of Rory Gallagher Eagle Video 2010 Guitarist Rory Gallagher never wanted to be a star. He only wanted to make music on his own terms and have the opportunity to play that music for an audience who would genuinely appreciate it. Watching the double DVD set Ghost Blues and The Beat Sessions illustrates the Irish-born blues-rocker's success on those terms ...

492

Live Review

Enjoy Jazz Festival, Days 1-3: November 8-10, 2010

by John Kelman
November 12, 2010

Days 1-3 | Days 4-6 Enjoy Jazz FestivalMannheim/Heidelberg/Ludwigshafen, GermanyNovember 8-13, 2010 The pitfall of covering a number of festivals back-to-back is there's always the chance that a flight will be delayed, which means a missed train, which means arriving late at the next stop, and rather than having the opportunity to check in and settle into the new city before hitting the first performance, it's straight to the show, with barely the chance for a ...

143

Album Review

Tyler Blanton: Botanic

Read "Botanic" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
November 12, 2010

Vibraphonist and composer Tyler Blanton's debut, Botanic, introduces the young musician as a lyrical and compelling player and composer. Blanton refers to himself as grounded in bebop and straight-ahead, but open to other approaches, a description that matches this eclectic collection of tunes. When Blanton solos his qualities as a player are clear, helped by the excellent production quality on the album, recorded at Brooklyn's Systems Two Studio. His playing style is melodic, bright and emotionally upbeat, ...

207

Album Review

Floyd McDaniel with Dave Specter & the Bluebirds: West Side Baby

Read "West Side Baby" reviewed by Nic Jones

by Nic Jones
November 12, 2010

Floyd McDaniel moved to Chicago with his family when he was fifteen, in 1930. He joined a washboard band called the Rhythm Rascals in 1933 and in the following decade he was a member of a jump blues combo called the Five Blazes, which recorded for the Aristocrat label in 1947. This live performance was recorded in 1994 when McDaniel was getting on in years. Those years however just seem to fall away over the course of the performance.