Browse some recent OA2 Reviews.
Daniel Barry - Walk All Ways
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
For those listeners acquainted with Daniel Barry's musical journey only through his conductor/arranger gig with the Seattle Women's Jazz Orchestra (SWOJO) and their fine traditional, straight-ahead sets under his directorship?Dreamcatcher (OA2 Records, 2006) and Meeting of the Water (OA2 Records, 2007)?the man's music under his own name may be a bit of a surprise. While his SWOJO sound is an easy categorization, Barry's Walk All Ways couldn't... read more
Juli Wood - Synkka Metsa
by Rotcod Zzaj, Improvijazzation
Though this is my first listen to Juli's splendid sax work, it's easy to tell by the first 8 notes that she's a master at making those reeds sing... , and with her excellent cohorts (Alejandro Urzagaste - guitar; Clark Sommers - bass and Mike Schlick - drums), she's put together an album that will be on your playlists for a long time to come! Her sound is lush and full of life's breath, especially on tunes like "Taivas on Sininen ja... read more
Nadav Snir-Zelniker - Thinking Out Loud
by Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
The Origin label and its sister label OA2 have a knack for unearthing jazz drummers and making them into bandleaders, utilizing the more rhythmically intense compositions that stem from a leader in that position as something of a hallmark. Nadav Snir-Zelniker, a drummer from the New York scene, combines here with pianist Ted Rosenthal and bassist Todd Coolman. While they tackle a series of standards and new compositions alike, the mix of... read more
Afro Bop Alliance - Una Mas
by Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes
Drummer Joe McCarthy and saxophonist-arranger Vince Norman have been leading the Afro Bop Alliance for over a decade. Following their Latin Grammy Award in 2008, they put together an all-star big band for 'Una Mas,' the group's debut on OA2. This potent collection includes stellar renditions of luis Perdomo's dynamic "Golpe de Cumaco," Joey Calderazzo's "El Nino" and Cal Tjader's vibrant "Viva Cepeda," along with a Latin-jazz take on Benny... read more
Gail Pettis - Here in the Moment
by Carol Banks Weber, Examiner.com
"Nature Boy's" been done to death in jazz clubs by everyone from Kurt Elling, Bobby Darin, and James Brown, to Celine Dion, Natalie Cole and of course, most famously by Nat King Cole in 1948. The 1947 Eden Ahbez tune - similar to Antonin Dvorak's 1887 Piano Quintet No. 2 in A, Op. 81 - is a curious, all-too-short, mysterious and possibly scandalous tome about a strange, enchanted boy who seemed to have grown up in isolation, far from society,... read more
Lolly Allen - Coming Home
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
Vibist Lolly Allen mixes and matches in a variety of swinging settings with the core of saxist Danny Janklow and bassist Jordan Richards along with some of LA's finest in Josh Nelson-Tom Owens/p, Paul Kreibich-Kendall Kay/dr, Larry Koonse/g, Carl Saunders/tp, Scott Whitfield/tb and Adam Schroeder/bs. The quintet team with Janklow as some boogalooing with vibes and alto sax on Horace Silver's fun "The Hippest Cat In Hollywood" while she chimes a... read more
Michael Kocour - Wherever You Go, There You Are
by Jack Bowers, All About Jazz
4-STARS Wherever You Go, There You Are is akin to visiting pianist Michael Kocour's living room or den for an hour or so and lingering while he entertains you with his singular takes on a number of favorite songs, most of which you've probably heard before but seldom played as well as this. Kocour's lyrical style has a way of drawing one's ear into its orbit, causing time to hurry by as he strolls easily through a series of eight... read more
Rich Pellegrin - Solitude: Solo Improvisations
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
BEST OF 2021 Richard Pellegrin has previously recorded with his "two horns and a rhythm section" ensemble, fashioning a distinctive modern jazz sound of well-constructed, forward-leaning compositions. But, with Solitude, the pianist changes gears, a shift to an intimate, contemplative solo piano recording, shaping twenty-five cohesive freely improvised pieces entitled "Improvisation I" through "Improvisation XXV." The disc's title is... read more
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