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.

363

Live Review

Dave Liebman Group: Half Moon Bay, California, September 26, 2010

by Bill Leikam
October 24, 2010

Dave Liebman GroupDouglas Beach HouseHalf Moon Bay, California, USASeptember 26, 2010 On Sunday, September 26, 2010, the award-winning Dave Liebman Group--Liebman on soprano sax and a small wooden flut;, Vic Juris on acoustic and electric guitar; Tony Marino on electric bass; and Marko Marcinko on drums and percussion--strode on stage, ready to take the Douglas Beach House (aka Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society) audience on an edgy journey through ten unique arrangements. The last time ...

172

Album Review

Steve Swell: Steve Swell's Slammin' The Infinite

Read "Steve Swell's Slammin' The Infinite" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
October 24, 2010

Using something that Walt Whitman said about prolific writing, trombonist Steve Swell posits that the more he creates--the more he writes and therefore performs--the more likely he is to produce something worthwhile. Although he does not mention it, this also suggests pushing the boundaries and being nonjudgmental about any of his work until he arrives at something of substantive value. What this might be is impossible to predict, until it is actually created and performed, and the response to it ...

683

Film Review

Nils Lofgren: Cry Tough

by Doug Collette
October 24, 2010

Nils LofgrenCry ToughEagle Rock2010 It's no small irony that guitarist and vocalist Nils Lofgren has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band for over 25 years. There was a time in the mid 1970s when both men seemed to hold the future of rock and roll in their hands along with their guitars. For both the longtime fans of Lofgren and the uninitiated, Cry Tough demonstrates why.

231

Album Review

Pamela Hines Trio: Moon Germs

Read "Moon Germs" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
October 24, 2010

Recording the real first varied-style, high energy album of her career, pianist Pamela Hines unveils Moon Germs, titled after the Joe Farrell composition, with longtime band mates, bassist John Lockwood and drummer Bob Gullotti, on an eclectic blend of driving rhythms and freer interpretations of modern jazz. With this album, Hines attempts a different approach and a new twist to some familiar music. She wastes no time accepting the challenge, proceeding to play the opening “Let's Fall In Love" as ...

213

Album Review

Pascal Schumacher Quartet: Here We Gong

Read "Here We Gong" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
October 24, 2010

Here We Gong is the Pascal Schumacher Quartet's fourth album since its formation in 2002. A richly-rewarding album full of inventive melodies, tremendous playing, warmth and good humor, it establishes the Quartet at the forefront of the burgeoning European scene and Schumacher as one of the finest vibes players in contemporary jazz. The Quartet's instrumental line-up--with vibes, gongs, drums, piano and glockenspiel to the fore--puts the emphasis squarely on percussion, but the differing materials used in these ...

197

Album Review

Glass Hammer: If

by John Kelman
October 24, 2010

It's strange, perhaps, when a group actually transcends anything its biggest influence has done in decades, but that's exactly what the revamped Glass Hammer has done with If. With only keyboardist Fred Schendel and bassist/keyboardist Steve Babb (founding members, both) remaining after Culture of Ascent (Arion, 2007), If sounds the way Yes should sound four decades later, rather than the tired, creatively stifled group that's been touring its back catalog endlessly--the past couple years with three legacy members joined by ...

148

Live Review

Joshua Redman Trio at Jazz at the Bistro, St Louis, October 7, 2010

by James Henry Smith
October 23, 2010

Joshua Redman TrioJazz at the Bistro SeriesSt Louis, MOOctober 7, 2010 St. Louis' prime jazz venue again welcomed Joshua Redman. His partners for this outing were Reuben Rogers on acoustic bass and Gregory Hutchinson on drums. Redman has always had strong preference for the trio format, with uncommon sidemen. In the era of Back East (Nonesuch, 2007) his saxophone was supported by several outstanding bass and drum teams including: Larry Grenadier with Ali Jackson, ...

324

Album Review

Yaron Herman: Follow The White Rabbit

Read "Follow The White Rabbit" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
October 23, 2010

Follow The White Rabbit is Israeli pianist Yaron Herman's fifth album--his first on the ACT label and his first with the rhythm section of bassist Chris Tordini and drummer Tommy Crane. Continuing the format of his past trio albums A Time For Everything (Laborie Records, 2007) and Muse (Laborie Records, 2009), Herman mixes original tunes and covers, including one or two unusual and not altogether successful choices. Radiohead's “No Surprises" keeps close to the sound of the ...

630

Live Review

Pat Metheny: Orchestrion Tour, Montreal

by Pascal-Denis Lussier
October 23, 2010

Pat MethenyOrchestrion TourPlace des ArtsMontreal, CanadaOctober 12, 2010 Curiosity. More than anything else it was this that made guitarist/composer Pat Metheny's Orchestrion Tour concert at Montreal's Place des Arts complex (another stop on his successful 120-plus major-cities world tour) something to truly anticipate. I can't claim being a true Metheny fan, my leanings are more towards Bill Frisell, but, while Metheny's compositional style speaks far less to me than to ...

108

Album Review

Greg Lewis: Organ Monk

Read "Organ Monk" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
October 23, 2010

Fairly recent work from guitarists Bobby Broom and Peter Bernstein helped open up possibilities for Thelonious Monk's music as guitar repertoire; Greg Lewis' debut looks to do the same for the organ. Monk's music has been notoriously tough to translate on other chordal instruments, partially because of the song structures and melodies themselves, and partly due to the nature of the piano. Monk's unique understanding of close voicing and chordal construction on the piano helped to inextricably ...