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.

922

Live Review

15th Anniversary of the Litchfield Jazz Festival

by Marcia Hillman
August 25, 2010

Litchfield Jazz FestivalKent, ConnecticutAugust 6-8, 2010 The green hills of Kent, Connecticut resounded once more with the sound of jazz as the 15th Anniversary of the Litchfield Jazz Festival settled in from Friday, August 6th through Sunday, August 8th. This year the main stage was again indoors in the newly air-conditioned hockey rink with a secondary tent stage outdoors. And this year, the weather cooperated with two beautiful sunny days and three starry, starry nights.

255

Album Review

Scott Colley: Empire

by John Kelman
August 25, 2010

One of jazz's most ubiquitous bassists, Scott Colley has only released a handful of albums as a leader, compared to hundreds of sessions and live dates with artists ranging from Jim Hall and Andrew Hill to Chris Potter and Antonio Sanchez. Architect of the Silent Moment (CamJazz, 2007), was a particularly impressive combination of head and heart, traditional roots and forward thinking, acoustic and electric. One of 2007's best , it was a turning point for Colley--a new path that ...

876

Extended Analysis

Peter Sprague: Calling Me Home

by Robert Bush
August 25, 2010

Peter SpragueCalling Me HomeSBE Records2010In his varied, 30 year career, guitarist and composer Peter Sprague has always shown an affinity for vocalists. On Calling Me Home, this affinity is expanded to its logical conclusion. The disc features vocals on every tune and draws from a deep talent pool of five incredible voices. What's particularly amazing about this effort is that Sprague has created a very accessible release by simplifying some of his ...

377

Album Review

Alexey Lapin / Melvyn Poore / Matthias Schubert / Roger Turner / Helen Bledsoe: Seek It Not With Your Eyes

Read "Seek It Not With Your Eyes" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza

by Jerry D'Souza
August 25, 2010

Pianist Alexey Lapin, tenor saxophonist Matthias Schubert and tubaist Melvyn Poore planned a trio date at Cologne, Germany's The Loft, on June 28, 2009. With percussionist Roger Turner in town, the trio became a quartet, and then flautist Helen Bledsoe sat in for a second set of two tunes. The original concept may have changed, but the direction the evening took did not. All of the music was improvised, except for “Can't Catch the Name," which took flight from a ...

192

Take Five With...

Take Five With Tina E. Clark

by AAJ Staff
August 25, 2010

Meet Tina E. Clark:A triple threat Singer/Songwriter/Producer residing in Dallas, Texas by way of Shreveport, LA.Instrument(s):Keyboards.Teachers and/or influences?Quincy Jones, Diane Warren, David Foster and Michael Jackson.I knew I wanted to be a musician when...I was in third grade!Your sound and approach to music:My sound is a mixture of pop, adult contemporary with a hint of gospel topped off with smooth ...

368

Album Review

Bill Frisell: Beautiful Dreamers

Read "Beautiful Dreamers" reviewed by Troy Collins

by Troy Collins
August 25, 2010

Heralded as a sonic innovator since his seminal work for ECM Records in the mid-eighties, Grammy winning, perennial Best Jazz Guitarist award recipient Bill Frisell has developed a rich body of work over the past two decades, guaranteeing him a place in the history books alongside his heroes Jim Hall and Jimi Hendrix. Fastidiously documented by Elektra/Nonesuch since the early nineties, Frisell's twenty plus releases for the label encompass everything from soundtracks for silent films to genre-straddling collaborations with Nashville ...

184

Album Review

Nathan Eklund: Coin Flip

Read "Coin Flip" reviewed by Woodrow Wilkins

by Woodrow Wilkins
August 25, 2010

Nathan Eklund, a New York-based trumpeter, has earned credentials as both a student and an instructor. Among his associations are Joe Lovano, Craig Yaremko's Sync, Richie Cole, Gerald Veasley and Chuck Loeb. He leads two ensembles: the Nathan Eklund Group; and the Nathan Eklund Quintet. His fourth release as a leader, Coin Flip, features the quintet. “Professor Dissendadt" opens broodingly, with bassist Kellen Harrison only, then joined by Steve Myerson on Fender Rhodes and eventually the rest of ...

333

Album Review

Bill Frisell: Beautiful Dreamers

Read "Beautiful Dreamers" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
August 24, 2010

Most people slow down as they get older but, in the case of musicians, there are those who seem to actually step up the pace. Bill Frisell may be approaching 60, but he's busier than ever--so much so, in fact, that the intrepid guitarist has left his record label of over twenty years (Nonesuch), because it was unprepared to keep up with his need to release more than one album per year. Beautiful Dreamers is Frisell's first Savoy Jazz release ...

849

Interview

Pete Robbins: Balance Dream

by Gordon Marshall
August 24, 2010

Pete Robbins is all about balance, in temperament and as an artist. He produces a polished sound on his alto saxophone, with a light tone betraying corners of darkness and complexity. Already an accomplished leader at 31, he grafts his sound onto ensembles of varying sizes with aplomb and equanimity. His style as a leader is distinctive. Just as distinctive are the contributions of his disciplined band members, heeding Robbins' swift directives but always sustaining a fine weave of individual ...

531

Live Review

Satchmo Summerfest 2010: A blowout far better than BP's

by Sandy Ingham
August 24, 2010

Satchmo SummerfestLouisiana State Museum's Old U.S. Mint.New Orleans, LAAugust 5-8, 2010 “Happy birthday, Pops!"Kermit Ruffins shouted to a couple of thousand revelers as the 10th annual Satchmo Summerfest neared its joyous conclusion. Then he tilted his trumpet toward the blue sky and played a chorus of the birthday song while the crowd wished Louis Armstrong a happy 109th. Then he played it again, jauntily, giving it that old jazz feeling, before turning ...