Browse some recent OA2 Reviews.
Gordon Lee with the Mel Brown Septet - Tuesday Night
by Dave Sumner, Wondering Sound
The album's title refers to the weekly show this septet has been performing at Portland's Jimmy Mak's club since 1998, and the music displays both the chemistry developed over that time as well as the vivid energy of being there for the performance. Music that embraces the hard bop spirit of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers even during those moments when it channels a tune through a modern post-bop perspective. Along with pianist & composer and... read more
Gail Pettis - May I Come In?
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
On her debut recording, Gail Pettis shows off a nice sensitivity to her music. The songs, a mix of standards, originals, and lost classics, are given a touching respect. Maybe more importantly though, Pettis is singing along with the band, as opposed to singing in front of a backing group. The piano (alternately played by Randy Halberstadt and Darin Clendenin) comes out front nearly as often as Pettis does, and when the time is right other... read more
Gregory Dudzienski - Beautiful Moments
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
With a few years and a few miles under his belt, a Chicago sax man comes home to kick it out daddio style with a few locals. Sounding like they are no strangers to pork pie hats and ciggys dangling from their lips, everyone knows their way around this sound and fury as this set takes it to the later hours when only the real, original hipsters were on the prowl. Solid stuff... read more
Alex Goodman - Border Crossing
by Chris Spector, Midwest Review
A non-stop Canadian award-winning guitarist...With a technique and a vision that will make you think he's got some Ralph Towner blood flowing through him somewhere, he may not be mainstream now but if he ever decides to go George Benson on us - this cat is a sure thing break out star of tomorrow. It sounds like there's nothing he can't do with those six strings. Hot... 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
Ben Markley - Tell the Truth
by Michael van Gee, Jazz'N'More (Switzerland)
4-STARS Pianist, composer, and teacher Ben Markley (*1981) has become known in recent years as the leader of his outstanding big band, but has also impressed with his quartet formations with saxophonists Joel Frahm and Greg Osby. On "Tell the Truth," he and his quintet recall the great quintet albums of the Blue Note era of the 1960s, with the trumpet replaced by the outstanding guitarist Steve Kovalcheck. Markley composed all of the... read more
Mark O'Connor - Suspended Reality
by Michael Steinman, Cadence
O'Connor and colleagues, heard on 'Suspended Reality', are sophisticated soloists and ensemble players. This is only O'Connor's second CD, and he shows great skill as a saxophonist. However, the CD presents all but two of his original compositions, which occasionally meander (his tribute to wife Betony an exception): the overall result is fervent but somewhat derivative late- period lyrical Hard Bop. But he is someone to keep an eye on in... read more
Joan Hickey - Between The Lines
by Forrest Dylan Bryant, Jazz Times
Leading with a gentle touch at the piano and a lighthearted sense of adventure, Hickey guides her Chicago-based quintet through hard-bop and modern jazz territory with aplomb. She also allows the music to take a few rhythmic detours, adopting a reggae beat or flirting briefly with free jazz. The first four tracks show off the group's strength and flexibility to best effect, with the original tune "Herbis" and a stunning "The Man I Love" as... read more
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