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Daily articles carefully curated by the All About Jazz staff. Read our popular and future articles.

ALBUM REVIEW July 15, 2020

Ambrose Akinmusire: On The Tender Spot Of Every Calloused Moment

Read "On The Tender Spot Of Every Calloused Moment" reviewed by Chris May

Trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire rings the changes admirably from album to album. On The Tender Spot Of Every Calloused Moment is the most stripped down of his Blue Note outings (it is his fifth album for the label). It is made with a quartet. There is no second horn. The sound is ECM-like in its monastic simplicity. At fifty minutes it is also Akinmusire's most concise work to date. And while substantial portions of The Imagined Savior Is Far ...

RADIO July 15, 2020

Ambrose Akinmusire, Omri Zeigele, Adam Caine & More

By Maurice Hogue

When a highly respected saxophonist like David Binney recommends a young up-and-coming musician, I tend to pay attention. Los Angeles trombonist Logan Kane and his Nonet live up to the tip on his new Nope, Science, one of the featured new releases hitting this week. Also of great interest are albums from the much-admired trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, Swiss alto player Omri Ziegele with Han Bennink in tow, guitarist Adam Caine, drummer Mike Pride with saxophonist Jonathan Moritz, and another duo, ...

LIVE REVIEW October 6, 2019

Monterey Jazz Festival 2019

By Josef Woodard

Monterey Jazz Festival Monterey County Fairgrounds Monterey, CA September 27-19, 2019 It sometimes happens at the historic Monterey Jazz festival that the “main" and most memorable takeaways of a program occur away from the main arena stage. And so it went at the 62nd annual festival in September--at least to these ears, belonging to a Monterey festival veteran. While the arena roster banked on the high profile and varying artistic merits of Diana ...

RADIO October 16, 2018

Ambrose Akinmusire, Dairo Miyamoto and Other Great New Releases

By Ludovico Granvassu

This week we'll go through a heap of outstanding new releases, ranging from tributes to seminal albums like Soul Station by Eli Degibri and the Far East Suite by Pierre Bertrand, to new releases by master pianists like Keith Jarrett, Brad Mehldau (in an unreleased duo with Charlie Haden!), Aaron Parks and Simone Graziano. Seasond avant-veterans on ECM (Andrew Cyrille with Leo Smith and Bill Frisell) and vociferous rising stars on Blue Note (Ambrose Akinmusire and James Francies).

ALBUM REVIEW July 27, 2017

Ambrose Akinmusire: A Rift in Decorum: Live at the Village Vanguard

By Mark E. Gallo

Live albums can be an iffy proposition. Not so with this double CD set recorded live at New York's legendary Village Vanguard. California born Akinmusire has worked with the same band for a number of years and their communication is apparent. Pianist Sam Harris, bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Justin Brown supply the support and the embellishment appropriate and compliment the trumpet master throughout. In a program that rides an emotional rollercoaster, Akinmusire offers 16 original compositions over ...

ALBUM REVIEW July 4, 2017

Ambrose Akinmusire: A Rift in Decorum: Live at the Village Vanguard

By Mark Sullivan

Live recordings at the venerable Village Vanguard are immediately part of a storied tradition. Fully aware of the spirit of the place, trumpeter/composer Ambrose Akinmusire brought his longtime quartet with pianist Sam Harris, bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Justin Brown--but he took the unusual step of performing all new, original compositions. This is his third Blue Note album as a leader, following When the Heart Emerges Glistening (2011) and the imagined savior is far easier to paint (2014). He also ...

LIVE REVIEW July 3, 2017

Ambrose Akinmusire at SFJAZZ

By Harry S. Pariser

Ambrose Akinmusire SFJAZZSan Francisco, California June 15, 2017 For trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, the band is everything: “When I'm playing with other people, it's hard to produce, because I don't have that relationship. But when I play with my band, it's endless," he told the New York Times in March 2011. Akinmusire has been playing with drummer Justin Brown since they were 14 or 15 years old; they grew up together in a rough-and-tumble ...