Browse some recent OA2 Reviews.
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
Chris Parker - Full Circle
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
The multi talented piano man does it again. With a totally different sound and feel than his last trio date, Parker has a bunch of different pals and sounds lending a helping hand on this date. Swinging his way around the room in high octane fashion throughout, this crew is having a good time. They make sure you will too. Whatever ports of call they check in at, Parker and company give you a great ride getting there. A tonic for ears in... read more
Brian Owen - Unmei
by Rick Holland, JazzRadio247.com
Brian Owen is a 23 year old trumpet artist from Seattle, Washington. Not only is he a gifted soloist, by a fine composer in his own right. In fact Unmei is a very intriguing compositional debut for such a young artist.
The compositions on this recording reflect a man of maturity beyond his years. Critics and radio stations across the US are giving this CD very favorable notice. And I believe listeners will do the same when they here this... read more
Paul Tynan & Aaron Lington - Bicoastal Collective: Chapter Four
by Dave Sumner, Wondering Sound
A real old-school sound on this one, with the B3 organ of Tony Genge as the lynchpin. Trumpeter Paul Tynan and bari saxophonist Aaron Lington alternate hot and cold temps with their solos over the top. Guitarist Jake Hanlon and drummer Terry O'Mahoney snap right into place with Genge's action, and work just fine as a trio unit when the wind instruments lay out. Some genuine warmth and liveliness on this solid... read more
Ben Morris - Pocket Guides
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Inspired by his world travels, this is an impressionistic guide to spots around the world. Except he's doing it with a big band that plays in a way of his own devices that he writes and arranges for with an out of the ordinary, singular vision. A cat whose work plays it straight while coloring outside the lines, he wants to bring you into the tent and doesn't worry about the ars gratis artis effect. Fun stuff that works on a lot of... read more
Brian Owen - Unmei
by Ric Bang, The Davis Enterprise
And yet another young lion enters the jazz arena.
Trumpeter, composer and arranger Brian Owen, born and raised in Everett, Wash., in in his early 20's... and always has been in a hurry.
He took advantage of the Running Start program and finished high school and community college simultaneously. While attending Central Washington University, he bacame immersed in music, playing in symphony orchestras, big bands and small club groups.... read more
Chris Parker - Full Circle
by Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
Pianist Chris Parker 's second CD release on OA2 Records. Full Circle, sounds like an exciting live set full of vigorous life, something that engages the crowd and gets them up out of their seat, dancing. It's a quintet - common enough in jazz - with the uncommon use of violin in the front line beside the saxophone, reeling out unison lines with the horn, or stepping out in sinuous solo slots.
John Nastos is the alto sax guy who breaks out... read more
Ben Winkelman Trio - Balance
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
Jazz, much like life, is an art of balance, a forever dance on the scales which keep our sanity and existence in check. Form must always reckon with freedom, scripts and spontaneity are bound by mutual understanding, and intellect blossoms truest as it holds the heart in high regard. Only in a state of relative equilibrium can the music find its real footing, its foundation, a place to grow.
On his fifth album to date, pianist Ben Winkelman... read more
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