Abercrombie / Ruocco - Topics (Challenge )
Afro Cuban Jazz Project-Puerto Padre Tributo A Emiliano Salvador Yemaya )
Al Fairweather - Al Fairweather Collection 1953-57 (Pid )
Alain Caron - Live (2 For 1) (GNR )
Alain Caron - Live [2 For 1] (GNR )
Alain Caron - Alain Caron Live At The Cabaret De Montreal (Ghost Note )
Alice Babs - Swing It Alice (Pid )
Alon Yavnai - Travel Notes (HBD Label Group )  read more »

The jazziest scene at the second night of Jazz at Lincoln Center's Monk Festival was in the fifth floor atrium, during intermission of simultaneous concerts by pianist Danilo Perez's trio (reprising his cd Panamonk , in the Allen Room) and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra performing members' arrangements of Monk's music in big band settings led by Wynton Marsalis, with featured pianist Marcus Roberts (in more formal Rose Hall). Between sets all-age, all-hipster-style attendees mingled in the buzzy, high ceilinged room. Especially fashionable young couples gazed out upon the lights of Columbus Circle, Central Park and 59th Street and sometimes at each other.  read more »

If you've never heard the music of Lennie Tristano, Lee Konitz or Warne before, then you have missed out on hearing some of the most interesting and unique compositions to come out of the Bebop era. This Saturday night at the Cave you will have an opportunity to experience this incredible and unpredictable music. While Bird and Dizzy were shaking up the world with their fiery and blustery Be-Bop, Tristano was on the periphery of the Jazz scene crafting, teaching and performing his own groundbreaking style of Be-Bop.  read more »

Jim needs little introduction in the jazz world. Professor of Music at the University of Michigan for over 40 years, he has led his Grammy-nominated Chicago Jazz Band for over 31 years, touring across North America and releasing numerous acclaimed records and C.D.s, including a project backing up the legendary Maria Muldaur in an album of early blues classics.  read more »

For ten years the Jazz Pistols have been working on their Energy-Jazz. They are however, still able to discover new elements and levels of performance a fact that not only surprises themselves, but also their audiences.This versatility is one of the strengths of the Jazz Pistols. Even formed like a classic jazz trio the Jazz Pistols have developped a sensational variety of sound which they can easily translate live without the need for loops and overdubs .  read more »

Ian Gillan, Jack Bruce, Randy Bachman, Colin James, David Wilcox among 30 artists to take part in Toronto concerts.

Jeff Healey's contributions to the worlds of rock, blues and jazz will be celebrated in two Toronto concerts on May 3 and 4.

The first concert will be held at the Sound Academy (formerly The Docks) on Saturday May 3, and will include performances from former Cream vocalist and bass player Jack Bruce, Deep Purple's Ian Gillan, Randy Bachman, Colin James, David Wilcox, Greg Godovitz, Alannah Myles, and Matt Minglewood, among many others. Jeff Healey's Jazz Wizards will open the show, while Jeff Healey's Blues Band, the four-piece group which played with Healey both at the Toronto club that carries his name and on numerous international tours, will support the wide array of guest artists. Additional artists will be announced in the near future.  read more »

Three is Marcus Johnson's lucky number. His "FLO ... " CD trilogy all broke Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Charts in September. Released September 9th and after one week of sales the "FLO" (For the Love Of) CDs - "Romance", "Chill" and "Standards" hit the Billboard charts at # seven, # nine and #13 respectively.  read more »

Hot off the wire…

John Santos, Khalil Shaheed and E.C. Scott will headline the 12th annual Jazz on 4th Street Festival in Berkeley, Sunday, May 18. The party starts at noon and runs until 5:00 p.m. on Fourth Street between Hearst and Virginia in Berkeley [map] Presented by 4th Street Merchants and KCSM/Jazz 91, the festival is a benefit for the renowned Berkeley High School jazz program, which has turned out star players for decades.

Here’s the music lineup:  read more »

Discovered by Wynton Marsalis who heard him perform at his high school, Booker T. Washington School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Hargrove recorded his first solo album in 1990, Diamond in the Rough, on Novus/RCA. He recorded four more with the label before signing with Verve, where he recorded several top-tier albums (including With the Tenors of Our Time with various tenor saxophonists and the Grammy Award-winning Habana with his Afro-Cuban band Crisol). In addition to critically acclaimed classic jazz albums, Hargrove also experimented with a contemporary jazz band, The RH Factor, which applies elements of hip-hop, funk, soul and gospel music into the rarefied jazz mix.  read more »

By Katrina-Kasey Wheeler - allaboutjazz.com Saxophonist Eric Darius has made his Blue Note label debut with Goin' All Out (Blue Note, 2008) and, as the title suggests, he is doing just that. The project includes covers of hits by Ne-Yo and Mary J. Blige, and he successfully puts his own spin on them. There is a new maturity in his music that is audible from the get-go. He has created a sound for himself that is distinctive and fresh and his approach is unique to him alone. All About Jazz: You have made your Blue Note label debut with Goin' All Out. What has it been like for you to make the transition to such a legendary label?  read more »