Album Review
Daily articles carefully curated by the All About Jazz staff. Read our popular and future articles.
Eivind Austad: That Feeling
Presenting an equal amount of originals and covers/standards, Norwegian pianist Eivind Austad's New Orleans Trio channels The Big Easy's musical spirit through gospel-tinged ruminations, extended blues forms and a healthy portion of New Orleans shuffle on the collaboration's debut effort. Following only a year after Austad's sophomore outing Northbound (Losen Records, 2019) saw the light of day, That Feeling takes up the geographical connectivity of its predecessor, but this time around moves to the music to Louisiana along the Mississippi ...
read moreNir Felder: II
Six years after the release of his solo debut, Golden Age (Okeh, 2014), Nir Felder's follow-up II brings into sharper focus some of the guitarist's more compelling dichotomies as a player. His instrument of choice is the usually more crystalline-sounding Stratocaster but Felder somehow elicits a fatter-than-a-big-ol'-jazz-box tone from it. His style as a soloist has way more in common with Jim Hall than Jimi Hendrix but he more often favors flailing big ringing open-stringed or power ...
read moreMichael Robinson: Lotus-Pollen
Multi-instrumentalist and composer Michael Robinson utilizes a unique amalgam of acoustic and digital technology to create captivating sonic tapestries. His genre-defying pieces are crafted with the rigour of a classicist yet they brim with a dynamic jazzy spontaneity and eastern mysticism. On his fourth 2020 release, Lotus-Pollen, Robinson performs four kaleidoscopic and mesmerizing originals, each with its own distinct captivating pattern. As with his previous work of past years, Robinson draws inspiration from the Indian musical tradition. “Second ...
read moreRon Oswanski: Move On!
In a 1977 magazine interview, New York Yankees Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson (in)famously referred to himself as “the straw that stirs the drink" for his team. On this trio set with organ player and composer Ron Oswanski and bassist-composer Christian Fabian (who also shaped the arrangements), the one and only original funky drummer Bernard Purdie keeps stirring his drum pots to help this trio's funky and rhythmic grooves to Move On!. The leadoff “The Red Plaza" and ...
read moreGuillermo Bazzola: Lost & Found
Argentinian guitarist Guillermo Bazzola's deep admiration for late flugelhornist and composer Kenny Wheeler began to blossom back in 1979, when Bazzola was only 17 years old and first discovered the trumpet player's early oeuvre. His love for the Canadian pioneer of post-romantic jazz manifests itself in, among other things, the name of the independent label the guitarist created as an outlet for releasing his music. It's called “Gnu Town"--a play on Wheeler's much revered 1975 studio album Gnu High (ECM), ...
read moreScott Sawyer: Night Visions
As a North Carolinian, guitarist Scott Sawyer may not enjoy the visibility of his counterparts in better-known jazz meccas, but fans of contemporary jazz guitar shouldn't pass him up. With some smart songwriting instincts and a knack for finding talented bandmates, not to mention possessing terrific guitar chops, Sawyer delivers on the promise of a career dating back to the 1980s that has involved sideman work with everyone from Nnenna Freelon to alt-rocker Chris Stamey. But Sawyer's had several releases ...
read moreCraig Taborn: Compass Confusion
Although a peerless pianist, Craig Taborn has been captivated by electronics since the age of 12, and he scratches that itch big-time on Compass Confusion. The role of post-production treatments in the creation of jazz records has a long history, from Orrin Keepnews piecing together the issued version of Thelonious Monk's 1956 classic “Brilliant Corners" from among 24 takes of the tune, to Miles Davis and Teo Macero forging masterpieces like Bitches Brew (CBS, 1970) from studio jams. Taborn's ethos ...
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