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.

251

Album Review

Wilson & Moore: Side by Side

Read "Side by Side" reviewed by Craig M. Cortello

by Craig M. Cortello
August 11, 2010

Chip Wilson is best known in and around New Orleans as the former guitar luthier who extracts supreme sounds from the instrument he once made a living producing. Jesse Moore is a versatile performer equally at ease on stage in music clubs and theaters, on television, or on film. Side by Side, the debut album by these two veteran performers of the New Orleans music scene, is a collaborative effort that has the visionaries of the neighborhood known as The ...

248

Album Review

Lee Konitz / Chris Cheek / Stephane Furic Leibovici: Jugendstil II

Read "Jugendstil II" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
August 10, 2010

The wondrous nature of Jugendstil II is ensconced in the breathtaking improvisations of alto saxophone giant Lee Konitz, the way they intersect with the ideas of brilliant young tenor saxophonist Chris Cheek, and the effect they have on the birth of new compositions by virtuoso bassist Stéphane Furic Leibovici. The miraculous glue that holds it all together is the magnificently spare songs, both written and suggested. Add to that the exacting melodious bass lines that the maestro, Stéphane Furic Leibovici, ...

553

Interview

Mark Soskin: Challenges Welcome

by R.J. DeLuke
August 10, 2010

In conversation with the immensely talented and engaging pianist Mark Soskin, the word “challenge" arises periodically. It's used in a good sense. Simply put, “I like to be able to be handed a challenge and then rise to it," he said in conversation, earlier in the summer of 2010. Diversity is also something he likes. The evidence is in the myriad of projects with which he has involved himself since leaving a golden gig with Sonny ...

235

Album Review

Theo Bleckmann: I Dwell In Possibility

Read "I Dwell In Possibility" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
August 10, 2010

The title of this record also defines vocalist Theo Bleckmann's artistic philosophy. Bleckmann is probably the only human being to ever properly interpret the music of Kate Bush and the compositions of Charles Ives, and his range as an artist doesn't stop there. Bleckmann's Winter & Winter albums, along with successful side projects, have earned him critical acclaim and a pile of awards--including the prestigious JAZZ ECHO award from the Deutsche Phono-Akademie in Germany. All of the positive press could ...

810

Live Review

Gent Jazz Festival 2010: Days 1-5

by Martin Longley
August 10, 2010

Days 1-5 | Days 6-9 The Gent Jazz FestivalBijlokeGent, BelgiumJuly 7-11, 2010 It's now customary to expect the biggest players in the jazz universe to alight each night at the Gent Jazzfest. This massively historic Belgian city provides a beautiful setting for the music, with its Bijloke site situated just outside the main centre, in a universe of its own making. The large marquee set-up is now an established success, oscillating ...

153

Live Review

Assaf Kehati Quartet: Live at Blue Note

by Dan Bilawsky
August 10, 2010

Assaf Kehati QuartetBlue NoteNew York, New YorkAugust 1, 2010 Guitarist Assaf Kehati brought his enthralling post-modern, Middle Eastern-tinged music to an appreciative though occasionally chatty, crowd during Sunday jazz brunch at New York's Blue Note. Kehati's education--with undergraduate studies at the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in his native Israel and a masters degree in jazz performance from the New England Conservatory of Music--is reflected in his music and he leads with ...

249

Album Review

Marc Copland Trio: Haunted Heart

Read "Haunted Heart" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
August 10, 2010

Originally released in 2001, Marc Copland's Haunted Heart deserves re-examination and re-evaluation, as hatOLOGY brings one of the perennially undervalued pianist's most sublime trio recordings back into print. With the original subtitle--And Other Ballads--removed, those familiar with Copland's intimate approach will already know what to expect, especially with a trio that, in the early part of the 21st century, was Copland's most consistent line-up.Copland works less regularly with drummer Jochen Rueckert these days, but this first trio encounter ...

234

Album Review

Jeff Lorber Fusion: Now Is The Time

Read "Now Is The Time" reviewed by James Nadal

by James Nadal
August 10, 2010

Only a handful of pioneering musicians can adapt the perception of fusion jazz into a contemporary mindset and make it palatable. With the release of Now Is The Time . Keyboardist Jeff Lorber demonstrates why he has maintained his stature and reputation, while producing music which is easy on the ears and accessible to a broad audience. Now Is The Time represents a reinvention of Lorber's original musical trajectory, culled from his early catalog but given a ...

189

Album Review

Sheryl Crow: 100 Miles from Memphis

Read "100 Miles from Memphis" reviewed by Ernest Barteldes

by Ernest Barteldes
August 10, 2010

On 100 Miles from Memphis, singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow pays homage to the Memphis soul sound that deeply influenced her as she grew up, literally “100 miles from Memphis," in her native Wisconsin. The disc kicks off with “Our Love Is Fading," an up-tempo, horn-heavy rocker that might just become the album's first hit single. The relaxed reggae tune, “Eye to Eye," follows with lyrics about the end of a love affair--a recurring theme for Crow. The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards ...

212

Album Review

Paul Motian / Jason Moran / Chris Potter: Lost in a Dream

Read "Lost in a Dream" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
August 10, 2010

Pianos have rarely been featured in drummer Paul Motian's ensembles, though his years with Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett have surely left an impression on his approach to balladry. Lost in a Dream is a collection of Motian ballads recorded at the Village Vanguard in early 2009, with Motian in the intriguing company of pianist Jason Moran and saxophonist Chris Potter. The empathy here is pronounced. Never restricted by the role of mere time-keeper, Motian's touch and free, impressionistic playing ...