Browse some recent OA2 Reviews.
The Kora Band - Cascades
by Philip Booth, Jazziz
"World jazz" is the label that often gets slapped on any project that dares mix post-bop music with grooves and instrumentation not native to North America. And those projects fequently come off as gimmicky. Not so with the Kora Band, a group of Portland and Seattle musicians - several by way of New Orleans - who successfully incorporate West African rhythms and textures into their otherwise mainstream jazz sound. The quintet, led by keyboardist... read more
Steve Owen - Stand Up Eight
by Dave Sumner, Bird is the Worm
A hell of an impression for his debut album. On Stand Up Eight, conductor and arranger Steve Owen brings together an 18-piece ensemble for an astounding display of orchestral jazz. Moments that absolutely soar and others that jitter invitingly closer to earth. The kind of beauty and power that can uplift a listener's heart at the same time it's punching a hole through it. Just one strong moment after the next. And this is a big band... read more
Budman / Levy Orchestra - From There To Here
by George Fendel, Jazz Society of Oregon
This Los Angeles Jazz Orchestra has helped showcase the area's younger jazz musicians since its formation in 2007. On this recording, the BLO presents nine compositions by co-leader, arranger and trombonist Jeremy Levy, and two additional pieces. There is compelling writing and musicianship here, and it will be interesting to follow the progress of this sound and solid ensemble. A note of interest is the presence of the always invigorating... read more
Ben Markley Big Band - Clockwise: The Music of Cedar Walton
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Walton is one of those key jazzbos that's coming closer and closer to being forgotten every day so it's extra props we toss to bandleader Markey for making this a big band date rather than a solo piano tribute. Putting back all the joyous swing that was in these tunes originally, this isn't so much a journey through the past as it is an exploration into parts unknown. With the kind of boldness that makes you stand up and cheer, I'll bet you... read more
Charlie Porter - Immigration Nation
by Suzanne Lorge, DownBeat
4-STARS On Immigration Nation, versatile trumpeter and composer Charlie Porter utilizes modern jazz vernacular to make a social statement about contemporary life in the United States: Our forebears and our music all derive from someplace else. Rather than preach, however, he shows how it works. On Part I: Leaving Home, the first six tunes, he celebrates the rich rhythmic vitality of American jazz forms, and on Part II: New Beginnings, he... read more
Seattle Womens Jazz Orchestra - Dreamcatcher
by Peter Monaghan, Earshot
Recorded live at the Lima Jazz Fes-tival in Peru, at Jazz Alley, and at the Tacoma Jazz Festival, as well as in the studios of the Art Institute of Seattle, Dreamcatcher demonstrates just how proficient a big band SWOJO has be-come. It boasts a strong lineup, with some real standouts, and its musical director, Daniel Barry, clearly has in-spired ideas about where to take the ensemble. He wrote about half of the material here, as well.
The band... read more
Paul Tynan & Aaron Lington - Bicoastal Collective: Chapter Three
by John Barron, The Jazz Word
Blazing unison lines open this high-energy collection of original quintet music. The razor-sharp focus of trumpeter Paul Tynan and baritone saxophonist Aaron Lington, both co-leaders and composers for the disc, is quickly revealed on the opening track "Folklike." The music for their third installment of the Bicoastal Collective may be far removed from the Donald Byrd/Pepper Adams idea of a trumpet/baritone front line, but no less... 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
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