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.

316

Album Review

Chie Imaizumi: A Time Of New Beginnings

Read "A Time Of New Beginnings" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
August 14, 2010

Composer and arranger Chie Imaizumi's second album, A Time Of New Beginnings, is filled with star players from the jazz world. It's a beautifully crafted, beautifully played album, with a warm and familiar feel to its nine tunes that, at times, creates a real sense of nostalgia. Imaizumi began her musical career in her homeland of Japan, joined Berklee College of Music as a student in 2001 and released her first album, Unfailing Kindness (Capri Records), in ...

899

Film Review

Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Pictures At An Exhibition - Special Edition

by John Kelman
August 14, 2010

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Pictures At An Exhibition: Special Edition Eagle Vision 2010 With the return of Emerson, Lake & Palmer at the recent High Voltage festival something of a resounding thud--preliminary YouTube videos portraying a bloated, embarrassing group where keyboardist Emerson's unfortunate hand problems caused the group to slow originally fast pieces to a near-funereal crawl, bassist Lake more pomp than circumstance, and only drummer Palmer really engaged, despite the by rote performances going ...

147

Album Review

Yuganaut: Sharks

Read "Sharks" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
August 14, 2010

It is somewhat easy to be fooled, by the playfulness of Yuganaut's musicians, into thinking that Sharks is a flippant album. So, as rapidly as the thought occurs let it perish. The music on this album is deep as the ocean of sound from where it comes, and the musicians do a fine job of exploring the tones and textures that abound, as the music deliberately tumbles from their various instruments, to make a confluence of dramatic sound which, in ...

250

Album Review

Los Lobos: Tin Can Trust

Read "Tin Can Trust" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
August 14, 2010

Prolificity ain't all it's cracked up to be. With but a dozen studio releases in three decades, Los Lobos' discography may be small, but combines substance and style. Since the breakthrough How Will the Wolf Survive? (Slash, 1984) and massive radio hit--a re-visioning of Richie Valens' classic “La Bamba," from the 1987 bio-pic of the same name--Los Lobos has been mining a distinctive and unfailingly honest nexus of roots and rock. They may not sell as many records as Eminem, ...

248

Live Review

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers with Buddy Guy at Madison Square Garden

by Mike Perciaccante
August 14, 2010

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers with Buddy GuyMadison Square GardenNew York, New YorkJuly 28, 2010 Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers have been making music for over 30 years (their self-titled debut on Shelter Records was released on November 9, 1976). Petty, who turns 60 in October 2010, and The Heartbreakers (Mike Campbell and Scott Thurston on guitar, Ron Blair on bass, Benmont Tench on keys and Steve Ferrone on drums) rocked Madison Square Garden with ...

121

Album Review

Sonny Simmons: Staying on the Watch

Read "Staying on the Watch" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza

by Jerry D'Souza
August 14, 2010

The sixties were a time of turmoil and invention. Jazz was cast into several shapes by musicians who were willing to take chances, were not afraid to go against the grain, and believed in their vision to fathom and articulate new territory. Alto saxophonist Sonny Simmons was among those who added to lore. He could fathom a cry of anguish just as easily as he could herald a shout of joy, as he created an ambience that spread its wings ...

233

Album Review

Greg Lewis: Organ Monk

Read "Organ Monk" reviewed by Ernest Barteldes

by Ernest Barteldes
August 14, 2010

Reinventing the music of Thelonious Monk is no easy task, but organist Greg Lewis does precisely that on Organ Monk. Backed solely by drummer Cindy Blackman and guitarist Ron Jackson, Lewis goes through fifteen of Monk's timeless classics, adapting them to the feel of an organ trio.Kicking off with an up-tempo take on “Tinkle Tinkle," the disc starts with a drum/organ duet that gives way to a flawless guitar solo from Jackson, before quickly closing with the outro. ...

560

Live Review

Many Shades of Jazz Come Out at Newport 2010

by R.J. DeLuke
August 13, 2010

CareFusion Newport Jazz FestivalFort Adams State ParkNewport, RIAugust 6-8, 2010 The variety of music at the 2010 CareFusion Newport Jazz Festival August 6-9 was one of its notable traits. Mainstream, Latin, electric stuff, ornate orchestral offerings, swing and all kinds of things in between.The originality of the music in so many of the bands--David Binney, Dave Douglas, Fly (Mark Turner, Jeff Ballard, Larry Grenadier), Rez Abbasi, J.D. Allen, Ben Allison, Jason Moran, ...

284

Album Review

Billy Bang: Prayer for Peace

Read "Prayer for Peace" reviewed by Troy Collins

by Troy Collins
August 13, 2010

Protesting the inhumanity of war through creative endeavors takes on far greater significance when the artist in question has been personally involved. A veteran of the Vietnam War, violinist Billy Bang confronted his own personal demons on such albums as Vietnam: The Aftermath (Justin Time, 2001) and Vietnam: Reflections (Justin Time, 2004). Prayer for Peace is a thematic continuation of sorts, expanding beyond Bang's concerns about global conflict to address clashes of a more universal and personal nature.The ...

347

Live Review

Newport Jazz Festival As Strong As Ever

by R.J. DeLuke
August 13, 2010

CareFusion Newport Jazz FestivalFort Adams State ParkNewport, RIAugust 6-8, 2010 It may seem like a small thing, but it's nice that the jazz festival in Rhode Island last weekend, August 6-8, was called the CareFusion NewportJazz Festival. No matter how you slice that, it's the Newport Jazz Festival, in the lineage of the event George Wein put together 56 years ago. And it's still running strong. Very strong.It's a nice thing to ...