Browse some recent OA2 Reviews.
Florian Hoefner - Songs Without Words
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
New York based German piano man loves to improvise and he knows how to pick a crew that knows how to follow. He never takes off into the cosmos and has a solid feel for what he does that has been building him a well deserved international reputation making him a real go to guy for insiders. With this being a friendly, accessible work, the word is likely to spread to the street now as well. Well conceived modern stuff that sets a high water... read more
Randy Napoleon - Waking Dream
by Anne Carlini, Exclusive Magazine
For those not in the know, surrounded by the brilliant musical family who have centered his band for years — bassist Rodney Whitaker, pianist Rick Roe and drummer Quincy Davis — guitarist Randy Napoleon calls back four of his fleet-fingered, virtuoso former guitar students to share the stage and build up something new for this ambitious album, his 10th as a leader, Waking Dream.
Centered on compositions from the prolific Gregg Hill, along... read more
Gustavo Cortinas - Esse
by Gaby Sanchez, Couleurs Jazz (France)
Gustavo Cortiñas, Mexican drummer and composer, living in Chicago, thinks and therefore is... Inspired by the philosophers from Plato to Hegel, from Aristotle to Descartes, or even Nietzsche, his jazz has the nuances and Couleurs of Mexico, Latin America: melodies, harmony, and also the Chicago swing. In any case a positive music and philosophy, joyful and septic sometimes. An ode to life ... I listen to Jazz therefore I am...
Gustavo... read more
Rich Pellegrin - Solitude: Solo Improvisations
by Paul Simpson, The Answer Is In The Beat, WCBN
Rich Pellegrin's last album was performed with the quintet he's been playing with for a decade, with one piece performed by a contemporary classical ensemble from the University of Missouri. His newest release, however, consists entirely of solo piano improvisations recorded in a church in Washington. The majority of them are brief, encountering a momentary idea and then expressing it and letting it be. Many of them resist easy patterns or... read more
Danny Green - After the Calm
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
This is classic piano jazz trio work that falls so squarely in the pocket you're almost tempted to think this was a lost session from back in the day. With a set of all originals, the trio is right in step with each other turning in a set that's a tonic for weary ears. On the money throughout, if you don't like this, you just don't like piano trios. Nuff said.... read more
Daria - Strawberry Fields Forever
by Dick Metcalf, Improvijazzation Nation
I'm not a really strong fan of "cover" albums, but Daria's swingin' high-talent vocals on these classics from the Fab 4 caught my ear as soon as I started spinning them... her take on "When I'm 64", for instance, is really upbeat & timely... very cool! I've no doubt that all four Beatles would be snappin' their fingers right along to the beat on Daria's jazzy rendition of "Cant Buy Me Love"... very nicely arranged, and you'll hear her total... read more
New Standard Jazz Orchestra - Waltz About Nothing
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
Any orchestra that professes to establish a new standard had better be able to back that up. Happily for the listener, on its debut recording, Waltz About Nothing, Chicago's New Standard Jazz Orchestra can—and does. In a little more than two years, the NSJO has arisen as a worthy successor to one of the more exemplary ensembles ever to grace the Windy City, trumpeter Rob Parton's JazzTech Big Band. The equivalence seems predestined when one... read more
Randy Napoleon - Rust Belt Roots: Randy Napoleon Plays Wes Montgomery, Grant Green & Kenny Burrell
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
4-STARS One's response to jazz—indeed, to music of any kind—most often depends on where he or she is coming from. To erase any doubts about where he is coming from, guitarist Randy Napoleon has subtitled his album, Rust Belt Roots, "Plays Wes Montgomery, Grant Green and Kenny Burrell." This is music born of a Midwestern ethos: Indianapolis (Montgomery), St. Louis (Green), Detroit (Burrell). Napoleon called Michigan home before moving... read more
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