Featured Jazz Articles
Ten Essential Keith Jarrett Solo Recordings
by Karl Ackermann
Keith Jarrett is a perfectionist. Perfection and innovation are, more often than not, mutually exclusive qualities and that is where Jarrett reveals his unique strain of genius. He remains the most respected and influential figure in the world of jazz, improvisation, and beyond. Despite two strokes that have permanently left him unable to play piano, his place in the pantheon of musical greats is cemented. Throughout his career, Jarrett has explored a wide range of musical styles, including traditional and ...
read moreLeonard E. Jones: Taking Control Of Destiny
by Barbara Ina Frenz
Bassist and photographer Leonard E. Jones laid the foundation of his musical and artistic ideas as an original member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. The AACM ranks as the most well-known and influential organization of the 1960s under African American leadership that created American experimental music through challenging “racialized limitations on venues and infrastructure" (George E. Lewis, A Power Stronger Than Itself, 2008) to make this music thrive and reach the highest levels. Lewis characterizes the ...
read moreMost Read Articles: 2022
by Michael Ricci
All About Jazz tracks how often an article is read, and the articles listed below represent our most popular in 2022. Phase Dancing: Gottlieb, Wertico, Sanchez—The Art of Drumming in the Pat Metheny Group Interview March 24, 2022 Robert Fripp: Exposures Extended Analysis June 4, 2022 José Valentino: The Entrepreneurial Approach To Jazz And Beyond Interview August 10, 2022 ...
read more2022: The Year in Jazz
by Ken Franckling
Current events impacted the jazz world in significant ways throughout 2022. In its third year, the coronavirus pandemic continued to lurk in some settings, while others recovered in robust fashion. Russia's war on Ukraine was felt by musicians and triggered an outpouring of support for its victims. Initiatives to ensure greater equity in jazz advanced. The 11th annual International Jazz Day blended in-person and livestreamed events around the globe. The National Endowment for the Arts welcomed four new NEA Jazz ...
read moreFrank Sinatra: The Capitol Records Albums—1954 to 1959
by Dan McClenaghan
After stints in the Harry James and Tommy Dorsey bands, Frank Sinatra began his solo recording career in 1947 with Columbia Records. This association lasted until 1950. He switched labels in 1954, moving on to Capitol Records. Songs For Swingin' Lovers (Capitol, 1954) was his first release for the label. It was the beginning of an unparalleled output of excellence in recorded music. Nobody has done it better. He stayed with Capitol until 1961 when he started his own label, ...
read moreJoe Lovano: Cleveland's Ultimate Jazz Titan
by Matthew Alec
Friday, June 24th, 2022, saxophonist Joe Lovano's group Sound Prints (alongside trumpeter and co-leader Dave Douglas) delivered a tour de force performance to spellbound audience members at the historic Mimi Ohio Theatre in Playhouse Square as a part of Cleveland's annual Tri-C JazzFest. Seasoned group interplay between drummer Rudy Royston, bassist Matt Penman, and pianist Leo Genovese characterized the quintet's languid execution of modern bop-fueled repertoire and served as the perfect complement to the colorfully virtuosic musical conversations between Lovano ...
read moreProducer Sun Chung: Always Listening for a Story
by Tyran Grillo
On April 28, 2021, a quiet masterpiece marked the end of an era--and the beginning of another. Hanamichi was to be the last studio recording of Japanese pianist Masabumi Kikuchi, who died in 2015, two years after its creation. And yet, while its sweeter overtones struck balance in the bitterness of his absence, the album marked the birth of Red Hook Records, an independent label run by producer Sun Chung. Kikuchi's uncanny ability to tell a story was an organic ...
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