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.

1,192

Interview

Eric Zinman: The Piano as Endangered Species

by Brian Wrentham
August 31, 2010

For over twenty years, pianist/composer Eric Zinman has been crafting his own approach to his instrument, since meeting trumpeter Bill Dixon in the '80s. He views himself as an ensemble player, who plays to include; in addition to his own writing, his trio disc, Eric Zinman Ensemble (Cadence, 2006), features short pieces by John Voigt, Laurence Cook, Lowell Davidison and Ornette Coleman. Each composition feels lived with and explored thoroughly, while the music breaths and flows with a wide dynamic ...

220

Album Review

Eric Krasno: Reminisce

Read "Reminisce" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
August 31, 2010

There are no surprises on Soulive guitarist Eric Krasno's first solo album, but that's a good thing. Even with the familiar names involved in a project that's resulted in Reminisce, the music is fresh and wholly contemporary.The album was produced by Krasno, and features mostly his own material. Soulive drummer Alan Evans recorded and mixed, while his brother Neal appears on keyboards. Still, there's no apparent loss of objectivity: this is not a retreading of Soulive's music and, ...

223

Album Review

Elliot Sharp/Carbon: Void Coordinates

Read "Void Coordinates" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
August 31, 2010

Nearly every album by guitar whiz Elliot Sharp intimates a sound-shaping experience, loaded with surprises and ingenuity. His long-running Carbon band is primarily steeped in hardcore avant-garde rock mania, spiced with sizzling meltdowns and free-jazz style improvisation. On “Fermion," the quartet launches a haunting sonic assault, which at times may seem like anti-pop morphed with metal-lite. Zeena Parkins' resonating electric harp lines project a tuneful yet ominous vibe, as the band delves into a minimalist-hued motif, followed by ...

269

Album Review

Eden Brent: Ain't Got No Troubles

Read "Ain't Got No Troubles" reviewed by Woodrow Wilkins

by Woodrow Wilkins
August 31, 2010

Fun. Plain, simple fun. That's Eden Brent in a nutshell. Whether she's in concert, at a festival or helping out fellow musicians, this vocalist and pianist thrills crowds wherever she plays. Ain't Got No Troubles, like her previous recordings, brings that same level of joy and energy. A longtime protégé of Abie “Boogaloo" Ames, Brent grew up in the Mississippi Delta, surrounded by musicians. Her late mother Carol, and sisters Jessica and Bronwynne, all wrote and performed music. ...

277

Working Out to Jazz

Smooth Cruisin'

by Chris Lawhorn
August 31, 2010

[Editor's Note: Working Out to Jazz is a new All About Jazz column, devoted to providing jazz playlists for the purpose of working out. For his first installment, Chris Lawhorn's emphasis is on largely up-tempo, mostly smooth jazz music, though his selection from guitarist Lee Ritenour's 6 String Theory (Concord, 2010) is a fiery mainstream swinger, featuring Pat Martino and Joey DeFrancesco, while Dr. Lonnie Smith's “Beehive," from Spiral (Palmetto, 2010), leans more towards the fusion end of the spectrum. ...

397

Album Review

Lee Ritenour: 6 String Theory

Read "6 String Theory" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
August 31, 2010

The very gift that makes a session musician great can also be a curse. Oftentimes expected to be chameleon-like, it's that very act of becoming a credible musical shape-shifter that can sometimes lead to a loss of individuality. Lee Ritenour is a consummate and complete guitarist if ever there was one; his varied discography supporting a seemingly insatiable appetite for anything to do with the six-stringed instrument and all its variations. Often (and, in many cases, unfairly) linked too heavily ...

774

Extended Analysis

Kurt Rosenwinkel and OJM: Our Secret World

by John Kelman
August 31, 2010

Kurt Rosenwinkel and OJM Our Secret World Wommusic 2010 With the creative possibilities offered by its expanded palette, it's no surprise that so many artists who traditionally work in the context of more pliant, small ensembles turn to larger settings at least once in their career. For those already predisposed to greater compositional complexity, the intrinsic challenges are many; but so, too, are the ultimate rewards. It's no surprise, then, that Kurt Rosenwinkel--perhaps his generation's ...

559

Album Review

Nils Petter Molvaer: Hamada

by John Kelman
August 30, 2010

It's been four years since Norwegian trumpeter/Nu Jazz progenitor Nils Petter Molvær released a studio album (excepting Re-Vision (Sula, 2008), a collection of film music). When he performed at Punkt '07 in Kristiansand, Norway, it was one of his final performances with his longstanding group of guitarist Eivind Aarset, live sampler Jan Bang, turntablist DJ Strangefruit and drummer Rune Arnesen. Aarset and Bang return on Hamada, but it's a significant change for Molvær, representing a number of directional shifts and ...

1,629

Interview

Nils Petter Molvaer: Skeletons, Samples and Fish Fillets

by Paul Olson
August 30, 2010

There's no overstating the impact that Nils Petter Molvær's debut CD Khmer made when it was released on the ECM label in 1997. The Norwegian trumpeter/composer was no stranger to ECM and its founder/producer Manfred Eicher-- Molvær had been a member of the collective jazz group Masqualero, that had released records on the label, and he'd played on sessions by ECM artists such as percussionist Robyn Schulkowsky. With his impeccable European jazz credentials and his winsomely melodic, atmospheric trumpet playing--distilled ...

387

The Art Of The Artist To Fan Relationship

Variations on a Theme: Perspectives on Fan Relationships

by Brian Camelio
August 30, 2010

Something I've learned since starting ArtistShare is that the new “music business" is not so much a business but a platform for creating bonds between the artist and the fan. From that bond, fans will show their appreciation for the music in various ways which may include a purchase of some kind but also may not. It doesn't matter. A relationship built today will most likely turn into a purchase later and if it never does I can guarantee that ...