Montreal Jazz Festival Coverage including Angine de Poitrine; A New Big Question; Leonardo Pavkovic, Champian Fulton and Donald Brown Interviews; A New Doris Duke Foundation Survey; Songs of the Week and more

We have several stories to share this week, along with a new Big Question where we invite you to add your $0.02, here.

Our friends at the Doris Duke Foundation are conducting a new research study to better understand how generative AI is affecting performing artists working in theater, dance, and live music. To help ensure the voices of jazz artists are well represented, we encourage musicians, presenters, educators, and others working in jazz to participate in this brief online survey.

Your perspective will help inform future policy, advocacy, funding, and support for artists across the performing arts, including jazz. You can learn more, here, or go directly to the DDF survey page, here. It never hurts to appear on the Doris Duke Foundation's radar, so if you're eligible, we hope you'll take a few minutes to participate.

Why We Must Keep Building

Over the past several weeks, we've invested significant time and resources into making All About Jazz faster, more reliable, and more resilient. While the improvements have been substantial, the increasing volume of automated bot traffic across the internet remains an ongoing challenge—not just for us, but for independent publishers everywhere.

That's one reason we're continuing to invest so heavily in the future of All About Jazz. Next week, I'll share a broader look at the rapidly changing landscape facing independent publishers and why the work we're doing today has never been more important. Our goal isn't simply to adapt—it's to build an organization that continues to serve the jazz community for decades to come.

In moments like these, I often think back to something Dave Liebman once wrote:

"All About Jazz does two very important things very well. It helps the independent musician, who is trying to promote product and performances, as well as informing interested readers about what's happening in a first-rate way. These guys know what they are doing, and it makes a difference."

—Dave Liebman, NEA Jazz Master

Album Reviews

The album reviews below represent our most popular from the past week. View more recent reviews.

Omni James Brandon Lewis Quartet	Too Marvelous for Words Peggy Lee	Chants of Rain Mary Flower And Leon Cotter	Paramount Quartet Joe Lovano
Winter Songs Steve Swallow	Healthy Trail Philippe Crettien	Sea Spell Jeff Rupert Quartet	Leave That In There Sullivan Fortner

Looking for an album review?

If you're a musician, publicist, or record label seeking album review coverage on All About Jazz, please read our review submission guide, then complete the coverage request form here. When submitting your request, include up to five AAJ album reviewers who best align with your music.

Leonardo Pavkovic: The Other Side of the Mountain

From July 22-25, the MoonJune-iverse will orbit around Teramo, Italy, to present the fourth MoonJune Festival and simultaneously celebrate MoonJune Records' 25th anniversary, a gathering convened by MoonJune founder Leonardo Pavkovic. In the following interview, Pavkovic explains the journey that brought him and MoonJune Festival 2026 to Teramo. "I love the idea of celebrating MoonJune's 25th anniversary in a city at the foot of a big mountain!" he explains. "Since 2026 coincides with MoonJune's 25th anniversary, it's a celebratory event for my record label and booking agency," he continues. "The MoonJune festivals have been like everything else in my life: they arise by chance, but there's always a good reason for it." The main reason is because, in the MoonJune-iverse, friends make music that they like for other friends who like it. Everything is connected—and nothing is ordinary. Continue reading...

The Art of Swing: A Conversation with Champian Fulton

There are some musicians who seem completely at home in the language of jazz, and Champian Fulton is certainly one of them. As both a pianist and vocalist, she's built a career on bringing the Great American Songbook to life with elegance, swing, and an unmistakable sense of joy. Her performances feel rooted in the tradition, but they're never nostalgic—they're fresh, spontaneous, and distinctly her own. Born in Oklahoma, Champian grew up surrounded by music. Her father, jazz trumpeter and educator Stephen Fulton, introduced her to the music at an early age, and that early foundation has grown into an international career. Today, she's a familiar presence on stages around the world, from intimate jazz clubs to major festivals, and her recordings continue to earn praise for their musicianship, warmth, and authenticity. Continue reading...

Donald Brown: Delaney Inspirations

Donald Brown—renowned pianist, composer, and longtime University of Tennessee professor—brings a deeply personal and culturally resonant vision to his recording Donald Brown and Knoxville Celebrate Beauford Delaney (Kendoray, 2026) inspired by the life and artistry of Knoxville-born painter Beauford Delaney. In partnership with the University of Tennessee Libraries' Boundless: Artists in the Archives program, Brown immersed himself in Delaney's archival materials and artwork, allowing the Boundless initiative to serve as both catalyst and creative framework for the project. In this interview, he describes the challenges and rewards of the project and how the local jazz community helped to elevate the recording. Continue reading...

Andrea Goretti and Sivan Arbel: Bazrima

Andrea Goretti and Sivan Arbel met at a jazz festival in Israel. They got on well and had enough in common musically that Arbel would travel a few months later to join Goretti in northern Italy. She has always had a soft spot for Italy and its people, but still, this would be a step into the unknown. "I thought this was going to be either fantastic or really horrible," she revealed. Goretti graduated in classical piano and later in jazz piano. He has released two solo piano albums featuring original music, improvisations, and reworkings of music from the '20s, as well as a trio album with saxophonist Gabriele Fava and drummer Giacomo Ganzerli featuring his original compositions. Arbel is an Israeli vocalist, composer, and arranger whose work blends jazz, global influences, and expressive movement. Continue reading...

Is That Even Jazz?

The question has accompanied jazz almost from its beginnings. Nearly every generation has questioned whether new forms of jazz were "really jazz." One of the most versatile musical genres, jazz has always been defined by transformation: improvisation, experimentation and a constant search for new forms of expression. From bebop's rejection of swing conventions to free jazz's departure from conventional harmonic structures and rhythmic frameworks, from jazz fusion to contemporary collaborations with hip-hop, electronic music, and classical traditions, jazz has continuously reinvented itself. Continue reading, then comment...

Songs of the Week

Something cinematic in scope to a rhythmic charmer. Enjoy them.

Top Songs

The songs below represent the most heard in the past four weeks. View the Song of the Day archive.

IT's Gotta B U! From the album It's Gotta B U! By Tony Adamo	One For Steve From the album Steps Taken By Eli Howell	Freddie Freeloader From the album Freddie Freeloader By David Garfield	Warrior From the album Best of EMP Project By EMP Project
Ethics Unimposed From the album Ethics Unimposed By Andrei Marian	Estrellita, Silencio! From the album Mokka And The Daily Two By Ben Blankenship	Four Seas From the album Mridhangit By Rahul Mukerji	Goodbye Mr. Evans From the album The Ghost, the King and I featuring Scott Hamilton & Strings By Rob van Bavel

Choice Content

Festival International de Jazz de Montréal 2026 (read); Melissa Aldana Quartet at Wave Hill (read); Cool Heat: Anita O'Day And Her Dangerous Jazz Life (read); Lizz Wright at Warsaw Summer Jazz Days (view photos); The Warm Glow of ECM Vinyl: Tomasz Stańko, Bill Connors, and Mick Goodrick (read); Angine de Poitrine: Microtones, Masks, and Madness in Montreal (view photos); Corcovado Looms Large Over South American Rhythm (listen); Jowee Omicil at Warsaw Summer Jazz Days (view photos); James Rivers: A Retrospective (read); Adrian Younge at Warsaw Summer Jazz Days (view photos); Sexmob at Joe Henderson Lab (read); Joe Beck: Beck (read); Blow By Blow: The Jeff Beck Story by Brad Tolinski And Chris Gill (read).

Radio & Podcasts

Tune into our extensive collection of quality programs every week.

Allston Boylston: New Music From Haruna Fukakzawa, Cécile McLorin Salvant With The Metropole Orkest, A Limited Release From Muriel Grossmann With Tõnu Naissoo, And From The ECM Vault Guitarist Mick Goodrick With John Surman, Eddie Gomez And Jack DeJohnette (listen); The Outer View: Sonny Greenwich, Jason Kruk, and Jennifer Madsen (listen); Jazz Crumbs: Reis Demuth Wiltgen, Helen Sung Big Band, TENTNO & more (listen); Exploration: Classic Jazz from Jimmy Smith, Dexter Gordon, and Others; Recent Releases from Chris Hazelton, Cecile McLorin Salvant, and more (listen); JazzNow: Four new albums from Goldings, Bernstein & Stewart; Nicole Zuraitis; Joey Amexander and Steve Wilson (listen); A Broad Spectrum: Douyé, Ali Ryerson, Carolyn Lee Jones, Kris Davis, Ran Blake & Dominique Eade, Bria Skonberg, Tom Ricci, Roni Ben-Hur & More (listen); The Stereo Image: Robert Corn-Revere: The Lawyer Who Plays Tuba And Pardoned Lenny Bruce (listen); One Man's Jazz: Pat Thomas, Reza Askari & Mali Obomsawin (listen); Neon Jazz: Bria Skonberg, Jacob Gurevitsch, Jesse Davis & Back Alley Brass Band (listen); Bitches Brew: Remembering Rodney Holmes, Jeremy Green, Aurora Clara, Rahul Mukerji and much more (listen); Mondo Jazz: Alicia Waller, Ahn Trio, Tal Mashiach, Joel Ross & More (listen); The Tonearm: Steven Bernstein: The Trumpet's Blank Slate (listen); Jazz Connections: Sonny Rollins tribute, part I: Sonny in the '50s (listen); Jazz On The Tyne: Jo Harrop, Jamie McCredie, Pat Metheny, And More (listen); Live At The Bop Stop: Zach Brock and Bob Lanzetti (listen); World of Jazz: New Music From Ralph Alessi, Columbia Icefield, Flavio Zanuttini And More (listen); Ben Boddie On Jazz: Emmet Cohen, Helen Sung, Brad Goode, Conrad Herwig and more (listen); The Jazz Disturbance: Ran Blake & Dominique Eade, Joe Fiedler, Chris von Voorst van Beest, Satoko Fujii (listen); Rotations: Can, Steven Bernstein, Hen Ogledd, Scrimshire, Cento Threeo, And More. (listen).

News Announcements

Timely announcements covering new album releases, tours, special events and more. View all recent announcements.

David Ling And The New Pulse Of Boston Jazz (read); Terence Collie Releases New Album 'DNA' (read); Doris Duke Foundation Seeking Jazz Artists' Opinions on Generative AI in the Performing Arts (read); Mark Winkler & London's Claire Martin Team For Fundraising Concert To Benefit Animals (read); JazzWeek Radio Chart: July 20, 2026 (read).

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Posted to All About Jazz Newsletter IN THE All About Jazz GROUP
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