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
Alice Babs: Vi minns Alice Babs
by Chris Mosey
This six-CD box set pays homage to Alice Babs, the Swedish jazz singer who died at the age of 90 in February, 2014. A soprano with a three octave range, she sang with Duke Ellington, most notably in his so-called sacred concerts. At the start of her career, in 1940, at the tender age of 16, Babs (real name Nilsson) was vilified in the Swedish press as a slyna, the politest translation of which is “hussy."
read moreGunnar Siljabloo Nilson: Gunnar Siljabloo Nilson
by Chris Mosey
Two sounds fought for the musical soul of Gunnar “Siljabloo" Nilson: one, Artie Shaw's smoothly swinging clarinet; the other, Slim Gaillard's crazed, frenetic vocals. When the battle grew too intense and he could stand it no longer, Nilson took to drink. Born in 1925 in the desolate far north of Sweden, young Gunnar fell in love with Shaw's playing on an old 78 rpm record and taught himself clarinet. He never did manage to sound like Shaw. ...
read moreTrio Con Tromba's Treasure Trove of Previously Unreleased Recordings
by Florence Wetzel
The term lagom is essential to the Swedish soul. There's no direct translation into English or any other language, but positive connotations of the word include “in balance" and “just the right amount," with the Swedish proverb Lagom är bäst translated as “Enough is as good as a feast." An aural equivalent of lagom can be found in the sublime four-CD set Trio Con Tromba (with Uppsala Chamber Soloists). A chamber-jazz group active in the eighties, Trio Con Tromba ("Trio ...
read more
Giveaway
Days remaining: 6
