Paul Medrano - Author at BestofJazz.org

All posts by “Paul”

The Best Independent Jazz Labels

If you are always looking for the newest sounds, artists, and releases, then we’ve prepared two lists to help you on your mission:

a short one, with our current favorite 15 independent jazz labels
a long one, with about 80 jazz record labels

To wrap up this post, we will explain why we encourage you to follow these labels.

What Is The Blue Note?

“Blue Note” is a beautiful and mysterious term quite often encountered in the music world. It feels like blues, it feels like jazz, but it mainly feels like something that can touch our souls.

In the music industry, “Blue Note” is internationally recognized for being the Avant-garde record label “Blue Note Records” but also the chain of music clubs “Blue Note Jazz Club” with a presence in New York, Tokyo, Japan, and even in São Paulo, Brazil.

But in music, (1) what is precisely the blue note? and (2) how to recognize it?

Satoko Fujii – Hyaku: One Hundred Dreams

Hyaku, One Hundred Dreams is an album by pianist and composer Satoko Fujii. It was recorded on September 20, 2022, at the DiMenna Center in New York City, and it was released on December 9, 2022, by Libra Records, which is owned by Satoko Fujii and her husband Natsuki Tamura.

Jazz December 2022

What should you expect from jazz this month? Welcome to our December 2022 selection of albums that have already been released or will soon be released this month (“What to Wait For”). These albums got our full attention and are worth your time. They are listed in order of release date.

The Best Jazz Clubs In Stockholm

Jazz Clubs In Stockholm: The Five Best Venues

Like its neighbouring Denmark, Sweden has enjoyed jazz music for around a century now. The genre was first introduced over the Swedish border in the 1920s. Despite the poor reputation of jazz back then–people suspicious of this new genre which allowed such expressionism–very small clusters of underground groups were formed to keep the jazz flame alive.

Herbie Hancock – Head Hunters

Head Hunters By Herbie Hancock: Song By Song Album Review

Herbie Hancock released Head Hunters on October 26, 1973, as their twelfth studio album. Soon after its release, Head Hunters became commercially one of the most successful albums in the era of jazz-funk and rock. The album busted like a boom to the people of the 70s. Especially those who like jazz and rock more as this album is one of the biggest hits of all time in these genres. HeadHunters hunted into billboard 200, grabbing the number 13 position. The album was like a breakthrough for Herbie and his mates.

Jazz November 2022

What should you expect from jazz this month? Welcome to our November 2022 selection of albums that have already been released or will soon be released this month (“What to Wait For”). These albums got our full attention and are worth your time. They are listed in order of release date.

Best Jazz Albums of 1990

Discover the Best of Jazz selection for 1990 with our ten best jazz albums released that year. Once again, the albums are listed in no particular order: all are amazing in their own ways. At the end of the article, you will also find a playlist with a track to represent each of those ten albums, plus ten extra, for nearly 150 minutes of breathtaking music.

The Best Jazz-Funk Albums

Jazz-funk is a jazz genre that emerged and developed in the 1970s. It is characterized by a strong backbeat, electric instruments, and often funky, soulful vocals.

Here you will find an unordered selection of the 10 best jazz-funk albums ever made, followed by a playlist with 20 tracks to wrap it up.

The 10 Best Cool-Jazz Albums

Cool jazz is a genre of modern jazz that emerged in the late 1940s. It can be seen as a Californian adaptation of the frantic New York bebop. It has slower rhythms and less complex arrangements. It conveys a relaxed, sophisticated, or “cool” sound, hence the name “cool jazz.”