Album Review
Daily articles carefully curated by the All About Jazz staff. Read our popular and future articles.
Daniele Germani: A Congregation of Folks
by Troy Dostert
Ambition is not in short supply for up-and-coming alto saxophonist Daniele Germani. Back in 2019, the Berklee College of Music alumnus committed himself to writing a song a day, and ten are featured here on his debut disc, A Congregation of Folks. Nor are they easy-come, easy-go compositions; there is an innate restlessness in Germani's muse, leading to pieces which ebb and flow with a surging intensity. While Germani is no stranger to other musicians' projects, his own record is ...
read moreBen Patterson: Push The Limits
by Jack Bowers
It took no more than a quick Google search to find that every member of trombonist Ben Patterson's quintet is (or was) also a member of the U.S. Air Force's flagship jazz ensemble, the Airmen of Note. On Push the Limits, Patterson challenges his fellow airmen to cruise through ten of his elaborate compositions and arrangements, a mission they carry out with what seems to be relative ease. In other words, the technical excellence of the group is undeniable.
read moreBehn Gillece: Still Doing Our Thing
by Kyle Simpler
2020 was an unusual year to say the least, much in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in global restrictions, causing people to make drastic changes in everyday life. The situation was particularly challenging for musicians. For one thing, live performances were on hiatus, creating new problems for players who relied on performing live. In spite of these challenges, however, many musicians were persistent, finding ways to make the best of an unfortunate situation. Vibraphonist Behn Gillece is ...
read moreMark Winkler: Old Friends
by C. Michael Bailey
The appeal of singer and lyricist Mark Winkler is not that he has an outstanding vocal instrument. Rather, it is uniquely unique; easily identifiable. Winkler has what Broadway composers once called a “lyricist's voice." It is a voice of a song writer that is honest and genuine and that is where Winkler gets to the listener. A serious artist, he never sounds as if he takes himself too seriously (much like Dean Martin). And, therein lies his charm. Winkler's voice ...
read moreAmit Friedman: Home at Last
by Jack Bowers
Once upon a time, jazz, an American creation, was confined for the most part within its borders. But that was once upon a time. Today, any barriers that once kept jazz within a prescribed realm have long since vanished, and the music Americans once embraced as their own has flourished around the world, performed with increasing awareness and dexterity by artists who have built upon the patterns created in the land of its birth to weave colorful and charming tapestries ...
read moreNik Bärtsch: Entendre
by Geno Thackara
Amidst the different shifting contexts that Nik Bärtsch has used to explore his unique minimalist-groove style known as Zen funk—his counterpart Ronin and Mobile groups having gone through a few changes and sometimes expanded with extra members as Ronin Rhythm Clan—it's a rare pleasure to simply hear him on his own. His compositions are titled as “Modul"s because their building blocks are meant to be adaptable to any number of different combinations or band lineups, and they're no less fascinating ...
read moreEUPHORIUM_freakestra: soundz offfe drzk wähuh
by Mark Corroto
The funny thing about DNA is that just when scientists believe it to be the identifiable signature of all living things, along comes CRISPR gene editing. This technology allows an operator to edit the basic genetic material of an organism, much like the music of Oliver Schwerdt's EUPHORIUM_freakestra. We're not talking science fiction here, more like a Miles Davis chameleon-like approach to music. Schwerdt heads an almost constantly changing crew of musicians that blend a bitches brew kind of sound. ...
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