Browse some recent OA2 Reviews.
Jihee Heo - Are You Ready?
by Paul Simpson, The Answer is in the Beat, WCBN
South Korean pianist/composer Jihee Heo's new album is a brisk yet refined set of eight compositions charting the progress she's made so far as an artist. A graduate from the Manhattan School of Music, she's been a part of the NYC music scene for a decade. After considering making this album for a while, she finally took the plunge after re-reading a passage from Art Spirit by Robert Henry, stating that no one can be final, but they can record... read more
Florian Hoefner - Falling Up
by Daniele Camerlengo, Suono (Italy)
What a pleasure to listen to this young training; already now you can feel the strong and intimate bond that unites these musicians who, despite coming from different places and backgrounds, seem to have always lived in their music. A rare find and unique, their interplay follows and draws Pindaresque emotional rooms: passion, pain, joy and suffused meditative moments. Florian H�fner, their guide, accompanies us through his pianism, following... read more
Andrew Oliver Sextet - 82% Chance of Rain
by Brett Campbell, Willamette Week
With his Kora Band and Portland Jazz Composers Orchestra, hard-working young keyboardist Andrew Oliver has become a mainstay of this city's jazz scene. His high-energy second sextet release gets the precipitation percentage wrong, but just about everything else right.
82% Chance of Rain is an eclectic collection, but a year of honing these 10 tracks has allowed them to benefit from the variety of the composers? well-integrated yet distinctive... read more
Rich Pellegrin - Episodes IV-VI
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
(****) Pianist Richard Pellegrin offered up his first installment of Three Part Odyssey (OA2 Records) in 2011. It's a musical journey inspired by travels through Europe and North Africa. Employing a superb quintet, three "Episodes" blossomed from a first-rate collective approach. Pellegrin and his group follow this up with Episodes IV-VI, featuring a slightly more reflective mode, added to the same originality, top level... read more
Jeff Baker - Phrases
by Hobart Taylor, KUCI - Irvine, CA
Art song singer/songwriter Baker fleshes out extraordinary tunes with an all star cast (drummer Brian Blade, saxes Steve Wilson and Geof Bradfield, trumpeter Marquis Hill, bassist Clark Sommers, pianist Darrell Grant, guitarist Gregory Uhlmann, and a string quartet). On top of the cunning lyrics and compelling melodies that make up these tunes is Baker's voice. While it is assured and authoritative, there is a intimacy that adds a final layer of... read more
Michael Kocour - East of the Sun
by Ed Enright, Downbeat
Pianist Michael Kocour brings formidable technique and exquisite touch to 10 Great American Songbook standards on East Of The Sun, his third solo outing.
Performed on a refurbished 1975 Steinway model B grand in a small studio with no added reverb, the album has an intimate, straightforward vibe that recalls classic solo piano recordings by the likes of Hank Jones, Art Tatum and Thelonious Monk. Kocour gets deep inside the repertoire and... read more
Craig Yaremko - CYO3
by Grady Harp, Amazon.com
Craig Yaremko is a dynamic performer on all saxophones, flutes and clarinets. His originals which touch on the jazz tradition while also looking forward are rife with musical adventures. Craig�s diverse musical tastes have led to performances with world-class jazz, classical, rock and pop artists, establishing himself as one of the most exciting and versatile young artists on the New York-area music scene. Through this experience, he has... read more
Erik Skov - Liminality
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
Liminality is defined as "occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold." Guitarist Erik Skov had a good idea: infuse his debut album with a certain amount of liminality (ambivalence) in the form of eight long-form compositions designed to lend his able sextet weighty meat on which to chew.
While Skov's essentially laid-back themes no doubt gauge the group's compatibility, what lies in their wake is a more or less... read more
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