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.

571

Album Review

Miroslav Vitous Group /w Michel Portal: Remembering Weather Report

Read "Remembering Weather Report" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
July 1, 2009

On the surface, Remembering Weather Report possesses little in common with the fusion supergroup that Czech bassist Miroslav Vitous co-founded in the early '70s with keyboardist Joe Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, before being summarily removed on the cusp of greater commercial success. Weather Report was a decidedly electric group; Vitous' is unapologetically acoustic, and doesn't really resemble, musically, early albums including WR's remarkable self-titled, 1971 debut and '72 follow-up, I Sing the Body Electric, both on Columbia. But scratch ...

253

Live Review

3 Cohens at Village Vanguard

by David Miller
July 1, 2009

Anat, Uval and Avishai CohenThe Village VanguardNew York, New YorkJune 23, 2009If jazz is an attitude, then the Cohen family has it in spades. That much was evident from the moment Anat, Yuval and Avishai took the hallowed Village Vanguard stage on a sweaty Tuesday night. In a set whose moods ran the gamut from joyous to melancholy, with a bit of humor thrown in for good measure, there was nary a complacent moment as ...

238

Album Review

Troyka: Troyka

by Chris May
July 1, 2009

London band Troyka--an energetic organ, guitar and drums trio--has collected a bundle of enthusiastic reviews for its live performances. The group has been tipped by some to become the next big thing on the British scene, a new Polar Bear or Portico Quartet for 2009, and expectations around the debut album have been high. In that event, Troyka falls short of the blockbuster that's been hoped for. It reveals a virtuosic and enjoyably inclusive band--embracing rock, jazz and dance music ...

304

Album Review

Cory Weeds: Everything's Coming Up Weeds

Read "Everything's Coming Up Weeds" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
July 1, 2009

Everything's Coming Up Weeds, the 50th release from the Cellar Live stable, is a stellar recording featuring an extraordinary quintet. At first blush, it recalls the energy and fervor of wonderful Benny Golson bands and, if the memory can be stretched a wee bit further, also some memorable sessions of The Jazztet--or even a Jazz Messengers middle passage. The date is led by the big tenor sound of Cory Weeds--saxophonist, broadcaster, jazz impresario extraordinaire and owner of Canada's leading West ...

292

Album Review

Alcazaba: Alcazaba

by Chris May
June 30, 2009

As Stan Laurel or Oliver Hardy famously said: “Another fine mess you got me into." A fine and wonderful mess, that is. Alcazaba is a London-based group of acoustic musicians who are exploring the mélange of styles which make up the Andalusian Gypsy music, flamenco. Spain's guitar music, India's folk and ritual music, and the Maghreb's, mainly but not exclusively Arab, court music tradition. In flamenco, and indeed in much traditional non-Gypsy Spanish music, the points where these styles meet ...

589

Album Review

Edward Simon: Poesia

by John Kelman
June 30, 2009

With a winning combination, it's rarely a good idea to mess with it. Pianist Edward Simon has recorded with a number of great trios, including the one at the core of Simplicitas (Criss Cross, 2005). His music took a giant leap forward, however--in terms of composition, arrangement and performance--with Unicity (Cam Jazz, 2006), featuring bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade. The greater freedom, latitude and time that Cam allows its artists is surely another factor, as opposed to Criss ...

637

Extended Analysis

Steve Kuhn Trio with Joe Lovano: Mostly Coltrane

by John Kelman
June 30, 2009

Although he's spent most of his career focusing on interpreting the music of others, pianist Steve Kuhn's albums for the ECM label have largely been about his small but significant repertoire of original music. Which makes Mostly Coltrane a real anomaly by comparison to earlier works like those reissued in the three-CD box set Life's Backward Glances -Solo and Quartet (ECM, 2009). Still, Kuhn has a perhaps little-known connection that makes this set of, well, mostly material either composed or ...

474

Live From New York

Booker T. Jones, Abdullah Ibrahim, Neil Cowley, Nils Petter Molvaer, Arve Henriksen & Dave Douglas

by Martin Longley
June 30, 2009

Booker T. JonesJoe's PubJune 10, 2009Booker T. Jones, as in Booker T. & The MGs. The quite intimate Joe's Pub is sold out, not surprisingly. This Hammond B3 organ grinder is here to push his new solo disc, Potato Hole. The album features Memphis man Jones working with The Drive-By Truckers and Neil Young, exploring his rockier, bluesier potential. Jones certainly isn't favoring the slinky soul-cruising so beloved of the MGs. He cuts a ...

434

Album Review

Dan Adler: All Things Familiar

Read "All Things Familiar" reviewed by Matthew Warnock

by Matthew Warnock
June 30, 2009

All Things Familiar is a hard-swinging modern bop album led by guitarist Dan Adler. Adler has surrounded himself with a strong ensemble cast for the record, including pianist Richard Samuels, bassist Dmitri Kolesnik, drummer Philip Steward and saxophonist Grant Stewart. The album rests firmly in the jazz tradition without sounding like a carbon copy of an historical recording. The group comes together to lay down tracks that are full of bop vocabulary, deep-pocket swing and highly-creative improvisations. The ...

276

Take Five With...

Take Five With Larry Slezak

by AAJ Staff
June 30, 2009

Meet Larry Slezak:Larry Slezak is one of Houston's great jazz saxophonists. But outside of well-known jazz venues in the southwest, he has seldom been heard on record. His debut release, No Worries treats listeners from Houston and beyond to Slezak's versatility, expressive ideas, energy and mastery of the saxophone.Instrument(s): Saxophone.I knew I wanted to be a musician when... I was 13 years old and my father took me to Carnegie Hall to see Louis ...