Browse some recent OA2 Reviews.
Gail Pettis - May I Come In?
by Doug Ramsey, Rifftides
In her recording debut, the Seattle singer chooses a mixture of familiar standards and less-well-known songs, delivering them with warmth and intelligent interpretation. Pettis concentrates on serving songwriters' intentions, but her delighted treatment of Jimmy McHugh's "I Just Found Out About Love" includes one of two scatting episodes in the collection. She scats with musicianly understanding of harmony. There is not a lot of that going... read more
Dan Gailey Jazz Orchestra - What Did You Dream?
by Larry Hollis, Cadence Magazine
To distort and old song title: "How Can I Miss The Big Bands When They Won't Go Away?" Both of these large group releases have their roots in the college education systems of Kansas and Florida respectively. 'What Did You Dream?' is the product of Dan Gailey's mind; although he isn't heard playing on the disc, all six of the selections spring from his pen and he was physically in the studio in a "hands-on" capacity. As a Professor of Jazz... read more
Karen Marguth - Until
by Michel d'Arcangues, Jazz In (France)
Karen MARGUTH is an American singer based in Fresno, Southern California where the jazz scene is quite active.
"Until" is her fifth album (1st on the Origin Records label) with 11 relatively unknown and rarely used themes in the world of Jazz, with the exception of "Days of Wine and Roses" by Henri MANCINI which closes the disc in public .
These pieces were recorded on dates spanning from 2011 to 2021, in Fresno, El Cerrito and Berkeley,... read more
Randy Napoleon - The Door is Open: The Music of Gregg Hill
by George W Harris, Jazz Weekly
Best known for his work with the late Freddie Cole, guitarist Randy Napoleon has created a sound and style for himself by eschewing jazz standards and, for the second time, has delved into the songbook of composer Gregg Hill. The genius of this idea is that Hill's material is clever enough to pique the ears of jazz fans, but accessible enough to entice those trying to figure out where and when to take the jazz plunge.
Napoleon teams up with a... read more
Gail Pettis - Here in the Moment
by Christopher Loudon, Jazz Times
In our continuous search for the dazzle of the complex, the beauty in simplicity is often dismissed or overlooked. Such is the case with Gail Pettis, an unlikely addition to the vocal jazz pantheon (having spent three decades as an orthodontist before turning her attention to singing), but a very welcome latecomer. With the 2007 release of her debut album, the flute-voiced Seattleite demonstrated a fine interpretive gift, one that hugged... read more
Wil Swindler - Space Bugs
by Robert Rusch, Papatamus - Cadence Magazine
WIL SWINDLER comes out of North Texas State and presents a very heady execution on the eight originals featured on SPACE BUGS: LIVE IN DENVER (OA2 Records 22207). There are touches of the sound of Gil Evans and Shorty Rogers. Although the Swindler's writing and arranging outweigh the soloing on this set, it is still very impressive and... read more
Karen Marguth - Until
by Vincent L Stephens, Riffs, Beats, & Codas
Bay area vocalist and educator Karen Marguth hit the jazz recording scene with 2009's self-titled debut and has released a series of excellent albums. On 2015's Just You, Just Me is Marguth and bassist Kevin Hill build from the promise of previous efforts like her excellent Carrol Coates songbook A Way With Words by taking somewhat of a left turn. Taking cues from the bass and voice master, Sheila Jordan, she tackles classics like "You'd Be So... read more
Sara Leib - Secret Love
by Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
A cursory glance at the track listing for Secret Love may paint it as another simple celebration of standards, but that's not the case. Singer Sara Leib takes the road less traveled by delivering ear-opening, metrically twisted, stylistically broad interpretations of oft-covered classics with a to-die-for cast of cutting-edge collaborators.
Leib, who holds degrees in music from the New England Conservatory and the University of... read more
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