Jazz Articles
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When Is A Jazz Festival Not A Jazz Festival?
by Chris May
Dateline: February 13, 2024. Today Britain's long-running Cheltenham Jazz Festival announced its line-up for this summer's event. The press release is headlined thus: Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2024--Dionne Warwick, Robert Plant, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Jack Savoretti, UB40, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Huey Morgan, Morcheeba And More. Dee Dee Bridgewater is not the only jazz artist on the bill--others are mentioned further down the press release--but the emphasis is heavily on rock and pop stars. ...
Continue ReadingGerald Cannon: Live At Dizzy's Club: The Music of Elvin & McCoy
by Jack Bowers
In June 2022, bassist Gerald Cannon assembled an all-star septet to perform compositions by his late friends and musical colleagues, drummer Elvin Jones and pianist McCoy Tyner, in concert at Dizzy's Club in New York City. It is a respectable blowing session, with capable solos by all hands, albeit a tad less than one might expect from such an esteemed ensemble. That is not to say anything on the menu is bland or unsavory. Still, expectations are ...
Continue ReadingJon Irabagon's Outright!: Recharge the Blade
by Mark Corroto
As with nearly all of saxophonist Jon Irabagon's music, the matter for debate is whether the listener needs to be as caffeinated as the musician. His brand of performance, going back two decades, has been one of constant motion and a bottomless cup of ideas. We heard this in Irabagon's contribution to the band Mostly Other People Do The Killing, his I Don't Hear Nothin' but the Blues series, and his collaboration with Joe Fonda in Barry Altschul's 3Dom Factor. ...
Continue ReadingJohn Swana: Philly Gumbo
by C. Andrew Hovan
It seems like a case of the big fish swimming in a small pond. So while Philadelphia native John Swana currently chooses to make his home in the city of Brotherly Love, it's clearly evident that this world-class musician could succeed easily in the Big Apple, the undisputed center of jazz activity in America. Taking up the trumpet at the age of 11, Swana was hooked on jazz after one spin of a Dizzy Gillespie record. Lucky enough to get ...
Continue ReadingJohn Surman: Words Unspoken
by Mike Jurkovic
Hypnotic and many of its antonyms--stimulating, arousing, reviving--are old school hyperbole which very often separates the hack from the veteran of critical science. But sometimes those everyday words are exactly what need to be said to tell of music unlike everyday and most others. Words Unspoken is just that. Blowing free and unhindered since 1966, and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Terje Rypdal, Archie Shepp, Bill Frisell and John McLaughlin, British multi-reedist John Surman needs no lengthy introduction. He just ...
Continue ReadingNew Music From Kaze, Pepa Niebla, Will Régnier & More
by Bob Osborne
On this show we present recent and forthcoming releases from Ultraviolet, Petra Haller & Meg Morley, Kaze, Pepa Niebla, Will Régnier, Enthusiastic Musicians Orchestra, Joel Tucker & Nick Tucker, Daniel Prim, Tony Jones & Jessica Jones, The Rob Dixon Steve Allee{ Quintet, Federico Ughi feat. Leo Genovese and Brandon Lopez, and, Neal Kirkwood Big Band. Playlist Show Intro 00:00 Ultraviolet “Treetop Canopy" from Ripples & Waves (Self Released) 00:57 Petra Haller, Meg Morley “Thicker Than Blood" from Shoulders ...
Continue ReadingIs it OK for artists to pay writers for reviews?
by John Kelman
As a public service, we will periodically republish this article as it remains relevant and opportunists with dishonorable intentions are still out there operating without impunity. When did it become acceptable or common practice for artists to pay for an album review? Recently, All About Jazz writers have been asked by artists--and with increasing regularity--if they would write an album review for pay. We have also encountered writers actively soliciting musicians to pay for reviews... and ...
Continue ReadingThe Jazz Photographer: Philip Arneill
by B.D. Lenz
I always find it fascinating when art forms collide. In this case, photography and music. Of course, each has their commonalities but they also have their differences. And, when an artist of one medium can intersect with another medium, their perspective is going to be very interesting. In this case, not only is there a crossing of art forms but also of cultures. Philip Arneill is from Northern Ireland but, through his photography, has documented a dying Japanese institution known ...
Continue ReadingDavid Friesen: This Light Has No Darkness, Volume 1
by Dan McClenaghan
In 2020, David Friesen, an American jazz artist with Ukrainian roots, released his masterpiece, Testimony (Origin Records). The set was an orchestral, spiritual soundscape featuring Friesen's jazz quartet and the National Academic Symphonic Band of Ukraine. Recorded in Kyiv, in December of 2018--about three years before Russia invaded Ukraine--the music was a majestic testament to Friesen's faith, embracing tranquility and the strength of the certainty and the comfort drawn from his religious beliefs. The bassist followed Testimony up ...
Continue ReadingRoy Campbell: Visitation Of Spirits
by John Sharpe
A former stalwart of the New York avant jazz scene, which finds expression at the annual Vision Festival, trumpeter Roy Campbell died in January 2014, aged 61. While not quite forgotten, his name does not spring readily to the lips a decade on. Perhaps Visitation Of Spirits, an archival live recording from 1985, will help redress that situation. It features the Pyramid Trio, one of Campbell's more enduring groups, which issued three albums over a lifespan of more than 25 ...
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