Browse some recent OA2 Reviews.
Ben Markley - Basic Economy
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
Pianist Ben Markley forms a hip post-bop band with Evan Gregor/b, Dru Heller/dr and featured guest Greg Osby/as on 6 self-penned pieces and one thrown in by the alto saxist. Of the latter, "Ice-Line" is a dark modal piece that has the saxist crying out to the heavens, while a similar attitude is palpable on the ¾ charger "Mind Fire." Markley gets Monkish on the funky title track and bops with the best during "Half Dozen" and calms the waters on... read more
Michael Kocour - Wherever You Go, There You Are
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
The piano man goes fully front and center this time out putting his name out front and his piano in the spotlight. Influenced by greats like Hank Jones and Tommy Flanagan and a sidekick to golden oldies like James Moody and Benny Golson, Professor Kocour is no manqué when it comes to kicking it out old school in high style. Tackling a set of mostly chestnuts that you have to work equally as hard on to screw up as to make shine in a new way,... read more
George Cotsirilos - Past Present
by George Fendel, Oregon Jazz Scene
I'm always a bit wary of guitar albums. Will a jazz guitarist really show up? Certainly one did in George Cotsirilos. He plays gimmick-free guitar, and his trio, with Robb Fisher on bass and Ron Marabuto on drums, cooks up several nicely conceived originals, moving with ease between swinging post bop to shimmering ballads. And always using space effectively, surely the sign of a veteran player. Three standards played wonderfully well included... read more
Gustavo Cortinas - Esse
by Gaby Sanchez, Couleurs Jazz (France)
Gustavo Cortiñas, Mexican drummer and composer, living in Chicago, thinks and therefore is... Inspired by the philosophers from Plato to Hegel, from Aristotle to Descartes, or even Nietzsche, his jazz has the nuances and Couleurs of Mexico, Latin America: melodies, harmony, and also the Chicago swing. In any case a positive music and philosophy, joyful and septic sometimes. An ode to life ... I listen to Jazz therefore I am...
Gustavo... read more
Svetlana and the Delancey Five - Night at the Speakeasy
by George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
It's bands, and albums, like these that kindle your first love for jazz. Vocalist Svetlana Shmulyian swings and sings with a team of Adrian Cunningham/woodwinds, Charlie Caranicas/tp, Dalton Ridenhour/p, Vinny Raniolo/g, George Delancey/b, Rob Garcia/dr and guest Wycliffe Gordon/tb for a snappy set of standards and originals.
Shmuylian's got a snap to her delivery, and her clear enunciation gets playful on pieces like her own "All I Want" or... read more
Will Goble - Consider the Blues
by Ken Dryden, New York City Jazz Record
Bassist Will Goble offers a heavy dose of blues on Consider The Blues, his second CD as a leader, featuring thoughtful arrangements of folk songs, reworkings of standards and classic jazz works, along with his creative originals. His band for this session includes Tardy, pianist Louis Heriveaux and frequent collaborator Dave Potter on drums.
The decades-old "Another Man Done Gone" is powered by the soulful, expressive vocal of Tabreeca... read more
Randy Napoleon - Puppets - The Music of Gregg Hill
by Joe Ross, Roots Music Report
Guitarist Randy Napoleon plays with precision and delicacy as he and his sidekicks present music from Michigan jazz composer Gregg Hill. Following their 2019 collaboration on Brothers, Napoleon's vision for this latest project was to team up with vocalist Aubrey Johnson for a sweetly blended sound. Napoleon emerged as the lyricist for "Puppets," "The Unknown Ballade" and "Wide River," while Gregg Hill's lyrics are sung to the "Truck Driver's... read more
Tim Green - Catching Yourself Gracefully
by C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
Pianist Tim Green new recording, Jeannie's Song, was recently featured in my Nights at the Turntable article, Origin Arts: The Tsunami from Seattle. Mr. Green is one of a growing number of young jazz musicians who are shaping jazz for the 21st century. His approach to jazz is through his bright and intelligent compositions, as well as his careful analyses of the standards literature. Catching Yourself Gracefully, the prelude to Jeannie's Song,... read more
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