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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Old Folks
by Mr. P.C.
Dear Mr. P.C.: I'm part of the older generation, players in our seventies and eighties. We're hoping to stay involved, but then there's the elephant in the room: The meds we take. In real life they make us feel better and in some cases ward off diseases. But in our musical life some make us rush and others make us slow down. So the first thing I want to know when I get to a gig ...
Continue ReadingJahari Stampley at Jazz Alley
by Paul Rauch
Jahari Stampley Jazz Alley Seattle, WA January 30, 2024 There are certain immutable facts that present themselves to you when engaging with 2023 Herbie Hancock Institute International Competition winner, Jahari Stampley. First, he is a brilliant pianist, with prodigious talent and a commanding presence. Secondly, he is a large personality, with ardent ever-present positivity and a gracious spirit. And lastly, he is a young artist that brings with him more questions than answers as ...
Continue ReadingSooäär, Yaralyan, Ounaskari: Zula
by Ian Patterson
A group sound is a precious thing. It may take years to develop, or it might spring, fully fledged, from the offing. Either way, it is a calling card and a brand. Tinkering with it too much might risk alienating loyal fans. The trio of Estonian guitarist Jaak Sooäär, Finnish drummer Markku Ounaskari and Armenian bassist Ara Yaralyan seems to subscribe to the 'no tinkering' credo. Its third album, Zula is cut from the same cloth as Shooting Star (o-tone ...
Continue ReadingFrancisco Mela & Zoh Amba: Causa y Efecto, Vol. 2
by Mike Jurkovic
Causa y Efecto, Vol. 2 avalanches into a tidal surge of Francisco Mela's terrestrial rhythms and saxophonist/flautist Zoh Amba's unhinged, Albert Ayler like howls. Explosive from the onset and unencumbered by composition, “Causa y Efecto" roils without contrition; setting the stage for the firestorm to come. Mela's incantations--both verbal and percussive--open the magic door through which Zoh's pixie-ish, folk-dance darts and shadows. Born of native songs from Mela's Cuba and Amba's old Tennessee home, “Mundos Diversos" is a complete ...
Continue ReadingNew Releases By Ada Rovatti, Christie Dashiell, Birthday Shoutouts To Etta James, Barbara Carroll & More
by Mary Foster Conklin
This broadcast includes new releases from Allison Adams Tucker, Ada Rovatti, Christie Dashiell, Danette McMahon and Joel Tucker Commodore Trio plus preview singles from Norah Jones and Lizz Wright, with birthday shoutouts to Etta James, Pureum Jin, Barbara Carroll, Alexis Cole, George Evans and Kaisa Maensivu, among others. Thanks for listening and please support the artists you hear by seeing them live and online. Purchase their music so they can continue to distract, comfort, provoke and inspire. Playlist ...
Continue ReadingRandy Napoleon: The Door is Open: The Music of Gregg Hill
by Paul Rauch
In and around the formidable jazz studies program at Michigan State University is a plethora of jazz talent devoted to instrumental and compositional excellence. Most of this talent is young, benefiting from a wide array of world-class instructors that includes program director Rodney Whitaker and veteran guitarist Randy Napoleon, among other notables. Within this labyrinth of jazz wisdom in the Detroit / Lansing metroplex is composer Gregg Hill, a former truck driver and tech entrepreneur whose performing ambitions were superseded ...
Continue ReadingBrock, Lanzetti, Ogawa: Drawing Songs
by Mike Jacobs
Encountering new additions to the Snarky Puppy musical diaspora is always interesting. Some members' solo efforts are more direct stylistic offshoots of the mother band while others branch out in very different directions, but it is a safe bet that they will showcase the musicianship which got them into the burgeoning collective in the first place. Drawing Songs, by long-time SP bandmates Zach Brock, Bob Lanzetti and Keita Ogawa, is one of these which is a refreshing musical ...
Continue ReadingJaimie Branch: Take Over The World
by Chris May
From Fly Or Die Fly Or Die Fly Or Die ((World War)) (International Anthem, 2023), the final album recorded by trumpeter and composer Jaimie Branch, who, in addition to her sui generis genius as a musician, took an exemplary stand against the advancing tide of hate-fuelled evil which will hit the fan when the 2024 US presidential campaign reaches its conclusion. ...
Continue ReadingMarcel Bonfim: Farewell/Despedida
by Troy Dostert
Although he has spent most of his life in his native Brazil, bassist Marcel Bonfim has resided in Chicago since 2015, when he began pursuing advanced jazz studies at DePaul University. Having been immersed in two distinctive musical environments has lent a wide perspective to his vision, and his debut release, Farewell/Despedida bears that out, with a variety of jazz styles on display, all given their due by Bonfim and his well-chosen colleagues. The bouncy opener, “Casa Forte/Zanzibar," ...
Continue ReadingMeet Grammy Award Winning Producer Joel Dorn
by Chris M. Slawecki
This article was first published at All About Jazz in 1997. The Song Remains The Same If you're a serious jazz fan, even if you're any kind of jazz fan at all, there's an excellent chance that in your collection you've got at least one piece of music that was produced by Joel Dorn. In the 1960s, Dorn parlayed his tenure as a disc jockey on WHAT-FM, a pioneer 24-hour jazz station, into a slot as ...
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