Browse some recent OA2 Reviews.
Danny Green Trio Plus Strings - One Day It Will
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
RINGER OF THE WEEK Pianists seem to always dream about doing a trio album with strings. Well, Danny Green makes a dream come true, as he wisely avoids the use of the string quartet for "support," but makes the team of Kaet Hatmaker/v, Igor Pandurski/v, Travis Maril/vi and Erica Erenyi/cel an intrinsic part of the collaboration.
Green's got a gorgeously swinging and melodic touch, and uses his trio of Justin Grinnell/b and Julien... read more
Rich Pellegrin - Solitude: Solo Improvisations
by Nicola Barin, Jazz Convention (Italy)
After the prodigious work in the quintet "Down", the pianist and professor of music at the University of Florida decides to isolate himself and dedicate his first solo album to himself and his audience. To set up this remarkable feat, the accent is immediately placed on the dynamics of the piano and on color. The choice of instrument is particular, it is a piano that dates back to 1915 which is located inside the Langley Methodist Church on the... read more
Rich Pellegrin - Three-Part Odyssey
by Dan Cohen, The Muse's Muse
Rich Pellegrin, with his Three-Part Odyssey, has created a rich, multi-layered and textured work for his first opus on OA2 records out of Seattle, Washington. Texture is used rather glibly in music reviewing circles, but seems deserved on this album. It almost seems an experiment solely in texture-- sacrificing melody, harmony, structure, development, all at the altar of texture and timbre. Or rather, using changing and shifting textures,... read more
Liam Sillery - On The Fly
by Jim Santella, All About Jazz
It's fitting that trumpeter Liam Sillery chose to close this program with Lee Morgan's "Ceora," since the parallels drawn between the two stand out so distinctly. He steers this New York/Los Angeles quintet through his crisp and clean sophomore recording project with all elements in place. Swing, groove, cohesiveness, technical mastery and improvisation show up from all parties concerned.
While the program is original, the quintet's sound... read more
Michael Kocour - East of the Sun
by Raul da Gama, Jazz da Gama
From the first few phrases of this disc East of the Sun by Michael Kocour it becomes clear that music to this pianist is the elixir of life; the urgency and vivacity of this performance and the generosity with which he treats each familiar melody leads one to experience a kind of life-giving spark that has ignited our collective sensibility. Every song also benefits from that spark. As a result the entire performance becomes an epic journey into... read more
Debbie Poryes - Loving Hank
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
It must be assumed that pianist Debbie Poryes has named her trio album as an homage to Hank Jones, as her compositions, as well as her interprations, display a similar gentility and regality as the famed bop icon. With Peter Barshay/b and David Rokeach/dr she produces a wistful "Both Sides Now" while creating sublime colors on "Autumn in New York." Even Charlie Parker's "Confirmation" is relaxed and elegant, while the title track dedicated to... read more
Florian Hoefner - Songs Without Words
by Dave Sumner, Bird Is The Worm Jazz Blog
Of the hundreds of albums I�ve listened to in 2012, Florian Hoefner�s Songs Without Words possibly excels best at offering lovely melodies made memorable. These are not simple tunes, but they are simply presented.
There is a congeniality to this album akin to pop music, and the melodies are infectious as hell, but they are anything but sweetness and light. In fact, in the middle of all this pop music buoyancy, the melodies have a note of... read more
Libby York - DreamLand
by Jim Motavalli, New York City Jazz Record
On this, only her fifth release as a leader in a 40-year career as a jazz vocalist, Libby York is backed by an unusual instrumentation—guitar, bass and (on only 4 of the 12 tracks) drums. There's no piano in sight, but you
won't miss it.
The singer has a warm, expressive and mature voice that will remind you of the late Carol Sloane. She's aces on ballads like "Cloudy Day" (circa 1958), written by Marvin Fisher and Joseph Allen McCarthy,... read more
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