Browse some recent OA2 Reviews.
Mark Buselli - Untold Stories
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
Ah! The hard bop quintet! The apotheosis of modern jazz is well represented here under the hands of leader/trumpeter Mark Buselli and his team of Danny Walsh/sax, Steve Allee/p, Jeremy/b and Steve Houghton/dr. The tunes are composed by either Allee or Buselli, sans a nifty reading of the rarely heard Ellington piece �Angelica.� Allee�s pieces such as �What About Me?� and �Slider� have snapping rhythms and display the composer�s sleek touch on... read more
George Cotsirilos - Variations
by Sal Giarratani, Boston Post Gazette
San Francisco-based guitarist George Cotsirilos unites with bassist Robb Fischer and drummer Ron Marabuto to create a mainstream guitar sound that will be music to your ears. Cotsirilos's affinity for the blues comes through nicely on ten compact tracks. The roster of the varied artists he has worked with include Pharaoh Sanders, Etta James, Chuck Israels, Jane Olivor, Mel Martin, and the R&B band The Whispers. George starts off with a bit of... read more
Barney McClure Trio, featuring Mike Denny - Spot
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
Organist (also pianist, but not on this album) Barney McClure pumps out an excellent set in combination with guitarist Mike Denny, with some reference to the great Jimmy Smith/Wes Montgomery combinations of the past (though more in spirit than in composition). This is Northwest jazz with an added kick from the small Alaskan contingent of the scene. McClure plugs along with some excellent Hammond chops throughout, working off the simple riffs of... read more
Danny Green - After the Calm
by Bart Mendoza, San Diego Troubadour
10 jazz originals from pianist Danny Green accompanied by his compatriots, bassist Justin Grinell and drummer Julien Cantelm. This is no mere frontman with backing situation here, the three work as one, driving the songs, moving together as they enhance the composition. Ever see a flock of birds fly and swirl through the air in unison? Like that.
The album has different moods, the melancholy lament of the appropriately named "In a Dreamy... read more
Daria - Strawberry Fields Forever
by John Sanders, Jazz Music Archives
A jazz tribute to the Beatles is not unusual, there are many out there, but what is more selective is a tribute that tries to re-shape the Beatles' original music, and does so successfully, and that is what we have in Daria's creative re-structuring of the 'fab four' on her new album, "Strawberry Fields Forever (Songs by the Beatles)". Daria and her crew of San Francisco jazz artists take on several Lennon-McCartney classics, and do so... read more
Kelley Johnson - Something Good
by Jonathan Widran, JW Vibe
To paraphrase the title from a whimsical British Invasion hit co-written by Carole King, Seattle based vocal interpreter and sassy scatter extraordinaire Kelley Johnson is truly into Something Good on her fifth album - which also marks the start of her third decade as a recording artist.
More than simply an exquisitely arranged set of slightly lesser known gems composed and/or popularized by Stephen Sondheim, Richard Rodgers, The... read more
Rich Pellegrin - Three-Part Odyssey
by Doug Simpson, Audiophile Audition
The Seattle jazz scene is vibrant and open-minded, with artists ranging from Thomas Marriott and Cuong Vu to The Zubatto Syndicate and Jeff Johnson. A new and up-and-coming Seattle jazz musician is the forward-thinking pianist Rich Pellegrin, whose debut release as a leader, Three-Part Odyssey, combines complex and dense structures, cyclical minimalism, avant-garde interludes and orderly post-bop jazz.
In his liner notes, Pellegrin... 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
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