JazzMatters: The Best New Jazz of January 2023
Will Layman rounds up the best new jazz albums and cocoons with jazz documentaries, Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues and Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes.
Will Layman
Will Layman is a writer, teacher and musician living in the Washington, DC area. He has been a contributor to National Public Radio and WNYC's "Soundcheck" as a jazz critic. He plays rock, funk, and jazz in the bars and clubs in and near the nation's capital. His fiction and humor appear in print and online.
The 20 Best Jazz Albums for Beginners
If you’ve always wanted to get interested in jazz, jump in. Don’t approach it with fear or a sense that you don’t know enough about it. It’s just a smorgasbord of stuff to enjoy.
Jazz Singer Catherine Russell Bridges the Century with Soul
Singer Catherine Russell is one of the best voices in the world, whether she is backing up international acts like Steely Dan or touring with her small band.
Featured: Top of Home Page/Features/Lists/Music/Music Features/PopMatters Picks/The Best Music of 2022
The 20 Best Jazz Albums of 2022
Jazz, born of the creative brilliance of Black American culture and now wonderfully global, is passionately alive in 2022. These are the year’s best jazz albums.
Growing Into Yourself: Former Jazz Prodigies Joey Alexander and Nikki Yanofsky Mature
New mature albums by jazz prodigies Joey Alexander and Nikki Yanofsky demonstrate the potential and limitations of starting an artistic career as a child.
JazzMatters: The Best New Jazz of Autumn 2022
PopMatters jazz critic Will Layman rounds up the best new jazz albums of recent vintage, including some thoughts about the US festival season and the undersung virtuoso Warren Wolf.
Featured: Top of Home Page/Features/Lists/Music/Music Features/Music Reviews/PopMatters Picks/Reviews
JazzMatters: The Best New Jazz of Summer 2022
The best new jazz and creative music this summer features masters Charles Lloyd and Al Foster, experimentalist Tyshawn Sorey, and young cats DOMi and JD Beck.
JazzMatters: The Best New Jazz of June 2022
PopMatters jazz critic Will Layman rounds up the best new jazz albums of recent vintage, including some thoughts on Paul McCartney and Ron Carter.
JazzMatters: Best New Jazz and Creative Music – May 2022
Critic Will Layman listens to jazz podcasts, muses on Charles Mingus, reads Jason Miles, and discusses the best new jazz recordings of May 2022.
New Charles Mingus LP From 1972 Connects the Dots of a Great Artist
In a brilliant body of work like that of Charles Mingus, The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott’s is more sinew than either muscle or bone.
Aaron Parks, Matt Brewer, and Eric Harland Conjure Form From Thin Air on ‘Volume One’
Volume One is a casual jazz trio session from Aaron Parks, Matt Brewer, and Eric Harland and offers surprising complexity and modern form.
JazzMatters: Best New Jazz and Creative Music – April 2022
Jazz critic Will Layman has been listening to classical piano and Afro-Cuban music in various forms. The best new jazz this month is also strong and extensive.
