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.

Album Review

Amalie Dahl's Dafnie: Live at Kafé Hærverk

Read "Live at Kafé Hærverk" reviewed by Daniel Mège

by Daniel Mège
September 25, 2026

There is a strange relationship between alto saxophone and marine biology. Akira Sakata, the breathtaking yet unsung altoist of torrential intensity and a marine biology researcher, specialized in daphnia (dafnie in Scandinavian languages), those tiny, endearing-looking crustaceans, as early as 1969; Amalie Dahl made them her orchestra. She knew nothing of this weighty legacy. Dafnie is made up of Jørgen Bjelkerud (trombone), Oscar Andreas Haug (trumpet), Nicolas Leirtrø (bass) and Patrycja Wybrańczyk (drums), standing in here for Veslemøy Narvesen. Dahl plays alto ...

Radio & Podcasts

Enzo Favata, Felicia Carter, Josh Cohen, Al-Sultani-Thomas-Abas, thèriot

by Cheryl K.
September 25, 2026

During this week's two-hour program of jazz and improvised music--saxophonist/clarinetist Enzo Favata; vocalist Felicia Carter; saxophonist Alain Bradette; alto/sopranino saxophonist Carla Marciano; bassists Josh Cohen and thèriot; vocalist Alya Al-Sultani, pianist Pat Thomas, and cellist Khabat Abas; and trumpeter Rachel Spencer.Playlist Paul Desmond “Outubro" from From the Hot Afternoon (CTI) 2:55 Ben Kono Group “Belong" from Voyages (Ben Kono) 6:48 Enzo Favata “Sine Nomine" from Ritornare (ECM) 8:49 Norman Winstone-Kit Downes “Rowing Home" from Outpost of Dreams (ECM) ...

Groove Orbit

A Time Capsule in Sound: Jim Pugh’s New American Symphonies

by Kyle Simpler
September 25, 2026

On the surface, Jim Pugh's New American Symphonies might seem like just another interesting new album release, but there is much more involved here. Behind the album cover lies a story of experimentation, loss, and rediscovery that adds a fascinating dimension to this well-crafted recording. To get the full picture, however, we have to go back several decades. By the late 1930s, swing bands dominated American popular music, and Tommy Dorsey had established himself as one ...

Profile

Old School with Wendel Brunious

by Thomas Cole
September 24, 2026

Growing up in my family, there was quite a bit of music around the house, as my brother John Brunious would be practicing and my daddy would be doing the same. John had actually taught me to play the blues, beginning with Going to New Orleans, first learning it on the piano. Of course, there were records being played too, mostly Louis Armstrong, but my brother was listening to bebop too, including Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, among others. And ...

Interview

Rachel Spencer: Trumpeter Making Artistic Statements

by R.J. DeLuke
September 24, 2026

A person's journey in life that takes them into the world of music and, more specifically, down a path that leads to becoming a professional player and performer is an individual and personal thing. There are some similarities with fellow musicians, but each story unfolds amid circumstances and events that are unique to a given individual. For Rachel Spencer, a trumpeter, composer and educator living in Austin, Texas, it started with classical music. She grew up in a ...

Album Review

Stephanie Borgani: Mímica: Música para Quatro Instrumentos

Read "Mímica: Música para Quatro Instrumentos" reviewed by Katchie Cartwright

by Katchie Cartwright
September 24, 2026

For a jazz singer to debut with a quartet of unaccompanied voices and saxophones in a program of new music is an audacious move. But on Mímica: Música para Quatro Instrumentos (Mimicry: Music for Four Instruments), Stephanie Borgani wraps her artistic assertiveness in the subtle sounds of her ensemble, with timbres and textures that are transparent and light, creating a refreshing contrast to the typical lead-plus-rhythm jazz quartet. There is a comparable aesthetic duality in the work of ...

Album Review

Jon Lloyd: Anima

by Neil Duggan
September 24, 2026

Jon Lloyd Quartet's 2024 album Earth Songs (Ubuntu) racked up millions of streams. Anima sees the group building on that success with their distinctive blend of European contemporary jazz. Reflective melodies, inventive textures and spontaneity combine into a sound world of shifting moods, beauty and emotional appeal. The quartet lineup is unchanged from the previous album: Lloyd on tenor and soprano saxophones, alongside long-time collaborator John Law, bassist Nick Pini and drummer Alex Goodyear. All 11 compositions are ...

Radio & Podcasts

Miki Yamanaka, Donald Vega, Dwayne Dolphin, Jalen Baker and more

by Benjamin Boddie
September 24, 2026

Today's Music--Right Now! Fantastic music by Miki Yamanaka, Stefon Harris & Blackout, Paul Yonemura, Amber Weekes, Jeremy Monteiro Organ Quartet, Steve Rawlins, Russ Anixter's Hippie Big Band, Nicoleyvette, Joyce E Tutty Moreno & Adrian Young, Mike Jones, Donald Vega, Skinny Hightower, Zaccai Curtis, Kay Kostopoulos, Sullivan Fortner, Jun Iida, Andrew Kim, Jim Rotondi & Dena DeRose, Brothers--Nevala--Aucoin, Alternative Guitar Summit, Dwayne Dolphin, Ulysses Owens Jr. & Generation Y, Sir Roland Hanna, Sounds Of April & Randall, Kelly Green, Enoch Smith ...

Album Review

Wesley Stace: One Last Heist

Read "One Last Heist" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
September 24, 2026

With the title of One Last Heist so closely juxtaposed with the album's cover image, the acerbic expression on Wesley Stace's face says it all. Or it might if this were not the same iconoclast who distinguished himself from the likes of Elvis Costello and Graham Parker back in the New Wave/punk heyday of the late Seventies. Then known under the assumed name of John Wesley Harding--a wink of the eye even there!--his all-too-often overly clever attitude even ...

Radio & Podcasts

Chris McCarthy, Sam Blakeslee, The Cosmic Tones Research Trio, John Wadham

by Cheryl K.
September 24, 2026

During this week's two-hour program of jazz and improvised music: pianist/composer Chris McCarthy; the Alg Trio; saxophonist Michael Eaton, pianist Nicki Adams, and drummer Francisco Mela; vocalist Judi Silvano's Garden Winds; trombonist Sam Blakeslee; Brittany Pitt and her trio Shapeshifter; The Cosmic Tones Research Trio; saxophonist/composer Dennis Mitcheltree; and trumpeter Russell Gunn & Blackhawk. Playlist Herbie Hancock “Alone and I" from Takin' Off (Blue Note) 6:25 Chris McCarthy “After All" from Too Late to Quit (La Reserve) 3:02 ...