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.

1,474

Album Review

Champian Fulton: The Breeze and I

Read "The Breeze and I" reviewed by David A. Orthmann

by David A. Orthmann
August 19, 2010

Unlike the catholic approach to music evinced by many of today's young artists, the twenty-five year old singer and pianist Champian Fulton positively thrives in the confines of the American Popular Songbook. To cite one example from The Breeze and I, Fulton's fourth disc as a leader, an instrumental version of “My Heart Stood Still" includes an introduction which quotes “The Trolley Song" and, in the middle of her solo, references “The Surrey With The Fringe On Top." During the ...

442

Album Review

Jeremy Monteiro: Golden Year Inaugural Volume 1

Read "Golden Year Inaugural Volume 1" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
August 19, 2010

Jeremy Monteiro has come a long way since starting out as a professional jazz pianist when not quite seventeen, back in 1977. As a leader, he's recorded over twenty albums, though it wasn't until Homecoming (Jazznote, 2007) that he released one of all-original compositions. A fine interpreter of The Great American Songbook, Monteiro is also a notable composer in his own right, as this compilation, Golden Year Inaugural Volume 1, demonstrates. Released as part of his fiftieth birthday celebration, the ...

626

Extended Analysis

John Coltrane Quintet with Eric Dolphy: Complete 1961 Copenhagen Concert

by Warren Allen
August 19, 2010

John Coltrane Quintet with Eric DolphyComplete 1961 Copenhagen ConcertGambit Records2009 Without a doubt, saxophonist John Coltrane's band after he left trumpeter Miles Davis in 1960 is one of the defining groups of jazz, and for the year or so during which multi- instrumentalist Eric Dolphy joined Coltrane on reeds, the band became a phrenic and frenetic powerhouse that shook jazz to its core. Between Dolphy's piercingly distinct sound and Coltrane's newly ...

242

Extended Analysis

Anat Cohen: Clarinetwork Live at the Village Vanguard

by Raul d'Gama Rose
August 19, 2010

Anat CohenClarinetwork Live at the Village VanguardAnzic Records2010 Anat Cohen can make the clarinet sing--literally and figuratively. On Clarinetwork Live at the Village Vanguard her wonderful, flowing melodic lines swoop and soar like arias placating the most high. It is as if--in that spiritualised state of grace--Cohen, in her singular, burnished or blushing tone, is voicing the murmurings of the soul set free by the music. Cohen is an anomaly in ...

184

Album Review

The Black Butterflies: Primero de Mayo

Read "Primero de Mayo" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
August 19, 2010

A delightful whimsy surrounds the room where 1 de Mayo descends like a diaphanous sheet of sound amid its celestial wail. So extraordinary is the musical ensemble fronted by the hypnotic sound of saxophonist Mercedes Figueras; doubly intriguing, when entwined with the ululations and caterwauling ablutions of Tony Larokko's horns. Figueras is one of the most exciting saxophonists today; Enormously talented, and with a voice as brilliantly eccentric as an exotic Amazonian bird--or, in this instance, a very special black ...

170

Album Review

James Moody: Moody 4B

Read "Moody 4B" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
August 19, 2010

A stellar follow up to Moody 4A (IPO, 2009), saxophone icon James Moody presents the sequel Moody 4B, actually recorded the day after the first session with the same blue chip quartet. Legendary pianist Kenny Barron, renowned bassist Todd Coolman and versatile drummer Lewis Nash all lend their collective musical energy for this second date. Much like the first album, 4B introduces a couple of original tunes mixed in with a select number of standards from the Great American Songbook ...

161

Album Review

The Bickel/Marks Group: The Bickel/Marks Group with Dave Liebman

Read "The Bickel/Marks Group with Dave Liebman" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza

by Jerry D'Souza
August 19, 2010

Doug Bickel and Dennis Marks have been playing together since 1987 when they were at the University of Miami. They formed a band and recorded a demo with alto saxophonist Matt Vashlishan and drummer Marco Marcinko in 1991, but nothing came of it. Both went on to become academics, while keeping music within sight with their own projects and in other bands including those of Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson and Arturo Sandoval, where they found a common home.

763

Interview

Ximo Tebar: Merging Sounds Into a Jazz Style

by Josep Pedro
August 18, 2010

Musician, producer and director of his own music school, Ximo Tebar stands out as the main jazz figure in Valencia, Spain. His music and talent, however, have also given him an international stature as an excellent guitarist and composer. His frequent collaborations with some of the finest musicians in the jazz scene, the stylistic variety of his recording and his admirable work capacity make Tebar an artist worth following. His recordings can be divided in two categories: ...

231

Album Review

James Moody: Moody 4B

Read "Moody 4B" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
August 18, 2010

James Moody's 4B is a companion-piece--or continuation-of-sorts--of 2009's 4A. The two albums, while released a year apart, were recorded on back-to-back days in 2008. While the “B" status might lead to the conclusion that this is a consolation prize of an album, that's is hardly the case. Moody and his superb quartet, featuring fellow Dizzy Gillespie-alumnus Kenny Barron on piano, Todd Coolman on bass and Lewis Nash on drums, lend their expert skills to original material, jazz classics and Great ...

586

Live Review

Newport Jazz Festival: Sunday, August 8, 2010

by Timothy J. O'Keefe
August 18, 2010

Part 1 | Part 2 CareFusion Newport Jazz FestivalFort Adams State ParkNewport, RIAugust 8, 2010 Temperatures rose high, as jazz fans gathered in Newport for the fifteen performances, spread over three stages, that provided eight hours of listening pleasure. The Ben Allison Band started things up at the Harbor stage, showcasing music from their latest recording Think Free (2009, Palmetto). Bassist Allison worked the intro to “Green Al," a modern, eclectic, ...