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Featured Jazz Articles
David Crosby: A Revitalized Creativity
David Crosby has had--and is still having--quite a long and storied career. While many musicians obviously have had those too, music doesn't always come out on top for many at this late stage of the game. It has though for Mr. Crosby--quite conspicuously. All About Jazz had a conversation with the seemingly unstoppable music icon about his influences, jazz fandom and new found inspiration at this part of his journey. All About Jazz: In the past ...
read moreChuck Deardorf: Hanging On To The Groove
Bassist Chuck Deardorf has gained a reputation for virtuosity and professionalism over a career that has thus far spanned 40 years. He has been the first call bassist in Seattle for most of his career, playing with some of the most renowned musicians in the history of jazz. For many years, despite having a prolific local jazz scene, the now burgeoning city of Seattle was considered a remote outpost in the jazz world. Many touring musicians would arrive on the ...
read moreJazz and the Rules of the Knife Fight
There's a great scene near the beginning of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, when Butch (Paul Newman) returns to the Hole in the Wall Gang and is challenged for leadership of the gang. As Butch and Harvey face off, Butch says to his enormous opponent, “Let's get the rules straight first." Harvey straightens in surprise for a moment and says, “Rules? In a knife fight? No rules!" The script then says, “Butch delivers the most aesthetically exquisite kick in ...
read moreTed Rosenthal: Dear Erich, A Jazz Opera
Ted Rosenthal is one of the most renowned pianists of his generation. He won first prize at the second Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition and has been awarded several NEA grants as a composer. Well known as the pianist in Gerry Mulligan's final quartet, Rosenthal has recorded or performed with many other artists, including Bob Brookmeyer, Phil Woods, Art Farmer, Jim Hall, Jon Faddis, Benny Golson, James Moody, Mel Lewis, Lee Konitz and Ken Peplowski. Rosenthal has recorded fifteen ...
read moreJeremy Rose: on new music, collaborations and running a label
On top of the highly praised 2017 release The Vampires meet Lionel Loueke (Earshift Music 2017) with his bandmates from The Vampires, Australian saxophonist Jeremy Rose unleashed his, somewhat overlooked, solo effort Within and Without (Earshift Music 2017) in June that same year. Featuring the unique language of American guitar innovator Kurt Rosenwinkel, the album demonstrates a very mature composer in Rose, who seems to constantly be in search of more depth in melody in correlation with unorthodox compositional structures. ...
read moreRonan Skillen: Telepathic Euphoria
When one thinks of South African jazz, the didgeridoo and the tabla don't immediately jump to mind. Nevertheless, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and engineer Ronan Skillen has made them vital additions to a range of South African ensembles. While acclaimed for his work in the genre-smashing South African ensemble Babu, Skillen has engaged in a wide range of highly influential projects in South Africa and abroad, from the meditative collaboration with Dave Ledbetter, Deep South, to the electronica-infused ...
read moreBig in Japan, Part 3: Satoko Fujii’s Year of Living Dangerously
In the first two parts of this series we looked at the origins of jazz in Japan and its adherence to the American style of composing, arranging and playing. Though jazz has been popular in Japan from the earliest days, it was--as in the United States--hardly met with unanimous approval in a country that prized classical and indigenous folk music. Yamada Kôsaku, Japan's best-known composer and conductor of the '20s through the '40s, disparaged jazz as “noisy and obscene." The ...
read more2018: The Year in Jazz
The year 2018 was a busy one for the jazz world. The genre's version of the #MeToo movement resulted in a new Code of Conduct and other efforts to make the music workplace more equitable. International Jazz Day brought its biggest stage to St. Petersburg, Russia. The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, which ran a high-profile performance competition for more than 30 years and co-produces International Jazz Day, announced a significant name change. The New Orleans financial scandal focusing on ...
read moreJazz in 1's and 0's
If one were to happen by the GeniusDome, providing you could navigate the gauntlet of traps and snares leading to the door and pass muster by my parakeet Al Neri, you'd be greeted warmly and welcomed into my inner sanctum. You'd notice a veritable forest of guitars, an inexplicable collection of hot sauces and Barbecue sauces, empty Coke Zero bottles, and racks upon racks of DVDs. You'd see the vaunted Magic Chair, where Your Own Personal Genius relaxes when away ...
read moreFrancesco Martinelli: European Jazz - Tales of Etruscan Vases, Arias And Resistance
Few have attempted to tackle the history of European jazz in any meaningful way. That's hardly surprising given the size of the task. How do you address the jazz history of over forty countries in a succinct and logical manner? How do you manage to throw light on all the major personalities at the expense of many lesser known musicans and still retain a balanced narrative? What weight should you give to the geo-political and socio-economic circumstances peculiar ...
read moreProvocalists
Dear Mr. P.C.: I just played a gig with a vocalist who chose to open the set with “Misty." He announced it to the audience by saying “Here's a song that needs no introduction." My question is, how were we supposed to start it? --I Can't Get Started Dear ICGS: Here's the thing: His announcement itself was an introduction, a miraculous bit of self-fulfilling irony. So at that point if “Misty" ...
read moreFalcarragh Winter Jazz Festival 2018
Falcarragh Winter Jazz Festival Various Venues Falcarragh, Ireland December 7-8, 2018 It only rained twice during the inaugural Falcarragh Winter Jazz Festival--all day Friday, and then all day Saturday. Still, no amount of rain or wind could dampen the spirits of those who turned out to support this bold initiative by local lads Conor and Micheal Murray. Bold because jazz doesn't have any footing in this small town seeped in Irish folk music, country ...
read moreAlbum Showcase
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East Of The Sun by Michael Kocour
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Jazz Story
I love jazz because it is musically complex, emotional, and challenges me. I was first exposed to jazz later in life, at around 29 years old. I met Barry Harris, Roy Hargrove, and Johnny O'Neal sitting in at jams in NYC
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By Kristin Callahan
Member since: 2015
