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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Book Review

Return of the King: Elvis Presley's Great Comeback

by C. Michael Bailey
July 24, 2010

Return of the King: Elvis Presley's Great Comeback Gillian Gaar Trade Paperback; 270 pages ISBN: 978-1-906002-28-2 Jawbone Press 2010 Elvis Presley continues to be one of the most recession- proof commodities since his death in 1977. The three years since 2007 have seen books written by Presley associates George Nichopoulis (The King and Dr. Nick: What Really Happened to Elvis and Me (Thomas Nelson, 2010)), Sonny West (Elvis: Still Taking Care of ...

177

Album Review

Larry McKenna: Profile

by Judson Aaron
July 24, 2010

Philadelphia-based tenor saxophonist Larry McKenna is known for his gorgeous sound, the unparalleled beauty of his balladry, and his fluid, bebop-inspired improvisations. Profile showcases McKenna at the height of his interpretive and improvisational powers.Profile consists of a well-chosen set of familiar and lesser-known standards, and originals. It's a blowing session anchored by a heavyweight rhythm section: pianist Tom Lawton never ceases to amaze with his abundant technique and endless stream of ideas; bassist Kevin MacConnell underpins the session ...

599

Live Review

Cheap Trick and Squeeze At Radio City Music Hall

by Mike Perciaccante
July 24, 2010

Cheap Trick And SqueezeRadio City Music HallNew York, New YorkJuly 13, 2010Cheap Trick and Squeeze are both terribly underrated bands, and yet, they have a rabid and dedicated fan base. Though some consider them to be little more than purveyors of bubblegum pop, Cheap Trick could be called the inventors of modern power pop. The group's music combines the best of melodic rock, Beatlesque Brit-pop, humorous, eclectic lyrics, power chords, and new wave/punk, with a ...

902

Live Review

TD Toronto Jazz Festival 2010

by Alain Londes
July 23, 2010

TD Toronto International Jazz FestivalToronto, Ontario, CanadaJune 25-July 4, 2010 The TD Toronto Jazz Festival enjoyed its 24th edition this year in a city dominated by a focus on the G8 and G20 Summit meetings for the first few days. Despite very minor delays for a couple of shows and some instances of nearby protester clashes with law enforcement, the festival successfully managed to “go on with the show" without a hitch in the true spirit ...

181

Album Review

Gunter Christmann / Mats Gustafsson / Paul Lovens: Trio

by Nic Jones
July 23, 2010

The language of free improvisation is decades old now and its power to shock has arguably diminished accordingly. If there's something in the contention that everything once radical is eventually co-opted by an ever broadening mainstream, free improvisation still gives the lie to it. Still the creative process behind it can appear inscrutable, and the very lack of predetermination often gives the resulting music a singular tension and release. Both that creative process and the tension and ...

679

Extended Analysis

Ahmad Jamal: A Quiet Time

by Ian Patterson
July 23, 2010

Ahmad JamalA Quiet TimeDreyfus Records2010 Always reluctant to go into the studio unless he has material he is thoroughly satisfied with, pianist Ahmad Jamal's A Quiet Time could be considered as a follow-up to It's Magic (Dreyfus Records, 2008), given the relatively short period between the two releases. Stylistically, it is similar, with Jamal leading a habitual trio augmented with percussion through a set of (mostly) originals, a couple of which have ...

276

Album Review

Bob Mamet: Impromptu

Read "Impromptu" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
July 23, 2010

The title of Impromptu is somewhat misleading. All three musicians in this trio have lightning-quick reflexes and great improvisational skills that certainly help to make instant magic, but the songs themselves aren't off-the-cuff creations as the title might imply. Pianist Bob Mamet has crafted ten catchy charts in a variety of styles and leaves plenty of solo space to spare. The first two tracks--"Impromptu" and “Cats On The Roof"--are comfortable swing vehicles that introduce Mamet's playing without ...

544

Take Five With...

Take Five With Erik Friedlander

by AAJ Staff
July 23, 2010

Meet Erik Friedlander: Cellist Erik Friedlander is a composer and an improviser, a first-call studio player and a jazzbo. A veteran of NYC's downtown scene, his 12 CDs as a leader recently include, Block Ice & Propane, his solo cello reinterpretation of American roots music; The Broken Arm Trio, a trio tribute to jazz bassist Oscar Pettiford; and Volac, a romantic collection of virtuoso solo cello pieces by John Zorn. Erik has performed on 100's of recordings and ...

410

Album Review

Bob Baldwin: Never Can Say Goodbye: A Tribute to Michael Jackson

Read "Never Can Say Goodbye: A Tribute to Michael Jackson" reviewed by Jeff Winbush

by Jeff Winbush
July 23, 2010

The connection between Michael Jackson and jazz seems tentative to non-existent until it's factored in he reached his greatest heights as an artist when collaborating with producer/arranger extraordinaire Quincy Jones. The unlikely pairing of Jackson and Jones brought out a degree of professionalism, maturity and poise in the late King of Pop that did not fully emerge when he was the precocious young boy performing with his brothers in the Jackson Five. Had the Jackson Five worked with Jones, Jackson ...

283

Take Five With...

Take Five With Jimena Fama

by AAJ Staff
July 23, 2010

Meet Jimena Fama:In 2005 Jimena Fama, an extremely talented vocalist, musician, composer and producer, journeyed to her native country, Argentina, to explore her musical roots and capture the heart and soul of Tango. Understanding that both Tango and dub had a subdued and deep sound, she decided to combine the genres. The result was Electro Dub Tango, with a brilliant collaboration of renowned Tango musicians released in October 2005. The first branded album of a collection produced by ...