Browse some recent OA2 Reviews.
Gordon Lee - This Path
by Bill Milkowski, Jazz Times
New York native and longtime Portland resident Gordon Lee, a veteran pianist-arranger-composer and educator, weaves a mesmerizing spell on this singular piano-trio recording. His delicate opener, a modal take on the Chinese folk song "Pao Ma Shan," sets the evocative tone, which continues with interpretations of Jobim's "Portrait in Black & White" and Jim Pepper's "Lakota Song." Miller's "Sitting Bull's Revenge" is a playful reharmonization of... read more
Kelley Johnson - Something Good
by Ian Gwin, Earshot Jazz
Consisting of mostly lesser-known standards and a few re-tuned classics, vocalist Kelley Johnson's Something Good lives up to its title with a set of vocalist-trio arrangements that offer crisp, clean lines. Listeners coming to the recording by chance, invited in by its warmth and atmosphere, might notice the hints of laughter and the clink of glasses that add to the live recording like specks of dust in a sepia photograph.
Much credit goes... read more
Dan Gailey Jazz Orchestra - What Did You Dream?
by George Fendel, Oregon Jazz Society
Big bands may be a rarity as a professional touring concept, but in the university setting they thrive, thanks to exceptional teachers like Gailey, from the University of Kansas. Gailey's compositions and arrangements for this group, made up of polished professionals, bristle with electricity, as on the pounding swing and horn punches of the opener, "Audacity," which features counterpoint stabs of chordal fortitude. There are moments of lighter... read more
Danny Green Trio Plus Strings - One Day It Will
by PHONTAS TRUSSAS, VinylMine (Greece)
Pianist Danny Green's relationship with strings began on his 2016 release, "Altered Narratives", which we had written about here. In that album, Green had used strings in three tracks. Now on "One Day It Will", that relationship expands, acquiring more permanent or rather permanent features.
Danny Green is a pianist strongly influenced by Bill Evans and some recordings of Evans, such as "Bill Evans Piano and Orchestra / The V.I.P.s Theme"[... read more
Charlie Apicella & Iron City meet The Griots Speak - Call to Action / Call to Prayer
by Mariusz Zawi Zlak, Multikulti Project (Poland)
4 1/2-STARS A 40-minute improvisation bathed in a world of soothing meditation and emitting an infectious joy of playing. The Griots Speak — Daniel Carter, Charlie Apicella, Juma Sultan and William Parker — traverse the path set by Alice Coltrane in the early '70s, while organist Brad Whiteley and drummer Austin Walker of Iron City introduce the urban energy of modern jazz.
This 8-piece suite offers the sophisticated art of sound,... read more
Danny Green Trio Plus Strings - One Day It Will
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
4 1/2-STARS Charlie Parker, alto saxophonist/bebop pioneer, got the ball rolling on the adding of strings to jazz. This went down in the late 1947 through 1950, on a pair of releases on Mercury Records introducing the sound of the Yardbird backed by a symphony orchestra. These sets were later compiled by Verve Records and issued in 1995 as Charlie Parker with Strings. That offering is a masterpiece of the genre it spawned: Chet Baker... read more
Dan Cavanagh - Heart of the Geyser
by Tim Willcox, Jazz Society of Oregon
Fans of Brad Mehldau might enjoy this album, which starts off with the groovy 7/4 "Josephine," which Cavanagh admits is sort of a "Tom Petty meets Brad Mehldau" tune. While Cavanagh doesn't have the technical proficiency of Mehldau (who does?), he makes up for it with beautiful writing and spacious comping and blowing. The only negative aspect of the recording is the piano sound, which seems to be a bit bright and brittle. I wouldn't blame this... read more
Paul Tynan & Aaron Lington - Bicoastal Collective: Chapter Two
by Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
Trumpeter Paul Tynan and baritone saxophonist Aaron Lington met while both men were students at North Texas State (home to one of the major college jazz studies programs) in the late 1990s. Their second release together, with guitarist Scott Sorkin, bassist John Shiflflet and drummer Jason Lewis, has an unusual centerpiece: Lington's adaptations of English folk tunes arranged by classical composer Ralph Vaughn Williams as "Six Studies in English... read more
Looking for a specific review?
This is just a small collection of the OA2 Records reviews. Click here to view all reviews or try to Search for your favorite CD title.
Search Reviews:
Recently Added Reviews:
Jeff Baker - Phrases
by Robert Shore, JazzWise (UK)
Ben Markley - Basic Economy
by Tony Hall Facebook Email, JazzWise (UK)
Todd DelGiudice - Mas Alto
by Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
Ben Markley Big Band - Tuesday Morning Feeling
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect
George Cotsirilos - In the Wee Hours
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
Kate Olson - So It Goes
by Editor, Women in Jazz Magazine
Fumi Tomita - The Elephant Vanishes: Jazz Interpretations of the Short Stories of Haruki Murakami
by Kevin Johnson, No Treble
Fumi Tomita - The Elephant Vanishes: Jazz Interpretations of the Short Stories of Haruki Murakami
by Derek Ansell, Jazz Journel (London)
Fumi Tomita - The Elephant Vanishes: Jazz Interpretations of the Short Stories of Haruki Murakami
by Editor, France Musique
Jun Iida - Bellflower
by Scott Yanow, Los Angeles Jazz Scene