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Daily articles carefully curated by the All About Jazz staff. Read our popular and future articles.
Little Big Bands
by Russell Perry
Between the standard small jazz ensembles of quartets, quintets and sextets and the powerhouse big bands is a world of ensembles with eight, nine, ten or eleven players. Famously, The 1949 Birth of the Cool sessions were from a nonet assembled by Miles Davis, with arrangements by Gerry Mulligan, Gil Evans and John Lewis. Bands of this size are a nimble playground for creative arrangers. Little Big Bands in this hour of Jazz at 100 Today! Playlist Host ...
read moreCrosscurrents Trio, Dave Douglas, Aaron Dolman and More
by Bob Osborne
This week a focus on four great new albums from Dave Douglas, The Crosscurrents Trio (Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Zakir Hussain), Aaron Dolman and Matana Roberts. Also a selection of other newly released material and some live Miles Davis. Playlist Dave Douglas “Showing Up" from Engage (Greenleaf) 00:00 Dave Holland, Zakir Hussain, Chris Potter “Ziandi" from Good Hope (Edition Records) 08:15 Matana Roberts “Jewels of the Sky Inscription" from COIN COIN Chapter Four: Memphis (Constellation) 15:55 Matana ...
read moreCharles Rumback, Kuzu and More
by Maurice Hogue
There's a slight Chicago flavour to this episode. Drummer Charles Rumback hooked up with noted New Orleans bassist James Singleton for Rumback's latest recording, Cadillac Turns. In an odd twist of strange, Singleton approached a jet-lagged Rumback in a bar in Sydney Australia and said he had seen Rumback playing in a Chicago bar a few nights earlier. Turns out Rumback had seen Singleton there as well, but didn't approach the bassist who has been a favourite of the drummer ...
read moreDave Holland: Uncharted Territories
by Don Phipps
Bassist extraordinaire Dave Holland's album Uncharted Territories embraces the avantgarde creed of exploration and innovation over chord progressions. Along with master musicians saxophonist Evan Parker, keyboardist Craig Taborn, and percussionist Ches Smith, Holland and crew fashion one sonic twist after the next in a progression of 23 tracks, 20 of which are recorded improvisations. The “double" album allows each of the musicians plenty of room to awe the listener with soundscapes that seem to dissolve and reform. Light ...
read moreFestival International De Jazz De Montréal 2018: Part 2
by Mark Sullivan
Part 1 | Part 2 2018 Festival International de Jazz de MontréalVarious VenuesMontréal, Canada July 3-7, 2018 It is always a pleasure to return to Montréal for the festival. This is only my third year, which makes me a relative newcomer; many of the journalists I have met have been regulars for ten or twenty years. But I have always felt welcome, and experienced hands have freely shared their knowledge with me. I ...
read moreDave Holland Residency at SFJAZZ
by Harry S. Pariser
Dave Holland SFJAZZ Center San Francisco, CA March 22-25, 2018 Dave Holland took the stage with a smile, an appropriate beginning to a four-night residency at SFJAZZ in San Francisco, California, one which would see him transition from solo to duo to trio to quartet. Holland has created innumerable albums and CDs, including his solo bass recordings Emerald Tears (ECM, 1977) Ones All (ECM, 1993) and Life Cycle (Intuition Music, 1982), a solo ...
read moreCrosscurrents at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor
by C. Andrew Hovan
Crosscurrents with Dave Holland, Zakir Hussain & Company The Michigan Theater Ann Arbor, Michigan November 1, 2017 When it comes to forward-thinking performances and music of the finest lineage, few concert series can rival those presented by the University Musical Society. In tandem with the University of Michigan, UMS recently launched their 139th season. Furthermore, as part of its 24th year of jazz presentations, the organization recently hosted a pair of musicians who both have ...
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Cleveland Time by Matthew Alec
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