OA2 Records Reviews



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

Mark Buselli / Claude Sifferlen - Take The Mitsu
by Adam Greenburg, All Music Guide

Take the Mitsu is an almost entirely spontaneously improvised album of jazz mildly in honor of composer Toru Takemitsu, recorded by Indianapolis jazzers Mark Buselli and Claude Sifferlen. The album opens up with the songbook standard "My Ideal," before moving quickly into some more progressive numbers, with the more energetic "Bhutan," and the almost third stream "Syncretism." Buselli gets to stretch out a bit with his flugelhorn phrasing in the... read more

Cheryl Fisher - Quietly There
by Chris Spector, Midwest Review

Picking songs that are well known but not well worn, jazz singer Fisher does a reversal on the usual jazz diva route by making a quiet album of songs you think you know as opposed to giving Cole Porter more over exposure. With composers that rank well above chopped liver represented here, this is a quiet album for quiet times when you want to shut most of the world out. Sexy without trying, this is the real deal for jazz vocal fans that want... read more

Josh Moshier & Mike Lebrun - Joy Not Jaded
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz

The Millennials are here.

Keyboardist Josh Moshier and saxophonist Michael Lebrun, a pair of Chicago-based jazz artists born in the 1980s, delve deeply into the jazz world with Joy Not Jaded. On this fine, high-energy set, the pair and their band craft a modern-leaning sound that remains true to the post-bop tradition.

The set of all original material?five tunes from Moshier's pen, six from Lebrun's?opens with Moshier's "King's Road,"... read more

Ted Piltzecker - Vibes on a Breath
by Arturo Gomez, KUVO (Denver)

The dress rehearsal for this recording took place in KUVO Jazz's Bonfils-Stanton Performance when Ted and the band played to a pack who enjoyed every song played! The next day the ensemble went into Mighty Fine Studios here in Denver and recorded this album that is on the OA2 Records label out of Seattle. Ted is an accomplished New York City based vibraphonist who likes coming to the Mile High City so he recruited a formidable line-up 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

Charlie Apicella & Iron City meet The Griots Speak - Destiny Calling
by Tom Haugen, Take Effect

An extremely creative listen, the combination of organ grooves and free improvisation come together here for the hard bop presence that has Charlie Apicella handling madal drum, Tibetan singing bowls and guitar with much expertise alongside The Griot Speak's inimitable playing.

"As The Sun Rises" opens the listen with Daniel Carter's fluid clarinet complementing Apicella's playful drumming and William Parker's strategic strings, and "Titan... read more

Markus Rutz - Blueprints - Figure Two: New Designs
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record

A rising young Chicago trumpet man knows his notes. With a full crew in tow, he delivers a fine, well toned and intoned workout that shows him as a leader and a writer in fine form. Not afraid to really let the fur fly, this is one of those solid sets where a good time is had by... read more

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