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.

275

Album Review

Dan Willis and Velvet Gentlemen: The Satie Project

Read "The Satie Project" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
October 12, 2010

French composer Erik Satie (1866--1925), a contemporary of Claude Debussy, was often scorned and, had it not been for his friend, Debussy would have been largely ignored as well by his generation. Debussy not only supported Satie, but championed his work as well, and saw to it that some very forward thinking pieces, such as the “Gymnopedie," were publically performed, too. Satie experimented with dissonance and, more importantly, he often used avant-garde harmonic changes in his pieces as well. In ...

486

Interview

Dan Willis: The Voice of a Tone Poet

by Raul d'Gama Rose
October 12, 2010

There is an ancient Latin aphorism that was often central to a debate among philosophers discussing art. The debate itself began earlier than the time of Augustan Rome, and over time raged on, occupying the philosophers of Greece as much as it occupied the classicists. It addressed the question of whether poetry was a gift of nature or a product of conscious art or training. The aphorism came from 16th Century Venetian writer Coelius Rhodigenus, who wrote a chapter in ...

645

Live Review

Portico Quartet: Montreal, Canada, October 2, 2010

by John Kelman
October 12, 2010

Portico QuartetL'AstralMontreal, CanadaOctober 2, 2010 It's a tough slog for a European band to break into the North American market. High work visa costs, expensive travel between cities distanced by hundreds--if not thousands--of miles add logistical nightmares to the fact that the North American market is so flooded with new music that you've got to be special to have even a small hope of rising above it all to be heard. Fortunately, UK's Portico ...

276

Album Review

Mike Mainieri / Marnix Busstra Quartet: Trinary Motion: Live in Europe

Read "Trinary Motion: Live in Europe" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
October 12, 2010

Looking more like a man in his fifties than his 72 years, vibraphonist Mike Mainieri has been stepping up the pace, with three fine but stylistically different albums in the last year: Crescent (NYC, 2010), an elegant and moving John Coltrane tribute with recently departed alto great Charlie Mariano; 2.0 (NYC, 2010), celebrating the return of the groove-heavy 1970s collective, L'Image; and Twelve Pieces (NYC, 2009), documenting his ongoing relationship with Marnix Busstra and the Dutch guitarist's trio. Trinary Motion: ...

510

Live Review

Chick Corea / Christian McBride / Brian Blade: Ottawa, Canada, October 3, 2010

by John Kelman
October 12, 2010

Chick Corea Trio: Chick Corea / Christian McBride / Brian BladeDominion Chalmers ChurchOttawa, CanadaOctober 3, 2010 The last time Chick Corea came to Ottawa with a trio, it was for an informal and relatively unrehearsed show that, featuring old friends Eddie Gomez (bass) and Airto Moreira (drums), relied more on longstanding chemistry and a seemingly pulled-out-of-the-hat repertoire that felt a lot like being a fly on the wall of the pianist's living room. A 2008 ...

301

Album Review

Scott Amendola Trio: Lift

by Troy Collins
October 12, 2010

A virtuosic salvo of dynamic trap set flourishes introduces “Tudo De Bom," the Brazilian-influenced number that opens Lift, the debut of the Scott Amendola Trio, reinforcing the fact that this drummer-led session has no intention of forgoing percussive invention in favor of austere compositional strategies.A stalwart sideman to such notable West Coast improvisers as Nels Cline, Ben Goldberg and Charlie Hunter, Amendola's proficiency behind a drum kit has long been in demand, with composing a growing component in ...

200

Album Review

Ingrid Laubrock: Anti-House

by Nic Jones
October 12, 2010

Ingrid Laubrock's trajectory through the music reflects her choice of home. German-born, when she resided in London she was producing Latin jazz, but that proved to be only a passing phase. By the time of Forensic (F-IRE, 2004), it was clear that she was more intent on carving out an idiosyncratic space of her own. Now, having moved to New York, she's dealing exclusively in more demanding music, as this release exemplifies. Laubrock's Sleepthief trio produced one ...

268

Album Review

Sarah Partridge: Perspective

Read "Perspective" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
October 12, 2010

Sarah Partridge's recital, Perspective, follows three previous vocal recordings that mark the second half of her dual career as actor and singer. On her current offering, Partridge performs a collection of standards, with pianist Daniel May. that is as fresh and solid as Partridge's perfectly refined voice. The true beauty in Partridge's vocal delivery is her no-nonsense conservative approach to melody. She is much more a song stylist as opposed to a jazz singer, but then again, that is just ...

329

Album Review

Kenny Werner: No Beginning No End

Read "No Beginning No End" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
October 11, 2010

Few tragedies strike as hard as that of a child's death preceding that of its parents, something that pianist Kenny Werner and his wife, Lorraine, know far too well. When their daughter, Katheryn, was killed in a 2006 car accident, it sent the couple into a downward spiral from which they were only capable of returning due to the profound strength of their relationship, and the enlightened teachings that, as Werner describes in the almost-too-painful-to-read liner notes to No Beginning ...

1,023

Interview

Kenny Werner: New, Transcendent Sounds

by R.J. DeLuke
October 11, 2010

Inspiration behind art is a curious thing. It takes many forms, from personal to universal perspectives. Many times it's unexpected. It is intertwined with one's life and the vicissitudes therein. As Charlie Parker famously said, “If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn."For pianist/composer/arranger Kenny Werner, music has evolved, over time, into a direct expression of his being, less about a series of notes on paper.“For me, music is not the message, ...