Browse some recent OA2 Reviews.
LP and the Vinyl - Heard and Seen
by Frank Kocher, San Diego Troubadour
Jazz lovers are in for a treat: the Danny Green Trio is established as a solid presence in the San Diego area jazz scene, with five CD releases and well-earned international recognition. Leonard Patton likewise has a considerable cachet as an expressive jazz, gospel, and blues singer, with several of his own solo recordings, and has been heard with such local jazz luminaries as Peter Sprague and Geoffrey Keezer. No surprise that when both... read more
Laura Welland - Love Is Never Out Of Season
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
In lot of years of listening I've come across a couple of five star takes on Fats Waller's classic song "Honeysuckle Rose": Benny's Goodman's extended, loose-limbed, rollicking live version on Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert; and Louis Armstrong and Velma Middleton's good time rendition -- featuring a characteristic pinpoint precision trumpet solo by Pops -- on Satch Plays Fats. Now I've found a third.
Vocalist Laura Welland chose the classic to... 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
Sara Leib - Secret Love
by Christopher Loudon, Jazz Times
In 2003, when a 22-year-old Sara Leib made her recording debut with It's Not the Moon, she exhibited a tendency to favor style over substance, a not-uncommon pitfall among even the most gifted neophytes. All these years later the habit persists, though nowhere near as markedly. Leib's penchant for playing with time signatures makes for some intriguing choices, all propelled by an exceptional team of musicians including pianists Taylor... read more
Gordon Lee with the Mel Brown Septet - Tuesday Night
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
I bet you didn't know that Portland Oregon has a cooking jazz scene. They even have an annual festival, rain or shine! Here, you've got local hero Gordon Lee on piano along with drummer Mel Brown's band of Derek Sims/tp, Renato Caranto/ts, John Nastos/as, Stan Bock/tb and Andre St. James/b sizzling through Lee's material that has a hard bop heartbeat. With a full horn front line, you get some great harmonies on material like the exotic... read more
Ben Markley - Basic Economy
by Paul Rauch, All About Jazz
4-STARS Pianist/composer Ben Markley has enough jazz pedigree to draw interest from jazz fans on an international level. After all, he has performed with such notables as Brian Lynch, Terell Stafford, and Eddie Henderson. His work on the jazz scene in Denver is well regarded, as is his work as Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, not what one would call a hotbed of jazz music.
It was Markley's most recent... read more
JazzVox - Jazzvox Presents: In Your Own Backyard
by George Fendel, Jazz Society of Oregon
OA2 Records, out of Seattle, has issued a compilation of singers and most of them are well worth hearing. I guess everyone has their own favorites, but here are mine: John Proulx, a singer-pianist with a similarity to Chet Baker (but he's a better singer). He does a Frank Rosolino rarity called "Please Don't Bug Me" and also contributes a delicate love song to his newly born daughter entitled "Welcome to My World." Proulx has a couple CDs out on... read more
Charlie Apicella & Iron City meet The Griots Speak - Destiny Calling
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Two bands for the price of one are served here, as the Iron City team of Brad Whiteley/org and Austin Walker/dr join forces with The Gritos Speak band of Daniel Carter/sax-fl-cl-p-tp, Charlie Apicella/perc-g, William Parker/b-misc and Juma Sultan/perc. The result is a combination of soul grooves and sounds that serve as a foundation for exotic harmonies and flavors.
Carter's clarinet is melancholic with Walker on "As The Sun Rises" while his... read more
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