Articles

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

RADIO January 2, 2021

[Long] Live (at) the Jazz Standard! - Part 2

We continue our celebration of the Jazz Standard, after the announcement of its untimely closure. The capacity to appeal to both the beginner and the long-time jazz fan, and to combine the familiar with the unfamiliar, were some of the many strengths of Seth Abramson's artistic direction. Through a number of concerts recorded live at the NoMad venue, we want to remember a jazz club that distinguished itself, in a city with countless jazz clubs, not only for ...

RADIO June 4, 2020

Dave Douglas Honours Dizzy

By Bob Osborne

A selection of new and not so new this week: New releases feature: Dave Douglas with his new album shining a light on the legacy of the legendary Dizzy Gillespie. Nicholas Krolak a great sophomore album from the Philadelphia-based bassist. Krolak is a young veteran of the Philadelphia jazz scene. He has spent the last decade working as a side-man, experiencing new styles, and studying with the masters. Now, he has taken all he has learned ...

RADIO April 23, 2020

A Selection of Fresh Sounds and Some Re-releases

By Bob Osborne

This week we have a preview of the forthcoming album from Dave Douglas which celebrates the life and music of Dizzy Gillespie with compositions and arrangements inspired by the trumpet legend. Also featured are a recently re-released album from saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, her first self-released record; reissues of remarkable big band recordings from Joseph Daley interpreting Deadly Sins and Heavenly Virtues; a great improvised duo set from Karl Berger and Jason Kao Hwang; the debut album from bassist ...

ALBUM REVIEW April 20, 2020

Dave Douglas: Dizzy Atmosphere: Dizzy Gillespie At Zero Gravity

By Dan McClenaghan

The distinctive trumpet of Dizzy Gillespie (1917-1993), with the idiosyncratic upward angle of its bell, is transformed into a starship on the cover of Dave Douglas' Dizzy Atmosphere: Dizzy Gillespie in Zero Gravity, seemingly soaring above the stratosphere, in Earth orbit. Douglas has a history of nodding to past greats: pianist Mary Lou Williams on Soul On Soul (Sony Legacy, 2000), saxophonist Wayne Shorter on Stargazer (Arabesque, 1997), and on a pair of Riverside discs that explored the music of ...

ALBUM REVIEW June 5, 2019

Andrew Cyrille/Dave Douglas/Uri Caine: Devotion

By Mark Corroto

The aptly titled Devotion by trumpeter Dave Douglas, pianist Uri Caine and drummer Andrew Cyrille is both a prayer and a dedication. Like a prayer, the trio resolves to maintain a virtuous approach to their celebration of personal heroes, both musical and cultural. The disc opens with “Curly," dedicated to the iconic guileless Stooge, who along with Moe and Larry reigned as the masters of physical comedy in the early 20th century. While there were Three Stooges, Douglas' composition features ...

RADIO May 14, 2019

Matt Mitchell, Linda May Han Oh, Rajna Swaminathan & More

By Ludovico Granvassu

From bass players leading cutting edge bands, to ensembles with strings; from electronica-infused projects to tributes to Sun Ra, Count Basie and Oliver Nelson; from multi-kulti to straight-ahead. This and more on this episode of Mondo Jazz. Happy listening! Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" Mondo Jazz Theme (Self-released) 0:00 Dezron Douglas “Negroidius Maximus" Black Lion (Self-released) 0:17 Host talks 4:47 Matt Mitchell “Stretch Goal" Phalanx Ambassadors (Pi) 7:07 Caroline ...

GENIUS GUIDE TO JAZZ April 1, 2019

Call Me the Breeze: Dave Douglas and Donny McCaslin Play Lynyrd Skynyrd

By Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius

"Play some Skynyrd." Anyone who has ever performed anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line has heard these words, usually yelled towards the stage by someone whose blood alcohol content is approaching whole numbers, no matter what kind of music they play or where they may be performing. When the inevitable happened recently to Dave Douglas and Donny McCaslin, who were playing a gig in Tallahassee, Florida, they both thought, “Yeah, why not?" Call Me the Breeze ...