Browse some recent OA2 Reviews.
Charlie Apicella & Iron City - Groove Machine
by J Hunter, Nippertown
There are guilty pleasures that you duck your head and mumble about when pressed, and then there are pleasures that make you stand straight & tall and say, "YEAH, I like that! Wanna MAKE SOMETHING out of it???" For me, the latter category includes any jazz disc where electric guitar and Hammond B3 organ come together. From the moment I first heard Grant Green's 1962 Blue Note disc Grantstand (featuring Brother Jack McDuff on the B3, and Yusef... read more
Stephen Martin - High Plains
by Georges Tonla Briquet, Jazz'halo (Belgium)
With 'High Plains' the young American saxophonist Stephen Martin confirms all the qualities of his strong debut 'Vision' (2018), albeit surrounded by a completely new trio.
The title of the opening track ('Horizons') is perfectly illustrated by Martin and pianist Peter Schlamb . Together they thoughtfully draw out the contours of the decor, thoughtfully supported by bassist Ben Leifer and drummer David Hawkins . Step by step they introduce... read more
Steve Owen - Stand Up Eight
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Who likes Bill Holman? Owen has an interesting concept here. The crack arranger also has a day job as an educator. He brought together his other jazzbo pals, who are also educators, to show that there's no dust on them even as they spend more time at the podium than the bandstand. A solidly fine work of sitting down jazz that manages to be musically advanced without losing you along the way. Putting his all into this effort, all that's... read more
Electric Squeezebox Orchestra - Cheap Rent
by Andrew Gilbert, San Jose Mercury News
When trumpeter Erik Jekabson started a regular big-band session at the Musicians Union building in San Francisco with trombonist Jeanne Geiger a few years ago, he had no plans or ambitions about seeking out any gigs.
But union president David Schoenbrun took note of the combo's adventurous spirit, and when New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars accordionist Glenn Hartman mentioned that he was looking for a house big band for the new North Beach venue... read more
Kristen Strom - Moving Day: The Music of John Shifflett
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
The esteemed bassist John Shifflett was for roughly thirty years a mainstay in countless San Francisco Bay Area sessions and recordings until his untimely passing in April 2017. Gone, that's true, but far from forgotten. Shifflett, as it turns out, had another largely hidden talent as a composer of bright and accessible jazz tunes, seven of which are performed by a number of his friends and colleagues on Moving Day, a warm-hearted tribute whose... read more
Dan Cavanagh Jazz Emporium Big Band - Pulse
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
Composer / arranger / pianist Dan Cavanagh's inaugural CD, Pulse, begins and ends on an explicit high note. It is what lies between those bookends that gives one pause. There are moments of emergent promise leading to others that are, not to put too fine a point on it, less than inspiring. Of course, that is a purely subjective appraisal, as one man's trash may well be another's treasure. And no matter how one perceives the music, Cavanagh must... read more
Tunnel Six - Lake Superior
by David Franklin, Cadence
For a group of players that individually live all over North America, Tunnel Six shows remarkably skillful ensemble interaction. This is the first recording by the band, whose members first played together at a Jazz Workshop at the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada, in 2009, although they have toured in both Canada and the United States. Their compositions, all by band members, are quite tuneful, but also sophisticated formally and metrically.... read more
Rich Pellegrin - Down
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
In an All About Jazz review of pianist/bandleader Richard Pellegrin's Episodes IV-V (OA2 Records, 2015), the author states that Pellegrin's style lies "somewhere in the middle of the spectrum between jazz and 21st century classical music." That also holds true with Down, the third quintet offering from the Assistant Professor at Florida State University.
And if the music leans in the direction of jazz, it's of the accessible avant-garde... read more
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