Maceo Parker
Roots and Grooves
Heads Up International
2008

In jazz, the term "swing" is used to describe that special "thing" that makes jazz jazz... continued.

Connie Evingson
Little Did I Dream: Songs by Dave Frishberg
Minnehaha Music
2008

The late Tip O'Neill once said, "All politics is local." This certainly can be said for jazz also... continued.

The Ellis Marsalis Quartet
An Open Letter to Thelonious
ELM Music
2008

Thelonious Monk is jazz's biggest enigma. Called the "high priest of bebop," the jazz Monk composed and performed was anything but... continued.

Art Pepper
Art Pepper: Unreleased Art, Vol. III; The Croydon Concert, May 14, 1981
Widow's Taste
2008

Laurie Pepper, widow of alto saxophonist Art Pepper, has single-handedly made the most significant contribution to her late husband's legacy... continued.

Uri Caine
The Othello Syndrome
Winter and Winter
2008

Uri Caine, in his own unique way, surveyed music from the Classical era with The Classical Variations (Winter & Winter, 2008)... continued.

Trio West
An Upper Westside Story
Yummy House Records
2008

Tobias Gebb and Trio West debuted on disc with Trio West Plays Holiday Songs (Yummy House Records, 2007)... continued.

Perez
It's Happenin'
Zoho Music
2008

Diana Perez is the new voice of this bunch, in spite of the fact she has been actively performing as both actor and vocalist for several years... continued.

The Roy Hargrove Quintet
Earfood
Emarcy
2008

Trumpeter Roy Hargrove emerged into jazz consciousness as one of the "young lions" who beamed into the late 1980s and early 1990s... continued.

The Carla Bley Big Band
Appearing Nightly
Watt
2008

Bandleader and musical provocateur Carla Bley is the Hector Berlioz of jazz. Her command of her large ensembles is complete and potent... continued.

The James Moody & Hank Jones Quartet
Our Delight
IPO Records
2008

Are there any other two jazz musicians whose presence on a recording gives it more urbanity and class than pianist Hank Jones and reed player James Moody... continued.

Lee Konitz and Minsarah
Deep Lee
Enja Records
2008

Alto saxophonist Lee Konitz (born 1927) is only one of two living musicians out of the original twelve who took part in... continued.

Corey Christiansen
Roll With It
Origin Records
2008

If jazz is America's soundtrack, periodically updated by tonal seismic shifts, then Corey Christiansen's third release, Roll With It... continued.

Bill Cunliffe
The Blues and The Abstract Truth, Take 2
Resonance Records
2008

Oliver Nelson (1932-1975) was a saxophonist, arranger, and composer who seemed everywhere in the 1960s... continued.

Enough of my own writing. There were many recordings I listened to but had no time to review. All About Jazz is teaming with crack writers and here is a baker's doven of them:

Carla Bley
The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu
Watt
2008
Reviewed by John Kelman

Once Carla Bley finds musicians she likes, she sticks with them. Bassist Steve Swallow, also Bley’s life partner, dates back... continued.

Gov't Mule
Holy Haunted House
Independent
2008
Reviewed by Doug Collette

It's hardly a surprise that Gov't Mule performed Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy (Atlantic, 1973) in its entirety in sequence on Halloween, 2007... continued.

James Carter
Present Tense
Emarcy
2008
Reviewed by James Camphire

Multi-reedist James Carter has been steadily chugging along as a master of many instruments and styles since his auspicious recording... continued.

Marcin Wasilewski Trio
January
ECM
2008
Reviewed by Chris May

With January, pianist Marcin Wasilewski, bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz and drummer Michal Miskiewicz step out of the benign shadow of... continued.

Tim Hagan
Alone Together
Pirouet Records
2008
Reviewed by Budd Kopman

Just as the term jazz is notoriously hard to define, so are many terms within its world including mainstream... continued.

Enrico Rava / Stefano Bollani
The Third Man
ECM
2008
Reviewed by Laurel Gross

Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava and pianist Stefano Bollani have been collaborators for more than a dozen years... continued.

Jessica Williams
Deep Monk
Red and Blue Records
2008
Reviewed by Man McClenaghan

Do we really need another tribute to Thelonious Sphere Monk? Everybody who is anybody in the jazz game has put a Monk song on an album... continued.

Corey Wilkes
Drop It
Delmark Records
2008
Reviewed by Jerry D'Souza

It was in 2002 that Corey Wilkes (trumpet, flugelhorn, cornet) made his presence on the Chicago jazz scene... continued.

Bryan Beninghove
Organ Trio
Self Published
2008
Reviewed by Woodrow Wilkins

Bryan Beninghove puts a different spin on the jazz trio. Instead of piano or guitar with bass and drums, he heads sax-organ-drums combo... continued.

Roy Assaf & Eddy Khaimovich Quartet
Andarta
Origin Records
2008
Reviewed by John Barron

Pianist Roy Assaf and bassist Eddy Khaimovich are true musical soul mates. Much like the legendary partnerships of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie... continued

Sonny Rollins
Road Shows, vol. 1
Doxy
2008
Reviewed by Mark Corroto

The sound of Sonny Rollins is unmistakable. Instantly recognizable when he plays just one note... continued.

Gene Harris 
Live in London 
Concord Records
2008
Reviewed by Jim Santella

A never-before-release can be of great value or it can be entirely forgettable. This live session from London, featuring veteran pianist Gene Harris with a stellar quartet... continued.