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.

204

Album Review

Cynthia Felton: Come Sunday: The Music of Duke Ellington

Read "Come Sunday: The Music of Duke Ellington" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
October 1, 2010

Dr. Cynthia Felton made quite the splash with her self-produced debut, Afro Blue: The Music of Oscar Brown, Jr. (2009). In the spirit of well-assembled theme recordings like Karrin Allyson's Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane (Concord, 2001) and Todd Bishop's Pop Art 4 disc, 69 Annee Erotique, Afro Blue is a solid look at a master's craft of writing lyrics for jazz pieces. Felton treads more familiar territory on Come Sunday: The Music of Duke Ellington, undertaking the ...

195

Album Review

Julian Siegel Trio: Live at the Vortex

Read "Live at the Vortex" reviewed by Jack Kenny

by Jack Kenny
October 1, 2010

The saxophone/bass/drums trio is a challenge both to the players and listeners, with no hiding place. Saxophonist Julian Siegel, drummer Joey Baron and bassist Greg Cohen prove that it can be creative, involving and exciting. Siegel has escaped the influence of John Coltrane, and it's possible to spend time working out his tenor influences before deciding that he is pure Siegel, with a sound that is fluid, warm and engaging. Siegel seems to enjoy the tenor; he plays it like ...

112

Album Review

Various: Latin Party

Read "Latin Party" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza

by Jerry D'Souza
October 1, 2010

The appeal of Latin music can be witnessed in the inroads it has made, not only into other genres, but also into different cultures. Testimony comes on this recording. Besides South American countries like Colombia, Cuba and Mexico, the performers are drawn from the UK, France and the USA who assimilate the rhythms and come up with several interesting idioms.The music certainly has a party atmosphere and it gets right off the bat with “Big Apple Boogaloo." The ...

235

Contributor News

Shiny and New... again

by Michael Ricci
September 30, 2010

Dear fellow AAJ contributor, We're celebrating our 15th anniversary in style with a relaunch. You can read the general announcement here and learn more about some of the specific design improvements below.Index The New All About Jazz Thank You, One and All! Track Reviews According To C. Michael Bailey Twitter: Follow you, follow me How to Add Gallery Photos to an Article Facebook “Like..." Click It! Help Wanted: Photo Editor

157

Album Review

Eli Degibri: Israeli Song

Read "Israeli Song" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
September 30, 2010

Saxophonist Eli Degibri's name may be the least familiar one on the cover of Israeli Song. His quartet mates on this superb disc are of the highest level; it would be hard to find higher profile or finer accompanists. With that lineup--two legendary stars in drummer Al Foster and bassist Ron Carter--and, in pianist Brad Mehldau, a newer huge talent who keeps gathering momentum--it becomes a matter, for the leader, of holding his own. He does so with high energy, ...

161

Album Review

Ken Wheeler & The John Dankworth Orchestra: Windmill Tilter

Read "Windmill Tilter" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
September 30, 2010

Long considered a holy grail of British jazz, trumpet legend/iconic composer Kenny Wheeler's classic 1969 Fontana leader debut, Windmill Tilter, has remained curiously out of print--never, in fact, appearing legitimately on CD.Until now. Thanks to Andy Gray and BGO Records--a label responsible for a wealth of 1960s and '70s British jazz reissues--Windmill Tilter is finally available on CD and it's been worth the wait. Not only does it find Wheeler--listed here as “Ken," a Canadian expat who, emigrating ...

353

Extended Analysis

Eli Degibri: Israeli Song

by Dan Bilawsky
September 30, 2010

Eli DegibriIsraeli SongAnzic Records2010 If jazz buffs were approached at the start of the 1990s and asked to list some top-flight Israeli jazz musicians, plenty of them wouldn't be able to utter a single name. That just goes to show how much the times have changed. In 2010, Israeli-born jazz musicians are among the brightest stars in modern jazz and saxophonist Eli Degibri's name is high up on this list. Degibri ...

216

Album Review

Hadley Caliman and Pete Christlieb: Reunion

Read "Reunion" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
September 30, 2010

Both Hadley Caliman and Pete Christlieb were active on Los Angeles jazz scene going on 50 years ago, and the two tenor saxophonists actually performed together at the time. Real life got in the way, guiding each man in his allotted direction. Origin Records' house pianist (and All About Jazz Contributor) Bill Anschell brought the two together for Reunion, composing a good old fashioned cooker to open the disc. “Little Dex" (after Dexter Gordon) is thus titled ...

168

Album Review

Aram Shelton Quartet: These Times

Read "These Times" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
September 30, 2010

It is easy to admire the audacity of Aram Shelton's quartet. Not that the reedman writes insolent and defiant music; but given the attention-grab improvisers are facing today, he is so very loyal to the melody. This group is quartet subset of his Fast Citizens sextet, minus trumpet and cello, here, pairing things down to tenor saxophonist Keefe Jackson, bassist Anton Hatwich and drummer Marc Riordan. While melody plays a large part in his other projects--like Dragons 1976, ...

218

Album Review

Oleg Kireyev and Keith Javors: Rhyme and Reason

Read "Rhyme and Reason" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
September 30, 2010

Rhyme and Reason is a spare collection of just six charts that swing with both familiar and unfamiliar time. All four members of this vibrant quartet, fronted by pianist Keith Javors and saxophonist Oleg Kireyev, seem prepared to let the music flow from the most commonly known musical focal point out into the sea of surprise, where each of the artists appears to corral the unknown. Javors has a rather forthright style, but does not shy away from the softer ...