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.

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Live Review

Vision Festival 2010: Day 5, June 27, 2010

by John Sharpe
August 17, 2010

Prologue | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7Perry Robinson, Guillermo E Brown, Billy Bang, David S. Ware, Dave BurrellVision FestivalAbrons Arts CenterNew York CityJune 27, 2010 Sunday June 27 was another big day for the Vision Festival. It began with the afternoon devoted to innovative New York College Bands, in another indication of how the Festival is ...

276

Album Review

Scott and Lara St. John / The Knights / Eric Jacobsen: Mozart

Read "Mozart" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
August 17, 2010

Ever since the consumptive and mysterious Nicolo Paganini took the stage, breaking three of his four famous fiddle strings, playing on the remaining G, and declaring “the Artist as Hero," the cult of personality of the artist has become as important and, Indeed, compelling, as that of the composer and the music composed. Today we would call this personality. Canadian violinist Lara St. John is not wanting of personality; her Bach, as evidenced by her earliest releases up to her ...

195

Album Review

Daniel Gassin Trio: Crossover

Read "Crossover" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
August 17, 2010

Described as a “brilliant, lyrical young Melbourne pianist/composer," Australian jazz pianist Daniel Gassin reveals but a glimpse of his talents on Crossover, as evidenced by the quality of his compositions and the elite caliber of his performance. A follow up to his debut, Roundtrip (Vorticity Music, 2004)--which was rereleased in 2010--Crossover is an enchanting recording of modern jazz, featuring one of the most unheralded young pianist in jazz today. As with his first album, this also adopts the piano trio ...

337

Album Review

Ralph Alessi: Cognitive Dissonance

Read "Cognitive Dissonance" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
August 16, 2010

For his Cam Jazz debut, trumpeter Ralph Alessi recruits two key players from his sadly overlooked Look (Between the Lines, 2007). But while ubiquitous bassist Drew Gress (Marc Copland, Claudia Quintet) is a mainstay of Cognitive Dissonance, pianist Andy Milne only guests on the knottily themed but swinging “Sir" and a quirkily, near-unrecognizable version of Stevie Wonder's “Same Old Story." The rest of the album's fifteen tracks--eleven by Alessi, in addition to a free-spirited yet surprisingly lyrical version of Sam ...

969

Interview

Jeff Berlin: Still the Ace of Bass

by John Patten
August 16, 2010

Through the course of a four-decade career, Jeff Berlin has refused to end his musical quest. He crafted a popping, percussive style so thoroughly ingrained in the recordings of the 1980s, it's nearly ubiquitous. His work with Bill Bruford, whom he met during a stint with Yes, led to further innovations in playing.More recently, he's been developing a contrapuntal style of playing that allows him to approach bass guitar as a pianist, adding harmony and melody to his ...

414

Album Review

Kristin Berardi / James Sherlock: If You Were There

Read "If You Were There" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
August 16, 2010

The jazz standard repertoire has proven remarkably durable and doesn't seem to be under any immediate threat of being replaced by more recent popular songs. Perhaps they just don't write love songs the way they used to, or it could be simply a question of the weight of jazz tradition holding back a new wave of standards. Regardless, as long as there are duos like singer Kristin Berardi and guitarist James Sherlock putting a personal spin on the songs of ...

545

Bailey's Bundles

The State of The Saxophone Trio: Dan Moretti, Domenic Landolf, Jacob Duncan

by C. Michael Bailey
August 16, 2010

There is something Baroque about jazz ensembles lacking a piano or guitar as a harmony instrument . Their absence frees previously occupied sonic space for other uses. The format also sets up a more pronounced contrapuntal interplay between the remaining players. The saxophone trio has become quite mainstream since Sonny Rollins blew into the Village Vanguard in 1957 and set New York on its ear. Here are three recent offerings showing just how far the saxophone trio has evolved since ...

261

Album Review

Jim Rotondi: 1000 Rainbows

Read "1000 Rainbows" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
August 16, 2010

1000 Rainbows swings beautifully, drawing together a few original tunes from trumpeter Jim Rotondi and some out-of-the-ordinary classics that are delivered in real style by a classy quintet. The New York-based Rotondi has been in the jazz scene for more than 20 years and has an extensive back catalog of recordings as a leader. This is his third Posi-tone release as leader, following Four Of A Kind (2008) and Blues For Brother Ray (2009). The musicians on ...

358

Extended Analysis

Theo Bleckmann: I Dwell In Possibility

by Warren Allen
August 16, 2010

Theo BleckmannI Dwell In PossibilityWinter & Winter2010 To record I Dwell in Possibility, vocalist Theo Bleckmann made a musical pilgrimage to the Beinwil Abbey in an isolated area of Switzerland. With the aid of producer Stefan Winter, he proceeded to lay down 15 tracks, only using his voice, a collection of bizarre little instruments and the resonant acoustics of the abbey's monastery. Left unprocessed with its sounds of old stone and ...

256

Album Review

Dave Anderson Quartet: Clarity

Read "Clarity" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
August 16, 2010

Having built a reputation as an exceptional reedman in Seattle, Dave Anderson presents a sparkling debut on the melodically rich Clarity, alternating between alto and soprano saxophones on eight original compositions and two covers. Having performed extensively throughout North America with luminaries like Jim McNeely, Clark Terry and the late great Mel Tormé, Anderson moved to Seattle in 2005 from his native Minnesota, forming Dave Anderson Quartet after a one-nighter at Egan's Ballard Jamhouse. The group consists of pianist John ...