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.

Album Review

Brad Mehldau: Fantasy & Reveries

Read "Fantasy & Reveries" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic

by Mike Jurkovic
November 10, 2026

No matter how much one rightfully reveres Brad Mehldau for his countless, blissful moments of spirited melodic inspiration, quiet etudes, and pure pop, there are those moments (gratefully few and far between) when the pianist comes on a bit too purposeful. A bit too cerebral. When he pushes that former impulse aside, he creates one of those rare moments when everything goes right. And, when everything goes right, everything sounds right, making Fantasy & Reveries a warm, inviting, sincere communication ...

Album Review

UNLV Jazz Ensemble 1: My Favorite Things

Read "My Favorite Things" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
November 10, 2026

University of Nevada Las Vegas' UNLV Jazz Ensemble 1 needs no introduction to the lion's share of contemporary jazz fans, as it has been known for years as one of the country's leading college-level big bands. The ensemble has released a number of splendid recordings, the latest of which is My Favorite Things, co-directed by David Loeb and Nathan Tanouye. Unlike those earlier recordings, however, the leaders this time have chosen to emphasize vocals (four on nine numbers) ...

The Blue Note Portal

Wolf—Future Perfect, 10. Mozart at the Fillmore

by Blue Note Portal
November 10, 2026

1970 New York Only hours now until Mozart would join Future Perfect at the Fillmore East. A week had passed since Xap had visited Bill Graham at the Fillmore East with the offer for Future Perfect to perform a set. Although the Allman Brothers were Graham's favorite band, he didn't hesitate for a minute to bump them to make room for Future Perfect. This was surreal for Xap as his inaugural CCE experience had been with Miles Davis and the ...

Radio & Podcasts

Happy Birthday Rudy Van Gelder! Also 4 Korners Portal Of Gold Album

by David W. Daniels
November 10, 2026

In addition to honoring the album engineering of Rudy Van Gelder with selections from several albums for which he was the recording engineer, this week's program recognizes the birthdays of Jeremy Pelt, Arturo Sandoval, Jeff Lorber, and others. Also featuring newly released music from Janis Siegel, Ralph Moore with David Kikoski, Russell Gunn, and others.Playlist Horace Silver “Pyramid" from Further Explorations By The Horace Silver Quintet (Blue Note) 00:00 John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman “Lush Life" from John ...

Album Review

Bill Laurance And Michael League: Close To Home

Read "Close To Home" reviewed by Neil Duggan

by Neil Duggan
November 10, 2026

Since 2023, the partnership between Act Music and the Château Palmer vineyard has released an annual album featuring a different artist. Their collaboration celebrates the shared values of fine winemaking and jazz. Albums are recorded on-site at the renowned Bordeaux wine estate in Margaux, France, capturing intimate performances in a wood-paneled salon with windows overlooking the vineyards. Close To Home is the third release from pianist Bill Laurance and oud/bassist Michael League, both Grammy winners and co-founders of ...

Interview

Hermon Mehari on "Kind of Blue"

by David Unger and Samuel Thiebaut
November 9, 2026

This interview was conducted as part of the FranceTV.com special Miles Davis, 100 ans d'avance. Few jazz albums carry the weight of Kind of Blue (Columbia, 1959). Revered, endlessly analyzed and almost impossible to escape, it can seem untouchable. Yet precisely because it has become such a monument, it also raises an intriguing question: how can a contemporary musician engage with it without simply paying tribute? Trumpeter Hermon Mehari and a quintet featuring Francesco Bigoni (saxophone), ...

Album Review

Sylvie Courvoisier: Amalthea

Read "Amalthea" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic

by Mike Jurkovic
November 9, 2026

Let us risk saying that the current scribe of this review is being suggestive, sexist, and stereotypical, (but not misleading) when commenting that Sylvie Courvoisier's piano tempts and seduces man and woman alike, from beginning to end, on the stand-out, nee stand alone, Amalthea . It would surely not make said commentator wrong. With muses and temptations young and old coming at them from all sides--Courvoisier, kindred seductress, vibraphonist Patricia Brennan, and the gigolo rhythm section of bassist Thomas Morgan ...

Album Review

Héctor Lavoe: ¡Que Sentimiento!

Read "¡Que Sentimiento!" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci

by Richard J Salvucci
November 9, 2026

Héctor Lavoe was one of salsa's first superstars. A native of Ponce, PR, he started singing as a child. After moving to New York, he hooked up with Fania, its founder, Jerry Masucci, and Willie Colon. Together, they conjured up a gangster image, mostly for show, for it was the sights, sounds, smell and feel of the Nuyorican barrio they embodied. The music went through a number of phases, but was always an amalgam of Afro-Caribbean, bogaloo and jazz: “bueno ...

The Blue Note Portal

Wolf—Future Perfect, 9. Blues Lesson

by Blue Note Portal
November 9, 2026

Before things began in earnest, Maya and Chloe pulled Wolf aside for an honest conversation. “You could step into a concert hall tomorrow and cut a classical record, and it would be phenomenal," Maya said, leaning against the wooden cabinet of the Hammond B3. “You still speak that language fluently. But the music we need to play at the Fillmore? That's a different neighborhood, and you'll need a map. The main thing is, there is no pressure--we only ...

Album Review

Marion Brown: Live in Europe 1968 & 1972

Read "Live in Europe 1968 & 1972" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
November 9, 2026

Live In Europe 1968 & 1972 captures Marion Brown at a pivotal juncture, balancing the kinetic energy of his earlier free-jazz work with a growing interest in more spacious improvisation. The saxophonist first achieved prominence thanks to his appearance on John Coltrane's monumental Ascension (Impulse!, 1965). However the raised profile did not translate into more work. He found greater acceptance following a move from New York City to Europe in 1967. Here he forged alliances with fellow expatriates bassist Barre ...