Jazz Articles

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Karrin Allyson: Has Jazz, Will Travel

by Marcia Hillman
August 18, 2009

Karrin Allyson is one of the busiest jazz vocalists on the domestic and international scene these days. Starting her musical journey studying classical piano, Allyson discovered jazz and jazz singing in college and thus claimed her future.Over the years, Allyson has honed her singing, songwriting and piano skills and has recorded twelve CDs, all on the Concord Record label; the longtime association considered a major feat in the recording industry. This has led to three Grammy nominations in ...

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Large Ensembles: Is There a Place in This Large Music World?

by R.J. DeLuke
August 17, 2009

The big band in jazz has a long and glorious history. It was a prevalent form in jazz music in the '20s and '30s, comprising a substantial part of America's popular music heard on radio, spun on gramophones and record players, and enjoyed in dance halls. It gave rise to iconic band leaders like Fletcher Henderson, Count Basie, and the maestro, Duke Ellington; as well as a slew of talented and renowned individuals who made their names in history as ...

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Horace Tapscott: The Dark Tree

by Chris May
August 17, 2009

The year of writing this review, 2019, is the thirtieth anniversary of the recording of The Dark Tree. It is also the twentieth anniversary of the passing of Horace Tapscott, a forgotten master of politically engaged African American spiritual jazz. The album, which is among Tapscott's finest, is crying out for a 2019 anniversary reissue. STOP PRESS 7/25/19: The album has just been reissued. Of course, to describe Tapscott as “forgotten" is only true of mainstream jazz history. ...

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Amiri Baraka: Perspectives on Music and Race

by Lloyd N. Peterson Jr.
August 17, 2009

Amiri Baraka is the author of the insightful and comprehensive book, Blues People. It is a book that has opened many minds and readers to the African American Diaspora along with the history and roots of African American music. Baraka has now published a new book of essays titled, Digging (The Afro-American Soul of American Classical Music). He is the author of over 40 books on poems, plays, essays, drama and importantly, the founder of the Black Arts Movement of ...

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Klang: Tea Music

by Troy Collins
August 17, 2009

Formed in 2006 for a now defunct improvised music series, Klang has since become one of Chicago-based clarinetist James Falzone's primary working groups. An update of the swing era clarinet and vibes combination popularized by Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton, the quartet (which features vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, bassist Jason Roebke and drummer Tim Daisy) taps into some of Falzone's fondest indulgences on their studio debut, Tea Music, including a series of compositions inspired by clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre's 1950s-era small combo ...

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Newport Jazz Festival 55: A Weekend to Savor

by Ken Franckling
August 17, 2009

George Wein's CareFusion Jazz Festival 55Newport, Rhode IslandAugust 7-9, 2009In this 40th anniversary summer of Woodstock, the musical love-in took place in Newport, not upstate New York. And it wasn't a matter of nostalgia. It was all about the Phoenix-like return of the jazz festival after a winter of uncertainty. Once something goes away--or is threatened with going away--you find out how much it is appreciated. George WeinThat was the ...

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Herb Alpert / Lani Hall: Anything Goes

by Nicholas F. Mondello
August 17, 2009

There is a very unique characteristic that permeates this CD from beat one throughout its entirety. And, given that this effort was recorded across a series of live performances, it makes trumpeter/vocalist Herb Alpert and vocalist Lani Hall's Anything Goes all the more special. That characteristic is intimate, and the result of that intimacy is joyous listening. While this is their first combined CD, Hall and Alpert are certainly no strangers--they have been married since 1973. Their ...

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Take Five With Mwalim *7)

by AAJ Staff
August 17, 2009

Meet Mwalim *7): Mwalim is the type of soul artist who embodies the time-honored tradition of the multifaceted singer, songwriter and producer. Emerging from the east coast small club circuit, followed by several years lending his talents to other artists projects and a writer, musician, and producer.Instrument(s):Piano, voice, African percussion, viola.Teachers and/or influences?Allan Nurse, Barry Harris, Thelonious Monk, Dennis Slaughter, Bernie Worrell.I knew I wanted to be a musician when...

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Medeski Martin & Wood: Medeski Martin & Wood: Radiolarians III

by Doug Collette
August 16, 2009

Bonded as if in a purposeful and passionate quest to unite the opposites of discipline and spontaneity, the Zen masters of modern jazz known as Medeski, Martin & Wood have now completed The Radiolarians Series, an eighteen-month endeavor in which the trio composed new original material, embarked on tour to road test it, and then immediately sequestered themselves in to the recording studio to capture its distilled essence.

The third and final installment begins simply enough with “Chantes de ...

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Hal Schaefer

by Andrew Velez
August 16, 2009

“The most important thing about me has to be that what I did musically has always been the most meaningful music that I could make at the time. ...I did the most honest music that I could." As he approaches his 84th birthday this month, pianist, conductor, arranger, composer, accompanist and vocal coach Hal Schaefer is not a household name. And he's okay with that. He can still play a heart-stopping version of “No Business Like Show Business" like nothing ...