Music Reviews

Jazz.com offers the most comprehensive and detailed guide to jazz tracks available anywhere. Drawing on a team of more than thirty expert reviewers, we cover the best of current releases as well as classic performances from the past.

To browse through all of our reviews, use the search box in the upper right hand corner of this page. Or click on the boxes below to see some jazz.com's special music-related features.

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A Classic Revisited

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Below are the featured tracks currently in rotation at jazz.com.


B.B. King

B.B. King - "Get These Blues Off Me"

B.B. Kings shows on this track from his new One Kind Favor CD that he is still the master of the medium-tempo blues. Reviewed here by Ted Gioia

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Donny McCaslin

Donny McCaslin - "The Champion"

This is potent music, and one more sign that Donny McCaslin has arrived in the elite ranks of the jazz world. Reviewed here by Ted Gioia

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Aaron Parks

Aaron Parks - "Peaceful Warrior"

Aaron Parks moves from pastoral moods to slash-and-burn jazz in this stellar track from his Blue Note leader date. Reviewed here by Ted Gioia

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Alyssa Graham

Alyssa Graham - "America"

Vocalist Alyssa Graham delivers a standout performance with this nuanced version of a Paul Simon pop standard. Reviewed here by Ted Gioia

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Ahmad Jamal

Ahmad Jamal - "Back to the Island"

In 2008, Ahmad Jamal is still showing off his strong groove, and his mastery of sound and space. Reviewed here by Ted Gioia

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Marsalis and Nelson

Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis - "Stardust"

Can country music and jazz really get along? Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis show us how it’s done. Reviewed here by Ted Gioia

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 Orchestra Baobab

Orchestra Baobab - "Pape Ndiaye"

One of the great African bands of recent decades shines on this Latin-influenced track from its 2008 CD. Reviewed here by Ted Gioia

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Cassandra Wilson

Cassandra Wilson - "Lover Come Back to Me"

Few vocalists are freer or looser with the old songs than Wilson, and she delivers another top-notch performance on this solid track. Reviewed here by Ted Gioia

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Brian Blade

Brian Blade - "Omni"

Brian Blade is one of the most vital and exciting drummers on the current jazz scene, and he shines on this track from his new leader date. Reviewed here by Ted Gioia

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Ben Allison

James Carter - "Bro. Dolphy"

James Carter, the man of many instruments, shows off his bass clarinet work in this spirited tribute to Eric Dolphy. Reviewed here by Ted Gioia

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 Adrien Moignard

Adrien Moignard - "Impressions"

Imagine gypsy jazz technique brought to bear on a Coltrane modal classic. Better yet listen to Adrian Moignard. Reviewed here by Bill Barnes

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Moody and Freelon

Dianne Reeves - "Just My Imagination"

Dianne Reeves revisits a soulful classic from the 1970s on this track from her When You Know CD. Reviewed here by Ted Gioia

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John McLaughlin

John McLaughlin - "Five Peace Band"

John McLaughlin draws on some of the finest young Indian musicians for this track from his exciting new recording Reviewed here by Walter Kolosky

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Esperanza Spalding

Esperanza Spalding - “Ponta de Areia"

Esperanza Spalding dishes up a beguiling mixture of jazz and pop on this cover of a Milton Nascimento classic. Reviewed here by Ted Gioia

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Taylor Eigsti

Taylor Eigsti- "I Love You"

Taylor Eigsti rises above the prodigy label, establishing himself as a young lion of the jazz keyboard. Reviewed here by Ted Gioia

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Nicholas Payton

Nicholas Payton - "Chinatown"

Nicholas Payton mixes a sensuously delicious mood of sultry, slow-steamed blues blended with the mystery of a Raymond Chandler novel. Reviewed here by Ralph Miriello

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Marcin Wasilewski

Marcin Wasilewski- "Cinema Paradiso"

What remarkable patience Wasilewski shows in constructing his performances! Everything unfolds with such grace and with a relaxed flow. Reviewed here by Ted Gioia

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Stanley Jordan

Stanley Jordan - "A Place in Space"

No smooth jazz here. But Jordan covers everything else, from light swing to polytonal energy jazz, on this track. Reviewed here by Ted Gioia

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Brad Mehldau

Brad Mehldau - "The Very Thought of You"

Mehldau sticks to the changes, but only for a short while, before pushing this song into uncharted territory. Reviewed here by Ted Gioia

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Chick Corea & Gary Burton

Chick Corea & Gary Burton - "Waltz for Debby"

Chick Corea and Gary Burton continue to work their magic on this track from their 2008 release The New Crystal Silence. Reviewed here by Scott Albin

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Lionel Loueke

Lionel Loueke- "Skylark"

The song may be by Hoagy Carmichael, but the attitude on this track is distinctly world fusion. Reviewed here by Ted Gioia

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