All About Jazz

Home » Articles | Album Reviews Only

Advertise | For Pros
Support All About Jazz DONATE

Dear All About Jazz Readers,

If you're familiar with All About Jazz, you know that we've dedicated over two decades to supporting jazz as an art form, and more importantly, the creative musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made All About Jazz one of the most culturally important websites of its kind in the world reaching hundreds of thousands of readers every month. However, to expand our offerings and develop new means to foster jazz discovery we need your help.

You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky Google ads PLUS deliver exclusive content and provide access to future articles for a full year! This combination will not only improve your AAJ experience, it will allow us to continue to rigorously build on the great work we first started in 1995. Read on to view our project ideas...

Articles | Popular | Future

LIVE REVIEWS

Brussels Jazz Festival 2018

Read "Brussels Jazz Festival 2018" reviewed by Martin Longley

Brussels Jazz Festival Flagey, Ixelles Belgium January 11-20, 2018 The 10-day Brussels Jazz Festival is held at Flagey, an arts complex in Ixelles, which lies south-east of the city centre. It's an eye-catching Art Deco building from the late 1930s, created by architect Joseph Diongre. This former radio and television studio has the look of a steamship, illuminated from inside with mood lighting glowing through its windows, in different hues for different ...

ALBUM REVIEWS

Marquis Hill: Meditation Tape

Read "Meditation Tape" reviewed by Samuel Stroup

"The universe and us are the same," proclaims legendary drummer Marvin Bugulu Smith between tracks on Marquis Hill's ethereally groovy Meditation Tape. Recordings of Bugulu Smith narrate the 7-track album by Hill, one of Chicago's foremost trumpeters. Hill describes the short record as a “beat tape," and it plays that way, a divine hip-hop vibe always present. Hill's horn--reverb-ed, delayed and multiplied--acts as the MC, freestyling post-bop-influenced verses over the rhythm section's insistent grooves. Hill's smooth tone and ...

IN PICTURES

Duck Jazz Festival 2017

Read "Duck Jazz Festival 2017" reviewed by Mark Robbins

The average early October temperature in Duck, NC is in the low to mid 70s, extremely comfortable for an outdoor jazz festival. Add to that the seasonal tourists have all gone home and the summer population of 20,000 is reduced to between 300 and 400 year round residents. Except this past October 8 the thermometer reached close to 90 with what felt like 100% humidity. That didn't stop an overflowing audience from attending this one day non-ticketed festival featuring national, ...

LIVE REVIEWS

Marquis Hill Blacktet at Scullers Jazz Club

Read "Marquis Hill Blacktet at Scullers Jazz Club" reviewed by Nat Seelen

Marquis Hill Blacktet Scullers Jazz Club Boston, MA August 26, 2017 We have a few places to stop and hear someone sling a horn in Boston, but Scullers Jazz Club has long been one of the best. It has better acoustics than the Regattabar, better drinks than the BPC, and what may be the most consistently excellent schedule in town. They only book Thursday through Saturday, but they're hosting the Dizzy Gillespie ...

IN PICTURES

The Marquis Hill Project at MoMA

Read "The Marquis Hill Project at MoMA" reviewed by Adrien H. Tillmann

Marquis Hill, a native of Chicago, is a highly skilled musician with a bent toward soulful post-bop. He holds degrees in music from Northern Illinois University and DePaul University. In 2014 he won the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition. He has performed with a wide array of artists, including Marcus Miller, Benny Golson, and Rodney Whitaker. His recent concert at MoMA included included Joel Ross (vibraphone), Chris Smith (bass), and Jonathan Barber (drums). Sunday, July 16 ...

TAKE FIVE WITH...

Take Five with Marquis Hill

Read "Take Five with Marquis Hill" reviewed by Marquis Hill

Meet Marquis Hill: At age 26, Marquis Hill is already a well-known name on the Chicago jazz scene. After receiving a Bachelor's degree in Music Education/Jazz Studies, and studying privately at Northern Illinois University, he started performing heavily in Chicago. He has performed with artist such as: Dee Alexander, Tito Carrillo, Bobby Broom, Willie Pickens, Ron Perrillo, Victor Garcia, Benny Golson, Antonio Hart, Rodney Whitaker, Steve Turre, Ernest Dawkins, Maurice Brown, Corey Wilkes, Willerm Delisfort, Brian Lynch and many ...

ALBUM REVIEWS

Marquis Hill: New Gospel

Read "New Gospel" reviewed by Alex Marianyi

There's a new generation of jazz musicians brewing on the Chicago jazz scene, and with New Gospel, Marquis Hill has solidified himself as one of its leading trumpet players. Joined by several other young Chicago jazz musicians, Hill makes a bold move by filling his entire first release with his own compositions. Hill's notable orchestrating skills are reminiscent of Booker Little with a modern edge, like that of Roy Hargrove. Even if it's something just as simple ...

Giant Steps EP 2

Episode 2 No Respect. Kim is confronted with discrimination in jazz education while working at the Jazz Elders Foundation. Bid Daddy reams Manny for booking two singers at the same time and Mickey gets no respect in the movie business. Cast Mickey Bass, Dr. Jeff Gardere, Gregory Charles Royal, Mark 'Icewater' Gross, Paul Tafoya as 'Manny', Kimberly Singh, Zari Veres Royal and Marist Veres Royal -with James Zollar -trumpet, Bobby Lavell,- tenor sax Anthony Wonsey- piano, Mark Johnson - drums and Billy Johnson - bass.