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Our daily articles are carefully curated by the All About Jazz staff. You can find more articles by searching our website, see what's trending on our popular articles page or read articles ahead of their published dates on our future articles page. Read our daily album reviews.

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205
Album Review

The Gary Bruno Quartet: Live at the Studio Cafe

Read "Live at the Studio Cafe" reviewed by Michael P. Gladstone


Recorded live at the Studio Cafe in Newport Beach, California, this is a nice relaxing seventy-minute combo outing. It features guitar jazz in a fully mainstream setting without any pretention towards newer techniques that might include distortion, free jazz, or electronics. The addition of a piano to the usual bass and drum pairing is a good idea, providing additional support and solo voicings. Pianist Nick Peper, bassist Bart Broadnax, and drummer Raymond Genovese do a commendable job.

The ...

125
Album Review

Ron Kobayashi Trio: No Preservatives

Read "No Preservatives" reviewed by Dave Nathan


It's a pleasure to hear an album that is recorded as it was played. With just a minor dubbing adjustment on one track, what you're hearing on the latest album from the Ron Kobayashi Trio is precisely what they played in the studio. There's no “creative" mixing which, in my view, is akin to revising history constructing something quite different from what actually happened which is the forte of many of today's so called young lions of jazz. Kobayashi has ...

129
Album Review

Ron Kobayashi Trio: No Preservatives

Read "No Preservatives" reviewed by Dave Nathan


It's a pleasure to hear an album that is recorded as it was played. With just a minor dubbing adjustment on one track, what you're hearing on the latest album from the Ron Kobayashi Trio is precisely what they played in the studio. There's no “creative" mixing which, in my view, is akin to revising history constructing something quite different from what actually happened which is the forte of many of today's so called young lions of jazz. Kobayashi has ...

210
Album Review

Fred Griffin: Intimate Strangers

Read "Intimate Strangers" reviewed by Dave Nathan


This album is an exceptional happening on today's jazz scene, 100%, no holds barred, roll up the rug, purely romantic recording by legitimate jazz musicians. There's no hats off to bop, post bop or to modern jazz. Think Zoot Sims, Stan Getz, Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young and the pre-bop Don Byas and throw in some vamp and blues and you will get a hint of the direction this session takes. Fred Griffin, an Air Force veteran, got a ...

201
Album Review

Stephen Philip Haagen: Sunday on the Bay

Read "Sunday on the Bay" reviewed by Michael Askounes


No matter how you try and slice it, Stephen Philip Haager's debut release Sunday on the Bay is a collection of what essentially can be described as lounge music. Almost all the tracks follow the “smooth jazz" (VERY smooth) style of composition: pseudo-funky percussion (acoustic and programmed) and bass work, with the standard soprano sax and piano thrown in for good measure. Despite its cookie cutter nature, Sunday on the Bay does contains some nice instrumental work and will definitely ...

76
Album Review

Norm Douglas: First Time

Read "First Time" reviewed by AAJ Staff


The sound is simple but it is DEEP. You know the smooth jazz clichés: limp-noodle tone, solos going nowhere – you won’t find them here. Norm Douglas has a pretty sound, with an edge – light fuzz in his notes, a push to his phrasing. These elements hint the old-time horns, on songs full of contemporary spirit. His band is light but effective, and no drippy sentimentality – his emotion is real, and so’s your enjoyment. If you’ve never heard ...


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