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.

251

Album Review

David Strother: The Desert is Singing

Read "The Desert is Singing" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
September 4, 2010

Violinist David Strother is the fiddle player on Lawrence Lebo's Don't Call Her Larry, Volume 3, American Roots. On that recording, Strother has a homey feel, very much in keeping with the stripped-down ambiance Lebo was trying to achieve on her recording. On his own 2007 recording, The Desert is Singing, Strother further strips things down to just himself and his Yamaha SV-110 electric fiddle. Among his original compositions are a couple of standards, one of which is Thelonious Monk's ...

427

Film Review

Rufus Reid: Live in Vienna

by Jim Santella
September 4, 2010

Rufus ReidLive in ViennaQuantum Leap/MVD Visual2005 In a memorable 2005 concert performance at the Porgy and Bess jazz club in Vienna, bassist Rufus Reid's trio interpreted several of his original compositions as well as the standard “Cherokee." And what power that old chestnut emitted. With pianist Fritz Pauer and drummer John Hollenbeck, Reid tore the house down with his one-of-a-kind delivery.The veteran bassist started out in Chicago in the 1970s ...

180

Live Review

Cindy Blackman's Explorations, Jazz Standard August 18, 2010

by Ernest Barteldes
September 4, 2010

Cindy Blackman's ExplorationsJazz StandardNew York, NYAugust 18, 2010 Cindy Blackman's Explorations' first set on Wednesday, August 18 opened with a very experimental-sounding number dominated by keyboards and drums that switched back and forth into a more traditional format. Linking the tune's two facets was Rashaan Carter's walking bass, which stood apart from the piece's electronic textures. This structure gave saxophonist Antoine Roney plenty of space to freely improvise. Keyboardists Marc Cary and Zaccai Curtis followed ...

183

Album Review

Unni Wilhelmsen: 7

by John Kelman
September 4, 2010

She may be less known on an international level, but Unni Wilhelmsen is something of a star in her own country, with her 1997 debut going gold and winning two Norwegian Grammy Awards ("Best Female Artist of the Year," “Best Album of the Year"). Not bad for a singer/songwriter who began playing guitar at the age of 20, and whose first performance at an Oslo club serendipitously caught the attention of a journalist, who helped connect her with the record ...

116

Album Review

Dave Wilson: Spiral

Read "Spiral" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
September 4, 2010

The nature of successful interlocking is that the pieces fit each other with seamless perfection. In a group of disparate musicians this is not always possible. However, with the ensemble that saxophonist Dave Wilson has put together the pieces seem to fit with enviable perfection. There is a swirling energy that keeps the unit cohesive; but, more than that, it appears as if saxophonist, pianist Phil Markowitz, bassist Tony Marino and drummer Adam Nussbaum were cut from the same cloth. ...

315

Album Review

Jacob Melchior: It's About Time

Read "It's About Time" reviewed by Jack Huntley

by Jack Huntley
September 4, 2010

The album's title is certainly not the ultimate description of Jacob Melchior's It's About Time, but it's a great place to start. Melchior, a precise but fluid drummer whose insightful phrasing and timing patterns influence the tone and sprit of each tune, combines with pianist Tadataka Unno and bassist Hassan JJ Shakur to deliver a swinging, straight-ahead collection of jazz tracks. Kicking off the nine song collection is a medley of Melchior's own “Dancing Foo" and Johnny ...

605

Extended Analysis

Commitment: The Complete Recordings 1981-1983

by John Sharpe
September 3, 2010

CommitmentThe Complete Recordings 1981-1983No Business Records 2010 Following on from the artistic success of their splendid Muntu Box Set (2010), No Business Records has restored the only release by the ground-breaking cooperative Commitment to availability. As one of first bands to unite Asian American with African American musicians, the quartet, comprising Jason Kao Hwang on violin and Zen Matsuura on drums with reedman Will Connell Jr. and bassist William Parker, was almost ...

180

New York Beat

The Walden School

by Nick Catalano
September 3, 2010

Although musicians continue to complain about lack of work, a paucity of venues, and other obstacles to their careers, jazz and other improvisational styles continue to develop because of the plethora of music schools currently dotting the American landscape. There are many artists who can recall the days when North Texas State was the only university in the nation to offer students a major in jazz and improvisational music. Today there are over 400 universities and specialty ...

473

Live Review

Jazz At Snape Proms

by Bruce Lindsay
September 3, 2010

Snape PromsSnape Maltings Concert HallSnape, UKAugust 10, 17 and 24, 2010 The Snape Proms, held each August in the beautiful Snape Maltings in the east of England, once again featured a strong and varied selection of jazz concerts in its program. The Ronnie Scott's Jazz Orchestra, the Neil Cowley Trio and Courtney Pine's sextet were just three of the acts to grace the 830-seat concert hall, drawing full houses and demonstrating the diversity of the ...

257

Album Review

Reuben Bradley: Resonator

Read "Resonator" reviewed by Nick Tipping

by Nick Tipping
September 3, 2010

With debut albums, the temptation is often to throw as much as possible into the mix, to demonstrate the many tricks the artist has in his/her bag. On his first release, Resonator, New Zealand drummer Reuben Bradley does, indeed, draw inspiration from far and wide, describing the album himself as “eclectic." But the album is far from haphazard in its construction; the different styles and influences do occasionally surprise, but on repeated listening it becomes clear that this ...