Articles

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

RADIO June 20, 2020

It's Warm Outside

As we continue to structure our playlists around a theme, to look at the different lenses through which various musicians bring their experiences about it, in this edition we feature songs about warmth, something that is no longer in short supply as the summer approaches, or global warming increases. Playlist Haz Solo “Global Warming" from Sonic Boom Vol 2 (Self-Released) 02:35 J-Mood “I've Got My Love to keep Me Warm" from A Midnight Clear (Blue Canoe Records) ...

ALBUM REVIEW October 31, 2019

Kenny Barron & Mulgrew Miller: The Art Of Piano Duo - Live

By Dan Bilawsky

Genius in 20 fingers and 176 keys. That's what we have right here. The late Mulgrew Miller and the very present Kenny Barron each represent something of a gold standard in jazz piano, so it's no surprise that they meshed well whenever they met. This collection delivers three duo concerts from that pair—one captured in Marciac, France in 2005; the others recorded two days apart in different cities in Switzerland in 2011—and the results speak volumes about these two giants ...

LIVE REVIEW October 22, 2019

Kenny Barron and Friends Celebrate Monk at SFJAZZ

By Harry S. Pariser

Kenny Barron and Friends Celebrate Monk Herbst Theater SFJAZZ San Francisco, CA October 10, 2019 Seventy-six-year-old pianist Kenny Barron needs no introduction to avid jazz fans, having been a fixture on the scene for decades. He is known for his own work as well as his participation as co-founder of the Thelonious Monk tribute band Sphere which was active from 1982 to 1998 and had adopted the late pianist's middle name as its moniker. ...

ALBUM REVIEW May 11, 2018

Kenny Barron: Concentric Circles

By Mike Jurkovic

Hard to believe that, as Kenny Barron turns 75, Concentric Circles is his Blue Note debut, one that is as muscular, fleet, and entertaining as any debut by any man two-thirds his age. Trust Barron's deeply-versed quintet to swing like a big band plus, and “DPW" leaps out at you with a jumping, bop personality, the flaring horns immediately announcing the dance floor open, and an Afro-Latin fused rhythmic dynamic that's impossible not to move to. Always a ...

LIVE REVIEW July 20, 2016

Montreux Jazz Festival 2016

By Ian Patterson

Montreux Jazz Festival 2016 Various Venues jny: Montreux, Switzerland July 9-12, 2016 No matter at what point, or for how long you dipped into the Montreux Jazz Festival during the seventeen days of its 50th edition, the sense of history was palpable. Charles Lloyd was present, just as he was in 1967. Deep Purple and Dweezil Zappa formed a poignant double-header on MJF 50's final night, recalling the 1971 fire at the old ...

LIVE REVIEW December 8, 2015

Kenny Barron’s Platinum Trio with George Mraz and Lewis Nash

By Patricia Myers

Kenny Barron's Platinum Trio with George Mraz and Lewis Nash The Nash Third Anniversary Concert Phoenix, Arizona November 17, 2015 Pianist Kenny Barron brought his Platinum Trio with bassist George Mraz and drummer Lewis Nash to perform two classy concerts as part of the third anniversary celebration of The Nash, a jazz venue named for the Phoenix-born musician. This trio, formed in 2013 at the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Netherlands, ...

LIVE REVIEW August 10, 2015

Paris Jazz Diary: Pianists Kenny Barron, Harold Mabern, Bill Charlap

By Patricia Myers

Paris Jazz Diary 2015: Pianists Kenny Barron, Harold Mabern, Bill Charlap Duc des Lombards, Sunside-Sunset Jazz Clubs Paris, France July 3, July 4, July 14, 2015 New York City pianists Kenny Barron, Harold Mabern and Bill Charlap led trios in three separate concerts as part of a pair of annual summer-season jazz series in Paris. Barron was as elegant as always, filling Duc des Lombards with his graceful strength and polished style. Intensity ...