Jazz Articles
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.
Sign in to customize your My Articles page —or— Filter Article Results
Dave Pietro: Embrace: Impressions of Brazil
by C. Michael Bailey
Dave Pietro follows his successful tribute to Stevie Wonder, Standard Wonder, with an hommage to the music of Brazil"" Embrace. This recording is a little-big-band recording of basically images of Brazil according to Mr. Pietro. The seeds of this recording were planted when Pietro was on tour in South America with the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra. During the tour, the band played in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Since that time, Pietro has been back numerous times. ...
read moreWolfgang Fuchs: New Flags
by Kurt Gottschalk
What's immediately notable about New Flags is the notes. The music contained is a remarkable, fast-paced meeting of reeds, percussion, the koto-like stringed guzheng and voice: tightly wound, impressionistic improv, of-the-moment and not restrained by traditional jazz idioms. (And as it was recorded at the German new music festival Total Music Meeting, this comes as no surprise). But the notes present the music as a meeting of cultures, of European and East Asian influences, as, somehow, traditionalist. ...
read moreSteven Kirby: North Light
by Dan McClenaghan
Boston-based, Berklee-bred guitarist Steven Kirby decided to branch out on North Light, the follow-up to his '98 offering, Point of Balance. The earlier CD was a solidly cohesive affair; but on his second outing, he mixes things up a bit, using four different recording units to complete the CD.This approach can be a potential minefield. The utilization of different bands can create a loss of cohesiveness--an all important component of any music CD. Guitarist Kirby solves this probem ...
read moreDave Pietro: Standard Wonder: The Music of Stevie Wonder
by Dave Nathan
Songs composed by Stevie Wonder have been part of jazz for years. But this is the first time I've come across a jazz album devoted entirely to the music of the Motown master of soul and related genre. Dave Pietro, lead sax with Toshiko Akiyoshi's Jazz Orchestra, allots all the time on his 4th CD to Wonder compositions. Anyone who has listened to music on the radio for the last (almost) 40 years, will recognize some of these songs. Pietro ...
read moreThe Latin Jazz Quartet: Bye-Ya!
by Jim Josselyn
Need a jolt? Feel like dancing? Or just need assurance the state of Latin jazz is alive and well? This superb recording should accomplish all of those things in spades. A truly international collective, LJQ sports a Dutch trumpeter, Dutch bassist, Curacao (ian?) pianist, German congero and Cuban drummer. The date opens with “Balor Di Bida", which sounds like the great 60’s Miles Quintet gone Latin, due in no small part to Jarmo Hoogendijk's muted trumpet tone and the fierce ...
read moreThe Latin Jazz Quartet: Bye-Ya!
by Jim Josselyn
Need a jolt? Feel like dancing? Or just need assurance the state of Latin jazz is alive and well? This superb recording should accomplish all of those things in spades. A truly international collective, LJQ sports a Dutch trumpeter, Dutch bassist, Curacao (ian?) pianist, German congero and Cuban drummer. The date opens with “Balor Di Bida", which sounds like the great 60’s Miles Quintet gone Latin, due in no small part to Jarmo Hoogendijk's muted trumpet tone and the fierce ...
read moreRoseanna Vitro: Thoughts of Bill Evans - Conviction
by Glenn Astarita
A few years prior to his passing back in 1977, pianist/composer Bill Evans prompted vocalist Roseanna Vitro to vacate Houston, Texas for greener pastures in New York City. Since then, Ms. Vitro has gained prominence as a clinician/educator and performer. With her eighth recording titled Thoughts of Bill Evans –Convictions, the artist sets ten Evans compositions to lyric, amid two originals. And if you can get past the first tune (“My Bells”) without hitting your compact disc player’s repeat button, ...
read moreChristian Eckert: Double You
by Kathy Pflasterer
In November ´99 Christian Eckert was named one of the ten most talented young guitarists on the international jazz-scene by the magazine “ Jazz thing “, along with colleagues such as Mark Whitfield, Kurt Rosenwinkel or Peter Bernstein. In Nov. ´00 his 3rd CD was released by A-Records, which is called “Double You". Without leaving the band's acoustic base he has changed its musical concept by adding the sounds of the Hammond Organ and the Fender Rhodes. And without the ...
read moreRosenna Vitro: Conviction: Thoughts of Bill Evans
by Dave Nathan
Vocal albums devoted completely to the music of Bill Evans are relatively rare. West Coast singer Karen Gallinger did one for Sea Breeze in 1999 and four years earlier, English singer/pianist Dominic Alldis did a credible tribute album. Roseanna Vitro, however, must rise to the top of the slim crop. First and foremost as a consummate jazz singer she has an unmatched feel for the music by a major influence on the development of modern jazz piano. Like Evan's piano, ...
read moreRoseanna Vitro: Thoughts of Bill Evans - Conviction
by Glenn Astarita
A few years prior to his passing back in 1977, pianist/composer Bill Evans prompted vocalist Roseanna Vitro to vacate Houston, Texas for greener pastures in New York City. Since then, Ms. Vitro has gained prominence as a clinician/educator and performer. With her eighth recording titled Thoughts of Bill Evans –Convictions, the artist sets ten Evans compositions to lyric, amid two originals. And if you can get past the first tune (“My Bells”) without hitting your compact disc player’s repeat button, ...
read more
Giveaway
Days remaining: 7
