The number of albums released year upon year seems to grow exponentially, with self-released albums increasingly the norm. Much of the most interesting and courageous modern jazz is released on small, ...

Jazz can sound confusing at first, especially when every album feels completely different. But the best jazz albums for beginners make the genre easier to enjoy with smooth melodies, memorable rhythms ...

If you think about it a certain way, one of the defining qualities of jazz is earnestness. This is one of the reasons why jazz and metal have so much in common, and so often appeal to the same ...

Since 1980, the Montreal International Jazz Festival has celebrated the best of jazz every July, featuring renowned legends and emerging artists. Acknowledged by Guinness World Records as the world's ...

As we hit the halfway mark of 2024, All About Jazz has adopted Major League Baseball's All-Star break approach but with albums instead of homers. Our team gathered to pick their top three albums of ...

For anyone in the habit of touting jazz as a living art form, it can feel both nourishing and a little perilous to stand in awe at the wonders of the past. It's especially tricky in a year when some ...

I always wanted to write how Miles Davis talked: abrupt, profane, contemptuous, in a stiletto rhythm that jabbed and stung and threw off unexpected sparks of enlightenment and tenderness. Of course, ...

We're joined by a New Orleans institution — clarinetist and vocalist Doreen Ketchens. She's got several nicknames — "Lady Louie," "Queen Clarinet," and "Miss Satchmo," all of after her biggest idol, ...

Only Slate Plus members can gift Slate stories. Become a member to share 10 free articles a month. It may be coincidence, or just a reflection of my own state of mind, that this dreadful year’s list ...