Browse some recent OA2 Reviews.
Danny Green - Altered Narratives
by Editor, Love London Love Culture
On this fourth album from Danny Green, the music is lighthearted and playful throughout adding a glimmer of sunshine to the listener's life. This album is not simply a celebration of jazz music but also music of the classical genre, which delicately flows through all of the songs on the record. Danny Green, Justin Grinnell and Julien Cantelm have managed to create a lighthearted collection of songs that is consistent in the quality of... read more
Mark Quint - The Principle of Uncertainty
by Adam Greenburg, All Music Guide
The sophomore album from Mark Quint, a jazz vocalist that's made the rounds from LA to Chicago and back and recently settled into the Seattle scene. The compositions are a split effort between Quint and Brazilian transplant Marco de Carvalho, so there's a good mix of traditional vocal jazz and soft Brazilian influences. In particular the samba is present in a number of the pieces, perhaps most notably This is the Way and Samba Groove (for a... read more
Danny Green Trio Plus Strings - One Day It Will
by Rick Anderson, CD Hotlist
I've become a passionate fan of pianist and composer Danny Green, whose trio albums have been among my favorite jazz releases of the last five years or so. On his latest, he combines his trio with a string quartet to brilliant effect. This is not actually his first foray into the trio-plus-quartet format-several tracks on the group's last album, Altered Narratives, were similarly configured-and it was his previous experiments along this line... read more
Randy Napoleon - Rust Belt Roots: Randy Napoleon Plays Wes Montgomery, Grant Green & Kenny Burrell
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
RINGER OF THE WEEK Randy Napoleon is best known as the guitarist for the late great Freddie Cole. Since then, he's embarked on a solo career that is rooted deep in the tradition of classic sounding six stringers like Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell and Grant Green, the three Mount Rushmore gents that are given tribute on this sublimely swinging album.
He works with a pair of rhythm sections, dividing up the material with Xavier... read more
Rosana Eckert - Sailing Home
by Dr. Debra Jan Bibel, Amazon
5-STARS Texan vocalist Rosana Eckert has produced in this, her fourth album, a collection of personal, sweet, and amusing songs with diverse arrangements: New Orleans funk, bossa nova, sassy soul, romantic folk, Tex-Mex cumbia, and dreamy ballads. With one exception, she wrote the music and nearly all the lyrics, her husband and percussionist Gary Eckert and keyboardist Peter Eldridge contributing otherwise. The tune Waiting, with... read more
Mark Buselli - Untold Stories
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
The unique thing this trumpeter brings to the bandstand is that he sounds like he could have been a student of Miles but he isn�t trying to ape Miles. What a cool fine line to be able to tread. One of those cats with a day job as an educator that doesn�t let the classroom interfere with his ability to swing, this is a sweet, straight ahead listening date that knows you want to groove even if you are sitting down. Well played throughout, this... read more
Shawn Maxwell - Music in My Mind
by Grady Harp, Amazon
Performer/composer/educator Shawn Maxwell formed his style early on while growing up in the rich musical history of the Joliet, Illinois school music programs. From the time a clarinet and saxophone first touched his lips, Maxwell knew that music was his calling. He quickly became a celebrated performer in the Joliet Central High School band program where his prowess as a soloist was on regular display. Shawn further refined his art in a... read more
Jun Iida - Evergreen
by Nicholas F Mondello, All About Jazz
Evergreen from trumpeter/flugelhornist Jun Iida is a textural panorama of multi-cultural jazz flavors, offering original and known fare. Each of the ten tracks is a portrait, and they display fine solo and ensemble playing. To describe Evergreen in one word is to call it "intriguing."
"Gooey Butter Cake," one of six originals from Iida, opens things in a jovial, hippity-hop, New Orleans-esque groove which develops into a trumpet-bass solo... read more
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